Racine Boat serial number?

[sculls with beers]

Hello,
My wife and I are the new owners of a 16 foot wood/canvas Racine Boat. The boat is in beautiful condition and is certainly a daily paddler. It belonged to a late friend of mine and his widow doesn't know much about it's history. The serial number is a bit faded, but appears to be '1730'. As with most new owners of classic wooden boats we are interested in her history and of course value for insurance purposes. Any information is appreciated and a couple photos are attached.
Thank you.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Sorry you received no response to your query until now-- the fact is that there are no records connecting your boat's serial number to an original build record. There is, however, a fair amount of information on the Racine companies which might give you a general idea of when your canoe was built. Several issues of the journal Wooden Canoe have information on the Racine history and these issues can be ordered through the WCHA store. If your canoe has cedar decks, it is the Seneca model, and if the decks are mahogany, it is the Navajo. I made a video of a Seneca a few years back (not one of our boats, but it came for a visit). Here's a link to that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6mPh68GcI4

Looks like a great canoe!

Kathy

 

[Greg Nolan]

The Racine looks like a great canoe, and so do the other two in the picture -- especially the far one, which has piqued my curiosity -- is it a birch bark, or what?

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Top one looks like Old Town or Carleton, maybe from war years given that slat seat. Fixed up to look like a birchbark.

Middle one looks like it has replaced thwarts, but looks like maybe it's a St. Lawrence...?

The Racine looks nice, but it's been worked on- the diamond-head bolts are not original. The decks look like they may be cedar (really looks like pine, certainly not mahogany). The fit on the near end isn't great- they could be replacements.

 

[sculls with beers]

Kathy,
Thanks for your info. I'll have to look into a the WCHA journal back issues for those articles. Until then, the history of our sweet old boat will remain a mystery I guess.
Mark

 

[sculls with beers]

Thanks for the compliments. The other boats belong to a friend of ours (she who sold us the racine boat). She told me the white boat in the center is a "Detroit Boat." I'm not sure of the original builder of the top boat, but it's wood and canvas that was restored to look like a birch bark "Voyageur boat" for a historic festival a several years back.

 

[sculls with beers]

Here's a couple more pictures of our Racine. I'm interested in and appreciate any thoughts on its history.
Thank you again.
Mark

 

[Kathryn Klos]

There is a fair amount of existing information on the history of the Racine Companies-- this was the topic of a WCHA Assembly a few years back and several articles were written for the journal Wooden Canoe, which are available in the WCHA store. While this isn't information on your specific canoe, it may help you understand what you have and its place in canoe history. Beautiful canoe!

Kathy