Benson,
Thank you very much for your reply and excellent information. I have been restoring old boats all my life, but never canoes, so I am just starting to learn about the old ones. I got these two examples just by luck... I bought the Old Town around 35 years ago in Rhode Island for about $35 dollars, and put it up in the barn as a later project. It is complete and intact except without canvas or outer rails. It has a thin coat of fiberglass resin but no cloth, on the inside and outside. After finishing my last boat project, I pulled the canoes out and set them up in my shop, with the first job of finding out what I have. I joined the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association about a month ago, and that is how I was able to identify the makers. I don't think the resin on the outside of the Old Town will be a problem, and since the inside resin was applied over varnish, I am finding that is easily removed with a heat gun and putty knife. All of the frames are in good shape and the work (just started) shows the color of the frames and planking shows very nicely...The Morris I found with another Old Town on a rubbish pile, also around 35 years ago, in New Jersey and bought them both for about $20 dollars. I no longer have that Old Town, but kept the Morris because it was in better shape, but I did not know the maker until about a month ago. The Morris is complete, but when found, since I needed a canoe to use, I did a few repairs around 35 years ago, which included replacing about 5 feet of inner rail, and not knowing the historical value, I fiber glassed the outside so I could use it. This canoe has 9 cracked frames, but is otherwise in good shape. I saved the rotted piece of outer rail and it is interesting that the inner pockets are rounded. I guess I will need to remove the fiberglass in order to repair the cracked frames...
Thank you again for your help! I am looking forward to the fun of reviving these two historic canoes...
Thank You,
John MacIver