Just for kicks I was curious if anyone might be able to id this canoe. We found it like this on a remote lake in Northern WI. Looks like it was a wood canvas that had been repaired in a few spots with fiberglass. Seat webbing looks to be old shoe lace or something similar. Brass bar across the ends on top and the brass guard on the stem similar to an Old Town. It was pretty small maybe 14 feet? Definitely no longer than 15.

I actually have a hull number off of it as well.

That canoe is very old, not based on the condition though.

The wood cap over the gunwales indicates a canoe built around the early 1900’s. There were a few canoe companies doing that back then.

I haven’t seen any wood canoes after about 1915 that were building them like that. It’s not an Old Town which is actually good since those were ‘mass produced’ and while desirable, not terribly rare.

The hull ID might help, go to the wood canoe heritage association and start looking there.
https://www.woodencanoe.org/
This is the best resource for finding info on that old canoe.

That canoe is not repairable coming from a guy that has repaired old canoes like that. Sometimes you just got to let them go.

It is too far gone. If the ribs had any life left in them, there would be a chance. It’s probably best to leave it out there in the swamp and watch nature take it back over time.

Good luck!
Tom

tumblehome: "That canoe is very old, not based on the condition though.


The wood cap over the gunwales indicates a canoe built around the early 1900’s. There were a few canoe companies doing that back then.


I haven’t seen any wood canoes after about 1915 that were building them like that. It’s not an Old Town which is actually good since those were ‘mass produced’ and while desirable, not terribly rare.


The hull ID might help, go to the wood canoe heritage association and start looking there.
https://www.woodencanoe.org/
This is the best resource for finding info on that old canoe.


That canoe is not repairable coming from a guy that has repaired old canoes like that. Sometimes you just got to let them go.

It is too far gone. If the ribs had any life left in them, there would be a chance. It’s probably best to leave it out there in the swamp and watch nature take it back over time.


Good luck!
Tom"

Yeah we left it there for nature to reclaim. I kind of figured it was done for, but still curious to know how old it is and who made it. I might treat it like a photography project and go back and take a Pic of it each year as it breaks down.

Man, don't you wish that thing could talk? Would love to know the stories it could tell.

Ah, slap on a little epoxy and you’re good to go!