I have what I think is a 17' square stern 1927 St. Louis Meramec Arrowhead "Meraco Speedster". I have been looking around and have found very little information on this canoe, and haven't seen any for sale or pictures of any restorations. Doe anyone out there have any information on these canoes or any history on them? The only information I have are a few numbers from the stem (690 17). I was also think of posting it in the classified section of this site for sale, but have no idea what it would sell for because I haven't seen anything to compare it to. Any help would be awesome, thanks! Attached are a few pictures I took this morning.
St. Louis Meramec "Meraco Speedster" Information?
- Thread starter Duffy301
- Start date
Some good information about the possible value of this is summarized at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57 although square sterns tend to sell for a bit less than double ended boats. More information is available from http://store.wcha.org/The-Historic-...pany-Catalog-Collection-Version-2-CD-ROM.html which has St. Louis Meramec catalogs from 1925, 1927, and 1928. There is a picture of one at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/meramec/deck.jpg with a sail. Some serial number records from this company are available but they may not go back this far. Nice find,
Benson
Benson
Walter Hauck
LOVES Wooden Canoes
Great Speedster. Looks like it's in wonderful shape. With the stem number of 690-17 I would estimate it was made in early 1925. On one of your photos it looks like there is a decal on the back of one of the seats. It looks to be in pretty good shape. Would love to see a closer shot of it. The Meraco name refers to the St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company, located in Valley Park, MO, on the banks of the Meramec River.
Meramec Canoe Company was in business from 1922 to 1929-30. Where are you located? Would love to come and look at the canoe. We are in St. Louis. Looks like you have about the same amount of snow that we have. I am sending some ads we picked up for the Meraco, as well as a decal from the company.
Wally Hauck, 314-421-9966
PS We just got through walking across the new Mississippi River bridge here in St. Louis, about a block north of our studio! Beautiful!
Bridge opens to traffic tomorrow.
Meramec Canoe Company was in business from 1922 to 1929-30. Where are you located? Would love to come and look at the canoe. We are in St. Louis. Looks like you have about the same amount of snow that we have. I am sending some ads we picked up for the Meraco, as well as a decal from the company.
Wally Hauck, 314-421-9966
PS We just got through walking across the new Mississippi River bridge here in St. Louis, about a block north of our studio! Beautiful!
Bridge opens to traffic tomorrow.
Walter Hauck
LOVES Wooden Canoes
The National Park Service HABS/HAER program documented a Meraco Speedster:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/mi0722/
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/mi0722/
St. Louis Canoe Company decal
Thanks for all the info.. Does anyone know if the production/sale records still exist and if so who to contact to get them? Would love to find out some more history about the canoe.
Walter - Unfortunately we're up in Massachusetts, just west of Boston. Let me know if you're ever in the area though. Attached below is a picture of the decal on the back of the seat. I also have the original brass oar locks and shaped oars that came with it, but haven't put back on since doing some minor restoration.
Does anyone else out there have one of these in their garage?
Thanks for all the info.. Does anyone know if the production/sale records still exist and if so who to contact to get them? Would love to find out some more history about the canoe.
Walter - Unfortunately we're up in Massachusetts, just west of Boston. Let me know if you're ever in the area though. Attached below is a picture of the decal on the back of the seat. I also have the original brass oar locks and shaped oars that came with it, but haven't put back on since doing some minor restoration.
Does anyone else out there have one of these in their garage?
Attachments
Motor Boating 1926 ad.
The Michigan Maritime Museum has a Meraco Canoe.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/mi/mi0700/mi0722/data/mi0722data.pdf
The Michigan Maritime Museum has a Meraco Canoe.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/mi/mi0700/mi0722/data/mi0722data.pdf
