Old wood canvas canoe

[celliott]

Last summer, my dad found an ad on craigslist, free boat. of course he called on it immediatly.  All the man could tell him was it was a wooden canoe.  The price was right, so he headed out to st. albans (about 2 hours from our house) to go get it.  He gave the man a block of cheese for his time, and holding the canoe for us.

When he finally gets it home, we find out that it used to be a wood-canvas canoe.  We could not find any name plates or identifying marks on it anywhere.  The canvas was long gone, and someone had fiberglassed it at some point, along with some body filler and non original wood.

After some research in the internet, we came to the conclusion that it was a B.N Morris canoe, made in maine.  This told us the canoe was quite old, because the morris plant burned in the 1920's.  Now to this summer, very recently.  We are getting ready to begin restoring it, and my dad is signed up with the wooden canoe heritage association.  He posts about the boat on the forum there, and finds out a bit more about it.  Then, just a few days ago he found a serial # tag, in a place we didnt look before.  Serial # 77.  A person from the wooden canoe heritage association tells him that it is the oldest known B.N Morris around, built in the 1890's!  we knew it was old, but both of us were surprised when we found that out.  Restored  morris's have sold for 10k+.  We are definitly going to be taking our time with this canoe, and making sure we get it right.

[Jeff]

Antique Road Show!

[Tom]

Well, Don't leave us hanging.  I want to know each step of your adventure. 

[celliott]

Will do Tom, but this is going to be a long project.  We want to get it exactly right, restore it properly.  We refinished a cedar strip canoe before and that took us over a year, but that was our first venture into canoe work  ;)  I'll see if I can hunt down some pics of the canoe in its current condition.

[Ironwood]

One of my woodworker buddies has been biten by that wooden canoe bug, BE CAREFUL, he has 5 boats hanging in his shop. I "made" the news in the one local/ reigonal  wooden canoe magazine, I cut one in half to make a shelf for my son. Well, long story short, it was painstakingly restored by another guy and auctioned off to benefit the organization, went for $2500 or so. I got it for two bucks, cut it in half, never used it got $20 out the other end (ten fold return ;D) this guy spent twenty and ALOT of time and gave he cash to the club. I think it wasa 1920-30's Old Town.

It is viral! Ironwood

[celliott]

Its too late for us, we've been bitten by the canoe bug already.  Not just wood canoes, all canoes.  I believe we have 10 in our fleet, consisting of 2 royalex, a cedar strip, the old morris, 5 fiberglass and one kevlar lightweight, plus a few out on long term loan to friends.  We buy the fixer upper canoes noone else wants.  Oh yes, we've been bitten, just ask my mother  :D :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

Those old canvas canoes were usually guide canoes for fishing and hunting. I have a Miller, the most famous is Chestnut, there are also Lennon as well. These were NB brands. Chestnut road higher in low water, had a wider bottom. You have a great find.

In recent years they discovered a 200 year old birch bark canoe stuffed away in storage in a museum in Ireland. It was built here in New Brunswick by Maliseet. It's now back here in a museum.

When I was young there would be the width of the river full of canoes and other boats fishing Atlantic salmon on fly rods. The river would be 1/2 mile wide on Burpee Bar near Fredericton. Some canoes were/are 28 feet long.

[RSteiner]

celliot

Would you consider restoring a canoe for some one else?  I have an Old Town canoe that my grandfather gave to me, he use to paddle my grandmother around in it before they were married.  I paddled my wife around it in before we were married, that was 36 years ago.

I believe the canoe is what they called a Tripper.  My grandfather did fiberglas over the canvas before I was born seems that was a popular thing to do. 

Randy

[celliott]

celliot

Would you consider restoring a canoe for some one else?  I have an Old Town canoe that my grandfather gave to me, he use to paddle my grandmother around in it before they were married.  I paddled my wife around it in before we were married, that was 36 years ago.

I believe the canoe is what they called a Tripper.  My grandfather did fiberglas over the canvas before I was born seems that was a popular thing to do. 

Randy

I'd have to talk to my father about that one, but most likely, no.  We have many projects of our own waiting to get into the shop.  Is the canoe a vintage old town? I have a neighbor who professionally restores vintage, very OLD old towns.  I am not sure what he is up to now though, he had a tablesaw bite him :-[ and he may be backed up with work.

[RSteiner]

celliot

The story my grandfather told about the canoe was he and two other friends as teenagers went in together and purchased this canoe from the previous owner.  At some point before my grandfather got married he  bought out the two other guys portion.  My grandfather married my grandmother in 1925. 

I was told it was an Old Town canoe, I always figured it was made sometime around 1920. 

Randy

[pappy]

Randy,
All Old Town canoes have / had a serial number stamped on the bow stem.. You can  call in the number and with a credit card number they'll give you the original buyer and what year it was born in..  ;D

I use to do a lot of refurbishing of canoes, re-planking, steam bending ribs and stems,  installing gunwales and the like , until the chemicals triggered allergies  :..

West System epoxy was really nice to work with,, before that I was using fiberglass resin,, that stuff was harder to get it to not bubble on ya...

[RSteiner]

Thanks Pappy

I'll take a look see if the numbers are still readable, it has been painted several times over the years.

Randy