I plan to go look at it on Saturday. And yes it is fiberglassed according to the owner."JRR CO" likely stands for J.R. Robertson Co.". Search the forums and you'll find information on Robertson. I know of one other like this that is a tagged Robertson and has the serial number 1117 JRR CO. Tag says "Manufactured by J.R. Robertson Co. Auburndale Mass.". It has the same tri-lobed deck, the same shape of wide mahogany rear front and rear, and wide, round-ended half ribs in the floor exactly like yours. If you look on the bow deck you may find two nail holes where a rectangular Robertson tag was at one time.
Your thwart is different from the one I've seen, but yours has a style that looks like something Robertson would have done. If you look carefully, you might find a wavy stamp of Robertson's name near each end of the thwart. Your canoe had outside stems which have been removed, and it is probably open gunwale, but the gunwales look like they've been fiberglassed over, or had some sort of other goo applied over them.
Very interesting canoe. Given the differences from most known Robertsons and the open gunwales, this may be be from the very end of the Robertson company's time.
H.E.
You're correct - some people would take them off and some would leave them. I would leave them. If it's a daily knockabout user, maybe much better to take them off. But if you appreciate the originality of what may be a very unusual canoe (I think it is), then why not restore it as it was built, use it, but also have another canoe that's lighter, easier to transport and paddle, and and a more common type for daily use? You seem to appreciate this one's apparent rarity. Old Town Yankees and HWs are very common by comparison and are great canoes to paddle.
That might very well be the first Robertson sponson canoe I have seen. The use of "J.R. Robertson Co." first turns up 1916/17 and in 1924/25 they incorporated.
This one shown in the thread at
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?4799-J-R-Robinson-1117
Is built in the same manner - ribs extending 3/4 across, from one gunwale to the opposite bilge, forming the effect of half ribs in the bottom.
About sponsons - have you opened the canoe up enough to get a sense of whether the sponsons are original? They are a little lumpy and uneven along their bottoms, which could mean they're an add-on, or it could be that the glass job was just poor.
Thanks Dan.Robertson referred to this construction method as "Lap Rib Construction" - it is briefly described in a 1938 flyer.
Robertson may not have changed the stamp after incorporation, so your canoe may have been built later than 1925.
to the top. wondering if the mahogany seats-thwarts can be reconditioned or should I rebuild with new wood here?Was thinking about this Robertson today...Is there a way to re-condition the mahogany seats and thwarts, or are they too far gone and easier to just replace them?