OT Serial Number 2670
- Thread starter djdewitt
- Start date
David,
I think you have something other than an Old Town. Where are you located? The number is not a OT number. It looks like a St Louis Canoe Co. Made by Alfred Wickett. Use the search engine above to find more information.
If you can post more photos that may help.
Good luck, Denis
I think you have something other than an Old Town. Where are you located? The number is not a OT number. It looks like a St Louis Canoe Co. Made by Alfred Wickett. Use the search engine above to find more information.
If you can post more photos that may help.
Good luck, Denis
Denis,
Thanks for your quick response. The canoe is currently in Madison, WI but I acquired it from a college friend in St. Louis about 30 years ago. It belonged to his grandfather who was from the St. Louis area. When I acquired the boat it had been fiberglassed but fortunately my friend was not very good at fiberglassing. I was able to remove the fiberglass with essentially no damage to the planking by saturating the planking from the inside with water but it took me about a year of effort with a dental pick to remove all the resin that had dripped between the planks. While the seats and thwarts were intact, the outer gunnels were missing. My efforts to bend replacements failed and the boat has sat in my basement since. I have attached two more photos.
David
Thanks for your quick response. The canoe is currently in Madison, WI but I acquired it from a college friend in St. Louis about 30 years ago. It belonged to his grandfather who was from the St. Louis area. When I acquired the boat it had been fiberglassed but fortunately my friend was not very good at fiberglassing. I was able to remove the fiberglass with essentially no damage to the planking by saturating the planking from the inside with water but it took me about a year of effort with a dental pick to remove all the resin that had dripped between the planks. While the seats and thwarts were intact, the outer gunnels were missing. My efforts to bend replacements failed and the boat has sat in my basement since. I have attached two more photos.
David
Attachments
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Hi David,
The chapter heads of the Valley of the Meramec Chapter may be able to provide build information regarding your canoe. Founders of the St. Louis WCHA chapter salvaged much information from the factory before it was demolished and know the history of Wickett's St. Louis companies. This is their contact information:
John and Dorothy Strasser
1837 Lafayette Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63104
314-664-3565
Email: dorthstrass@yahoo.com
Kathy
The chapter heads of the Valley of the Meramec Chapter may be able to provide build information regarding your canoe. Founders of the St. Louis WCHA chapter salvaged much information from the factory before it was demolished and know the history of Wickett's St. Louis companies. This is their contact information:
John and Dorothy Strasser
1837 Lafayette Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63104
314-664-3565
Email: dorthstrass@yahoo.com
Kathy
Walter Hauck
LOVES Wooden Canoes
Meramec Canoe?
David,
Great looking canoe! I checked your stem number against our records and found that it indeed may be a St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company boat from the late 1920's. The St. Louis Boat and Canoe Company assigned that number in 1947 to a 12 ft, auto carry canoe--a square-sterned row boat. Obviously not your canoe. The company changed names in early 1930's.
What is the length of your canoe? What type of wood is used in the decks, seats and thwarts? The sheer line of the tip looks like a Meramec. Can you send a level view of the end from the side? All of the arrowhead-decked canoes I've seen had scarfed outwales (except one) and were made out of white oak or mahogany. The placements of the scarfs are pretty consistent in their location and they are not glued together but screwed.
John and I just finished a fixture for bending the outwales for a 17" Meramec so let us know if we can help out. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
Wally Hauck
David,
Great looking canoe! I checked your stem number against our records and found that it indeed may be a St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company boat from the late 1920's. The St. Louis Boat and Canoe Company assigned that number in 1947 to a 12 ft, auto carry canoe--a square-sterned row boat. Obviously not your canoe. The company changed names in early 1930's.
What is the length of your canoe? What type of wood is used in the decks, seats and thwarts? The sheer line of the tip looks like a Meramec. Can you send a level view of the end from the side? All of the arrowhead-decked canoes I've seen had scarfed outwales (except one) and were made out of white oak or mahogany. The placements of the scarfs are pretty consistent in their location and they are not glued together but screwed.
John and I just finished a fixture for bending the outwales for a 17" Meramec so let us know if we can help out. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
Wally Hauck
Meramac??
Wally,
Thanks for the post. The boat is 17' long but this is from memory as I have not measured it recently and it is at my vacation house. I will measure it exactly next time I am there.
I am confused about the photo you are after. Do you want a shot directly "end on" of either the bow or stern so that you can observe the flare? Or something else?
The seats and thwarts are either white oak or ash. I would lean toward white oak. I believe the outwales are the same material but I have less than 1/2 of one outwale so I cannot tell whether or not it was originally one piece or two. The piece of outwale I do have seems to have been stained mahogany colored but that color could have been old varnish that discolored.
I am curious about the jig you made to bend replacement outwales for a Meramac. Could you post photos? I suspect it is too big to ship to me but maybe photos would allow me to reproduce it. What material did you use?
Thanks
David
p.s. my email is david.dewitt@gmail.com or dewitt@cs.wisc.edu if you want to contact me directly.
Wally,
Thanks for the post. The boat is 17' long but this is from memory as I have not measured it recently and it is at my vacation house. I will measure it exactly next time I am there.
I am confused about the photo you are after. Do you want a shot directly "end on" of either the bow or stern so that you can observe the flare? Or something else?
The seats and thwarts are either white oak or ash. I would lean toward white oak. I believe the outwales are the same material but I have less than 1/2 of one outwale so I cannot tell whether or not it was originally one piece or two. The piece of outwale I do have seems to have been stained mahogany colored but that color could have been old varnish that discolored.
I am curious about the jig you made to bend replacement outwales for a Meramac. Could you post photos? I suspect it is too big to ship to me but maybe photos would allow me to reproduce it. What material did you use?
Thanks
David
p.s. my email is david.dewitt@gmail.com or dewitt@cs.wisc.edu if you want to contact me directly.
Walter Hauck
LOVES Wooden Canoes
Meramec Canoe?
Dave:
Here are some photos of a St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company canoe (green in color) and a St. Louis Boat & Canoe Company (orange in color) canoe. These were both Wickett companies. This is the angle that I would like to get from your canoe for comparison. I am also attaching a photo of our fixture for the gunwales for the Meramec. You can always call me at 314-421-9966.
Wally
Dave:
Here are some photos of a St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company canoe (green in color) and a St. Louis Boat & Canoe Company (orange in color) canoe. These were both Wickett companies. This is the angle that I would like to get from your canoe for comparison. I am also attaching a photo of our fixture for the gunwales for the Meramec. You can always call me at 314-421-9966.
Wally
Attachments
Walter Hauck
LOVES Wooden Canoes
Meremec?
Both have arrowhead decks and carry thwarts. The green and orange canoes were on the back cover of Wooden Canoe April 2008 because we took them to Assembly.....Wally
Both have arrowhead decks and carry thwarts. The green and orange canoes were on the back cover of Wooden Canoe April 2008 because we took them to Assembly.....Wally
bow sheer
Wally,
Are these two photos any more useful to you?
A few questions about your bending jig and the bending process.
a) how wide is it.
b) do you bend two gunnels at a time or just one?
c) did you scarf the gunnels or use a single piece of wood.
d) what material did you use (for the gunnels)?
e) did you cut the rabbet in the gunnel before or after steam bending?
f) As you know, when attached, the gunnels are bent in two dimensions. After being steamed do you bend in both dimensions or just to follow the sheer line?
Thanks
David
Wally,
Are these two photos any more useful to you?
A few questions about your bending jig and the bending process.
a) how wide is it.
b) do you bend two gunnels at a time or just one?
c) did you scarf the gunnels or use a single piece of wood.
d) what material did you use (for the gunnels)?
e) did you cut the rabbet in the gunnel before or after steam bending?
f) As you know, when attached, the gunnels are bent in two dimensions. After being steamed do you bend in both dimensions or just to follow the sheer line?
Thanks
David
