samb
LOVES Wooden Canoes
I have what looks to my uneducated eye to be a Rushton Indian Girl. I have read all I can here on the forum but still I’m not sure. I bought it from the widow of a man who had been ill with parkinsons for many years. She has no interest in canoes and could tell me nothing apart from that it was his favourite boat.
I haven’t got time to really look at details, or even clean it (How do you get all the dirty water out of a closed gunnel canoe?), but when I finish the present longitudinal strip project, I’ll have more time to look. This is what I know:
It was in the Uk before 1920.
16’ long. 32 “ wide at centre. It is 13“ deep inside at the centre. The tips of the stems rise to about 22” but difficult to be exact as I have nowhere flat to put it at present. Ribs are 2” tapering to between 1 1/16th” to 1 ¼”. Stem is 1 3/16th” wide.
The stern seat has all the signs of Rushton. Correct size, correct fitting tight under the rails with a small spacer.
The bow seat looks all original and is fitted tight up to the rails. No signs of any cleats.
Stern stem band is broken in 3 parts. Top part has Rushton stamped in it. Lower sections are replaced (thicker in profile and not on straight). Because of the straight cut at the join, it looks like sometime in the past, someone replaced the strip, but left the original ‘Rushton’? The bow strip is similar in section to the ‘Rushton’ section of the stern but has a rounded tip not pointed. This too is a replacement as it extends beyond the stem, is off centre and has a screw coming up in the planking!
At quick glance I can only see the numbers 63 - 2 on each stem. On the bow they are very clear and the stern is nearly as clear. I see no Rushton name stamp. The varnish is quite thick so something may turn up underneath.
The top plank is about 6” at the centre. All others are 2 ½” except the centre two at 3”
It has 2 thwarts. One is an obvious replacement, put a little way rear of centre probably to kneel against when solo paddling. The bolts for a centre thwart are present, the heads being under the rail caps. The stern thwart is original I think. Very plain and straight on top with perhaps a hint of crowning. It is shaped nicely underneath to a sort of half octagon section and thinned at the ends for the bolts. Can’t see any stamping on it.
The decks look all original. No sign of any label or stamp that I can see. Underneath the Thames river plate you can see 2 screw holes which used to hold something there. (between and in line with the two screws in the picture.) but there are no shadow lines.
The ribs are not in pockets. I can’t see, but they appear to be nailed straight to the side of the gunnel - no rebate. Without moving the caps I can’t see if the rib tops and planking are flush. One rib has a previous repair. It looks like pieces have almost been laminated on to do this.
The outside cover strips and rail caps are oak. They are nailed on with nails that look too big to me. The strips look newer and don’t seem to have been fitted well - odd mitres at the tips of the caps and no taper in the depth of the side rails.
I can’t work out what the gunnel is made of. Definitely not the oak used for the caps, side rails, thwart and seats.
The canvas is very old and needs replacing. Can’t tell if it is itself a replacement until I start disassembly and can see tack holes. The canvas original colour was dark green. I’ve never owned a green boat before!
If you have any suggestions as to what it is, or need any more details to help work it out, please reply. Whatever it is, it’s certainly a very pretty boat.
Sam
I haven’t got time to really look at details, or even clean it (How do you get all the dirty water out of a closed gunnel canoe?), but when I finish the present longitudinal strip project, I’ll have more time to look. This is what I know:
It was in the Uk before 1920.
16’ long. 32 “ wide at centre. It is 13“ deep inside at the centre. The tips of the stems rise to about 22” but difficult to be exact as I have nowhere flat to put it at present. Ribs are 2” tapering to between 1 1/16th” to 1 ¼”. Stem is 1 3/16th” wide.
The stern seat has all the signs of Rushton. Correct size, correct fitting tight under the rails with a small spacer.
The bow seat looks all original and is fitted tight up to the rails. No signs of any cleats.
Stern stem band is broken in 3 parts. Top part has Rushton stamped in it. Lower sections are replaced (thicker in profile and not on straight). Because of the straight cut at the join, it looks like sometime in the past, someone replaced the strip, but left the original ‘Rushton’? The bow strip is similar in section to the ‘Rushton’ section of the stern but has a rounded tip not pointed. This too is a replacement as it extends beyond the stem, is off centre and has a screw coming up in the planking!
At quick glance I can only see the numbers 63 - 2 on each stem. On the bow they are very clear and the stern is nearly as clear. I see no Rushton name stamp. The varnish is quite thick so something may turn up underneath.
The top plank is about 6” at the centre. All others are 2 ½” except the centre two at 3”
It has 2 thwarts. One is an obvious replacement, put a little way rear of centre probably to kneel against when solo paddling. The bolts for a centre thwart are present, the heads being under the rail caps. The stern thwart is original I think. Very plain and straight on top with perhaps a hint of crowning. It is shaped nicely underneath to a sort of half octagon section and thinned at the ends for the bolts. Can’t see any stamping on it.
The decks look all original. No sign of any label or stamp that I can see. Underneath the Thames river plate you can see 2 screw holes which used to hold something there. (between and in line with the two screws in the picture.) but there are no shadow lines.
The ribs are not in pockets. I can’t see, but they appear to be nailed straight to the side of the gunnel - no rebate. Without moving the caps I can’t see if the rib tops and planking are flush. One rib has a previous repair. It looks like pieces have almost been laminated on to do this.
The outside cover strips and rail caps are oak. They are nailed on with nails that look too big to me. The strips look newer and don’t seem to have been fitted well - odd mitres at the tips of the caps and no taper in the depth of the side rails.
I can’t work out what the gunnel is made of. Definitely not the oak used for the caps, side rails, thwart and seats.
The canvas is very old and needs replacing. Can’t tell if it is itself a replacement until I start disassembly and can see tack holes. The canvas original colour was dark green. I’ve never owned a green boat before!
If you have any suggestions as to what it is, or need any more details to help work it out, please reply. Whatever it is, it’s certainly a very pretty boat.
Sam
