Rice Lake Canoe Co. The Herald Canoe

[1905Gerrish]

Hello everyone, Picked up this canoe over the weekend and do not know to much about it. I am hoping that someone can give a little history of the canoe. The seller stated that this canoe has floated the Panama Canal. It has 6 brass tags on it located on the outside of the canoe where the twarts connect. The tags state "Rice Lake Canoe Company Limited, The Herald Canoe, The same since 1862, Cobourg Ont Can". It is 16ft in length and seems to have all of the sailing equiptment with it. I have not got my hands on any canoe like this before so any info would be helpful. The canvas looks to be installed in a professional manner but is it supposed to have canvas on it and would I find a serail number on it?
Thanks Zack

 

[bredlo]

*Drool* Lovely!!! Please put me first on your list if you decide to sell it. : )

 

[Dan Miller]

What you've got is a batten-seam wide board canoe. It would not have been covered with canvas originally. The reference on the tags to "The Herald Canoe" refer to Dan Herald, who founded the company, and the Herald Brothers, who ran it after Dan's death. They later changed the name to Rice Lake Canoe Company. There is also a "Herald Patent" canoe, that is a double planked hull invented by Dan Herald, but this is not one of those. Rice Lake was located in Cobourg between 1920 and 1925, when it was under the ownership of H.R. Langslowe, who was from Rochester, NY.

Your sail rig is a mix of parts. The leeboards and at least some of the leeboard bracket hardware are Old Town, and the rudder appears homemade. You are not using or are lacking, some sort of gooseneck that would allow the sail to set properly. The mast partner with the bare pole in it is an afterthought.

The backrest was not built for this canoe.

Looks like a great canoe, but I am concerned about the third photo where it looks like the ribs have taken on a severe hump over the keel - how does the bottom look, shape-wise?

 

[1905Gerrish]

Rice Lake

Thanks for the info Dan. The canoe does have a hump in it. I have listed the canoe for sale in the classifide section where there is a little more info.