I was given a Thompson Wood and Canvas canoe, that had been neglected for years, and it shows. I believe it is a Thompson Indian, from other pics I’ve seen. I don’t know how to measure for length . . across the top, end to end . . or from end to end under the bottom , following the wood slat that looks like a small keel. Any help that can help me with the history of this model would be greatly appreciated!
Thompson Canoe - Help Identifying Year
- Thread starter Troy5062
- Start date
The page at https://woodencanoemuseum.org/index.php/builder-history/thompson-brothers has some good information about Thompson and https://woodencanoemuseum.org/catalogs?tid=All&page=2 has four of their catalogs. Some like the one at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/18203/ have a date written on the planking under the canvas. Good luck with the project,
Benson
Benson
patrick corry
solo canoeist
With the canoe resting on a flat floor, use a level or a carpenters framing square to plumb a mark directly below the greatest arc of the stems (bow and stern of the canoe) on the floor at each end. Move the canoe aside and measure between marks for an accurate dimension.
And recognize that the manufacturers (typically) rounded to the nearest foot.
Dave Osborn
LIFE MEMBER
I live in N Wisconsin and see lots of Thompson canoes. It looks like a Ranger model to me. The Indian model had a different stem profile, commonly known as a “long nose”.
The only way to tell what year it was built would be oral history from an original owner and that at times is sketchy.
You can determine a slot in time by reviewing catalog pages and looking for what year they were added and what year they were deleted or changed in design.
In your case, I believe that the stem profile on Rangers changed in the late 40’s. If you can confirm that you will know an approximate era in time that Thompson was building the model.
Dan Miller may have done that on his site…
www.woodencanoemuseum.org
The only way to tell what year it was built would be oral history from an original owner and that at times is sketchy.
You can determine a slot in time by reviewing catalog pages and looking for what year they were added and what year they were deleted or changed in design.
In your case, I believe that the stem profile on Rangers changed in the late 40’s. If you can confirm that you will know an approximate era in time that Thompson was building the model.
Dan Miller may have done that on his site…
www.woodencanoemuseum.org
