W/C kayak ID

[Rob Anderson]

I can not locate any Info on this 16' wood/ canvas kayak. I would bet it was made by one of the major canoe companies. It has lots of rocker for a flat water boat. The widest part of the deck measures 28" and the cock pit is 48" long. The only visible marks are 9VZ. Any help will be greatly apprecieated.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Cant offer any info, but that is a really kool boat! Where did you collect it and do you know anything of its immediate history?

 

[Cliff Ober]

Your number looks like it might be ZA6...

Cliff

 

[Gil Cramer]

Thompson Brothers would be my best guess for the builder, probably built in Cortland.

 

[Rob Anderson]

Cliff - I believe you are right. Thanks.

 

[Rob Anderson]

Gil- I will have to do some research on Thompson Brothers. The proximity to Plattsburgh makes sense. Thanks very much- Rob

 

[Dan Miller]

If it is a Thompson, it's not something they ever offered in a catalog.

 

[Rob Anderson]

Dan- I have been unable to find any W/C kayaks associated with Thompson or any other boat companies. I am sure the threaded chrome pennent mounts are a clue to its manufacturer and age. It also has 6 removable 4' slats in groups of 2 and a removable back rest that has a slight s shaped curve. There are 4 nail holes at the front of the cockpit posssibly for a company name plate (see picture) The research continues. Thanks - Rob

 

[thompsonboatboy]

I doubt it is by Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. Nothing like it ever appeared in the brochures or advertisements. I have never heard of them making a kayak.

Andreas

 

[Benson Gray]

Thompson briefly offered a kayak in the mid-teens as shown in the last image below but it didn't look anything like yours. A wooden kayak was also shown on an insert to the 1940 Old Town catalog. Kennebec had several different styles of kayaks shown in their catalogs from 1926 to 1941. Yours looks similar to one from an undated Kennebec catalog which is probably from the late 1930s. Kennebec often put serial numbers on stems but these usually didn't include letters. Penn Yan often put letters in their serial numbers but I haven't found one of their catalogs that shows a kayak or a model identifier of either ZA or VZ. There were scores of other smaller builders in Maine alone as shown at http://wcha.org/legacypages/maine-list.htm so this could be from any one of the thousands of builders across the country during the past hundred years. Please reply here if you are ever able to identify it. Thanks,

Benson

 

[Gil Cramer]

The screw heads in the coaming appear to be Reed and Prince. I can't tell if the covering has airplane dope on it or not. If both of those are the case, that would suggest possible Penn Yan.

 

[Rob Anderson]

Andreas- I agree, it is not destined to be a Thompson. Thanks for all your help- Rob

 

[Rob Anderson]

Benson- Thanks for the wealth of information. I have been looking into a Penn Yan connection due to the similarities in the serial/model numbers but also can not find a match. I would not be suprised to find it in an early catalog or flier. I will also check for a Maine connection starting with Kennebec if Penn Yan becomes a dead end. Thanks for all your help- Rob

 

[Rob Anderson]

Gil- The screws are regular slotted (see picture) not familiar with airplane dope. Thanks again - Rob