My personal interests and hobbies.

Vintage canoe research project.

Dialogue with others about this project.

Phase I - The research begins (early 2005).

In February 2005, while doing some initial Internet research on the subject of old canoes, I came across the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association and its forums. This proved to be a gold mine of information as well as a link to many very knowledgeable individuals.

I joined the organization and posted the following message in the Research and History section of the forums under the title Decked sailing canoe research:

2005-02-28:
I have inherited from my father-in-law's estate a wood sailing canoe which I believe to be from the 1930s or 1940s. The construction is all wood. The bow and stern are covered and include an opening for a mast. The canoe does not have any seats. The key dimensions are: length 15.4 feet; beam 33 inches; forward mast position from bow 42 inches; mast 80 inches tall; boom 8 feet. The sail is shaped more like a mizzen or a reversed bailey (bafter). I am doing lots of web searches, but have not found anything exactly like it. I have pictures attached. Any assistance you can offer would be appreciated.

These are the pictures I added to the posting (click the image for full size view):

The following day, I received a response from one of the forum's frequent contributors. As it turns out, I had found his website during my initial Internet searching and had spent some time on it.

2005-03-01:
The flush batten seam construction leads me to believe your canoe is of Canadian origin. See this thread: http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=211 for some more information about similarly constructed canoes. Many Canadian builders offered sailing canoes with a variety of deck configurations.

Cheers,
Dan

Daniel Miller
Dragonfly Canoe Works (http://dragonflycanoe.com)
No. Greenbush, NY

A few days later, I responded to Dan's posting:

2005-03-07: Dan:
Many thanks for your quick reply. I have been to your website several times in my research journey, especially the wood canoe identification guide. Do you have any idea where a serial number might be on this type of canoe? I see it often suggested the inboard bow stem is a good location, which in my case would mean a crawl under the decking with a flashlight. As the canoe is stored in someone else's garage and cannot be accessed for a while I wanted to compile a list of possible locations before getting it out of storage again. I have been going through some old pictures and found photos from 1941. These seem to indicate the original rigging may have been modified. The enclosed photos show additional foredeck trim and the original sterndeck shape.
David

These are the pictures I added to the posting (click the image for full size view):

The research continues:

• Phase II - Using Family Connections - March 2005.
• Phase III - Picking up where I left off - August 2006.
• Phase IV - Other contacts in 2006.
• Phase V - Other contacts from 2007 to date.

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Date of last revision: 2024-11-13.
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