Wednesday 12 April 2017

Early EM White canoe

Probably blogged this before, but too lazy to check and these early Maine guide canoes are so nice. Jerry Stelmok at Island Falls Canoe is still making several versions , his 18' an incredible wilderness tripping canoe. We brought this example back from Maine. It needs much work, the centre section having several broken or smashed ribs, and gunwale breaks.  Still, it retains its classic shape, and has the original bronze oval deck plate, and the brass cutwaters unique to these canoes are intact on each stem and in great shape. This example is dated to the early 1920s, and after restoration will be a great paddler for an afternoon or a week. 
Below are pictures of it as collected. 






Ready for the trip back to Ontario


Sticks out a little at 18' 



Long slender canoe shows its length on a minivan



Classic sheer and shape



Modern version still being built


Classic gunwale tips extending beyond the stem


Slender decks


Original oval plate


Remnants of metal guard on tips


Rotted tips to be restored



Nice shape despite broken gunwales


Carry thwart 



Brass stem covers








Half width cant ribs

#2 in the que for restoration