Charles River Canoe ID Help

[NickD]

Just obtained a Charles River style torpedo bow courting canoe. Can anyone help with ID? I've seen several threads discussing the style of serial number type but I'm not sure if that alone is definitive. Could it be a Robertson? Any idea on general age? The Canoe is 16 ft long and based on the serial number has a beam of 33 inches. The serial number is on both stems and the ribs near where the decks end. Tacks are all brass with oval heads. The long decks are in rough shape, I haven't figured out what wood they are made of but they are not mahogany. Obviously will need some minor TLC before we get back in the water....

 

[NickD]

Also... Can someone tell me what these fittings are for? There is one at each end of the long deck coaming. One coaming has both, the other has the impressions in the wood where they used to be. Here are additional pictures. Canoe of interest is on the left.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Those are brackets that were used to hold a rod that was part of a system of three or four that held up a tent-like cover on your courting canoe-- providing the couple with a bit of privacy (or maybe to keep a lady out of the sun?)... I'll look for some pictures.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Image from WCHA Annual Assembly in 2007...

 

[Michael Grace]

Hi Nick,

As Kathy said, the little brackets are for mounting canopy supports. This type held a flat, spring steel support. There were usually three (so a set of six of the brackets, one pair for each spring steel). The spring steels were at least sometimes made to be folded at a rivet in the center. The three would be folded out, one end stuck in the bracket slot on one side, bent over and the opposite end inserted into the bracket on the opposite side. These supported a canopy for privacy and/or to keep the sun at bay. (See attached). The whole set would have been nickel-plated.

As for your maker, many Charles River canoes are difficult to identify because makers often didn't tag them. If your canoe has its thwarts, it may have the wavy "J.R. Robertson" stamp at each end of the each thwart. I personally am not convinced that this means the canoe was made by Robertson; he may have made it or may have stamped it when it was owned by his livery. Others may disagree - I'm just not yet convinced that the stamp always meant built by Robertson. Still, yours could be a Robertson. See below for two threads that discuss your serial number format.

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?501-J-R-Robertson-Canoe
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?624-What-Charles-River-builder-put-serial-numbers-on-ribs

Attached also is a serial number in your canoe's style. This is a canoe I'm working on now... but no maker's tag.

You've got a hull that looks to be in generally good condition, but you might want to pull it back together and stabilize it from spreading apart as it will do with thwarts out, a number of ribs detached from the gunwales, and the deck framing removed. Looking forward to see progress through it's restoration. Please share!

Michael

 

[NickD]

Thanks for the information! Any idea how to go about getting replacement brackets?

 

[Michael Grace]

To my knowledge, nothing like this has been made in a long time, and I've never run across any except on canoes. It's possible that vintage/used marine hardware dealers might have some. Robert Ross (Ross Bros.) is a regular on these forums; he's in MA and deals regularly in Charles River-area canoes, so he would be one of your best bets. But you may be hard pressed to find them anywhere. Another option - have new ones cast using an old one as a pattern.