Help with canoe ID

[Brian]

Hello,
I have an old unidentified 14' canvas canoe with no builders plate, serial number, or name visible. We have owned it since the early 80s, it was old when we bought it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Brian

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome, heart shaped decks like that are often associated with builders from Maine. The stem band looks like a White but they generally don't have heart shaped decks. The thwarts which don't match are also unusual. It also appears to have several close ribs near the ends of the stems. Steve Lapey has a similar 17 foot long canoe in his shop now that has this characteristic. I don't know who made yours or how much is original but it looks interesting.

Benson

 

[MGC]

That's a good one and especially since it's a 14 footer. Those don't turn up as often in Maine...the bigger boats were far more popular.
The reed woven seats and heart shaped decks are often associated with Gerrish But, those hammered stem bands usually point to White. There was a recent posting with a canoe with a similarly shaped thwart.
The thwart made me scratch my head. I went through all of the pictures on my hard-drive and searched pictures of Maine canoes on this forum...to no avail. Then it dawned on me why it was so fresh. Look at page 18 in the recent WC Journal.

 

[Brian]

Thanks for all the information. Any idea what it is worth?
thanks
Brian

 

[Benson Gray]

It should be worth a few hundred dollars if you aren't in a hurry. The information at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/57/ has a much better explanation. Good luck with the sale,

Benson

 

[Brian]

thanks for the link to the thread, good info. thanks!

 

[Benson Gray]

You may have a Williams or a Ranco from Kennebunkport. Can you provide a picture of how the bow seat is attached? A similar canoe is shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/10860/#post-56310 and the picture at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/25271/ displays the same closely spaced rib near the end of the stem. The one shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/15110/#post-77624 has a Williams tag.

Benson