1906 E M White

[crosscuts]

I have been given a 1906 E M White, needs work. Help from other White owners would be appreciated. Is there a way of verifiying the build date? There is a metal tag on the bow deck citing Old Town Main, Water St. The rear seat is retangular. No front seat. Carry thwarts are 3/4"x 1 5/16". Keel screws every third rib. Ribs 2 1/4" wide. What are the dimensions of the outwales and topwales?

Thanks for any help.

R.C. Cross

 

[MGC]

If I had questions about White canoes I would probably reach out to Jerry Stelmok at Island Falls Canoe....He has built and restored hundreds of them and is in possession of the White forms and is the author of several classic wooden canoe related books. Rollin Thurlow is another person with expert knowledge of these Maine working canoes.
Is the planking lapped? Are the tacks copper?
Nice boat...

 

[Benson Gray]

Jerry and Rollin know more about White canoes than me so I will defer to their opinions about this canoe. There are no known early White serial number records so it is not clear how this one was dated. The Water street tags were discontinued in the late 1940s so it is older than that. White moved to Old Town from the Gilman Falls area in 1897 so it is probably newer than that. The "D" shaped rear seat was last shown in the 1923 White catalog so it may be after that. I don't own a white so can't offer any dimensions. Let us know if you learn anything more,

Benson

 

[crosscuts]

Thanks Benson, I failed to mention the canoe is closed gunwale. I think White offered open gunwales in 1907. The length is 18'-4".

R.C.

 

[Benson Gray]

It appears that White continued to offer closed gunwales through the mid 1920s but their catalogs were not dated during that period so it is difficult to determine a more exact date. Closed gunwales were last listed in the 1929 Old Town catalog.

Benson