NOT an Old Town Molitor.

dhansen

Curious about Wooden Canoes
I thought I'd share some 'learnin I got this weekend. My friend Ron (on the right) noticed an ad in our local swap and sell guide for a 17' Old Town Molitor. Ron and I already each have a Molitor but Ron is the sort of guy that likes accumulating pretty things. So, we set out Sunday morning to see what it looked like. My first reaction was yeah, Molitor but it quickly became apparent it wasn't one of the 60's/70's production boats. Then I started wondering if it could be one from the 20's. It has closed gunnels and decks that I've never seen on an Old Town. The stems looked pretty much typical Old Town but there were no serial numbers nor were there any decals or tags identifying the builder. I only took one photo of it since we had already decided to pass on a purchase. I was still curious though and ended up hitting the computer when I got home.

I found the deck profile in a google search but managed to misidentify it as photo of an Old Town Canoe. Totally confused now I reached out to Benson Gray and he quickly set me straight. He said it isn't an Old Town at all but more like a canoe from the Charles River, likely a J. R. Robertson. I ran with that and confirmed that the deck shape was indeed that of a Robertson canoe. Every time I turn around I learn something new, most often because I have so much to learn. It is part of what makes this pastime so appealing.

robertson trilobe.jpg
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robbertson molitor.jpg
 
Take a good hard look at the ends of the thwarts near the gunwales and you may find the Robertson, Auburndale, MA stamp.

Nice ride.

Fitz
 
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