Parmachenee Canoe Company

[Boatnut]

Does anyone have any information on Parmachenee Canoe Company in Colebrook, NH? I‘m wondering if this could have been the builder of my 15’ wood/canvas canoe. For those who have seen my earlier posts on this canoe, I have not been able to identify the builder even though the ID number is intact (PCC0029615) and the boat has some unique characteristics including an unusual center thwart. See attached images.

 

[Benson Gray]

There is some information about the Parmachenee Canoe Company available at https://www.uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification-detail.php?id=9974 but they used the PVZ prefix to their hull identification number (HIN). The PCC prefix to your number is currently used by the Powercat Company as described at https://www.uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification-detail.php?id=9459 but this has also been used by Parkcraft and Perma Craft Canoes. Perma Craft was known for some early fiberglass canoes as shown at https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/2IAAAOSw9RpexDA4/s-l1600.jpg for example. The Powercat web site at https://horizonpowercatamarans.com/about-us/ doesn't say anything about canoes. The 15 on the end of your numbers would usually indicate that it was made in 2015 but the standard formats described at https://www.usps.org/national/safety/HIN/HIN.pdf are all two characters longer than yours.

The thwart shape is a traditional design that dates back to bark canoes. See https://wcha.org/catalogs/penobscot/ for an example from the 1700s. I'm still not sure who made your canoe.

Benson

 

[Boatnut]

Hi Benson, Could the canoe have built prior to the current numbering system? I had previously checked out Powercrafft and Permacraft and found nothing related to wood/canvas canoes. Also, the last two digits (15) are more than likely the boat length and not the year.

 

[Benson Gray]

Anything is possible. The current HIN system was implemented in the U. S. during 1972 and Canada adopted a similar one in 1981. Penn Yan used lettered prefix model codes but PCC was not among them. White used a format that included the length, year, and serial number after 1946. Most builders included the length in their format. See the link below for more details about the documented canoe numbering systems. The list at http://wcha.org/catalogs/maine-list.htm shows that there were hundreds of builders in Maine alone. Only a few of these can be identified without a tag. This list includes the Penobscot Canoe Company but their numbering system was similar to the Old Town one. The deck on your canoe doesn't match the Penobscot style either. I don't recall ever seeing another canoe with a format and font like yours. Sorry,

Benson

Serial Number Madness

Many canoes and boats have serial numbers but this summary might help explain how confusing these can be. It appears that Morris, Old Town, and Carleton all started assigning serial numbers around 1900. Kennebec started in 1909, Joe Seliga in 1938, Shell Lake in 1940, White around 1946, the...

www.wcha.org

 

[Gary]

The thwart in your canoe is not that uncommon in birch bark canoes. I've included a picture of the one I re-created for my birch bark canoe as the ends in the original were rotted out. Many of the birch bark canoes I've seen have had a similar center thwart to these, at least in this area. I like it to help tie the paddles in place when carrying it, not sure that was the intended purpose of the shape?
Hope this helps?
Gary

 

[Boatnut]

Thanks Gary and Benson. The attached image shows what the former owner of my canoe had written on the hull after the canvas was removed. (He passed away in 2020) I couldn’t make out all the letters so searching the Internet was futile. Now it makes sense that the boat was built by Ray Hinds, DBA, Parmachenee Canoe company of Colebrook, NH. According to his obituary, Mr. Hinds started the company in 1995 after he retired. He passed away in 2019. It is puzzling why he did not use the HIN system for the number on the boat. As I decipher the ID #,the PCCO is Parmachenee Canoe Company, 0296 is the month and year it was built and 15 is of course the length.