I saw this 15' custom, soloized B.N. Morris 2007 reproduction by Rollin Thurlow of Northwoods Canoe Company in Atkinson, Maine, appear on FB Marketplace 40 miles from my home. It turned out to be essentially an estate sale of a canoe/kayak lover who had moved out of state. Hoo boy, I've been wanting a centrally-seated, solo-able, wood-canvas canoe ever since my 17' OTCA disappeared in the hands of a canoe restorer 16 years ago.
I've passed up several W/C's over the years, including Harold Deal's unused custom Loon Works Aria by Tom MacKenzie a year ago, mainly on the grounds of price and too much similarity to my Bell Wildfire.
But a Morris is historic. E.H. Gerrish, E.M. White and B.N. Morris are usually given the credit for popularizing wood-canvas construction in the mid to late 1880s near Bangor and Old Town, Maine. Morris was in business from the late 1880's until his factory in Veazie and all his canoe forms were burned up in a massive fire on December 15, 1919. This 15 footer canoe is a reproduction by Rollin Thurlow from lines taken off a Morris canoe at the Adirondack Museum. Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok, both in Maine, are probably the two most famous remaining W/C builders, and they are both in their 70's. Moreover, Thurlow now has a two-year waiting period for new canoes and restorations.
What a find: a B.N. Morris made by Rollin Thurlow in as-new condition, and only an hour from me!
This 15' Morris reproduction is exactly the length I like for solo canoes and it has a customized, centralized solo seat in addition to a trapezoidal stern seat. It is 30½" at the gunwales, 33" at max tumblehomed beam, 12½" deep, with high-swept 25" ends. I believe the inwales, outwales, decks, thwarts, carry handles, and rub rail (trim rail) are all mahogany, and that the outside stems and keel are oak. But I'll try to contact Thurlow to verify all the woods and paint colors.
The two-tone paint is a cream or ivory off-white and a sort of dark russet or mahogany brown. Here are several pictures of the details, and then I'll discuss what an amazing purchase value this canoe was.
The canoe has been stored indoors since 2007 inside a Sue Audette (The Bag Lady) canoe cover. It appears completely unused without a mark on the bottom even the keel. Essentially brand new condition with a little dust.
Note the centralized solo seat aimed at the stern. Note also the slots under the inwales in front of the solo seat (on both sides) into which slides a custom carry yoke.
Here you can see the detachable yoke lashed up with leather straps and snaps under the solo seat.
The next three photos show the half ribs, trapezoidal stern seat, and mahogany (I think) woodwork, and the lashed-in carry yoke.
Here is the yoke in its slots while the canoe is upside-down on my car.
A B.N. Morris canoe can always be identified by it's splayed inside stems of cedar (not hardwood), which are about 3" wide at their ends. Rhinelander canoes supposedly also had a splayed inside stem but made of hardwood.
Here are the heart-shaped decks, one having an exact reproduction of the B.N. Morris sticker and the other being Rollin Thurlow's metal identification tag.
Some pictures of the canoe at home after I hosed it off a little, with the carry yoke on the hood.
This canoe currently retails for a base price of $4,400 on the Northwoods Canoe website. Adding up the additional custom details, which include hardwood trim ($250), two-tone paint ($275), keel ($170), half ribs ($225), trim rails ($325) and outside stems ($175), would yield a total new price of $5,820—plus a Bag Lady canoe cover, which now sell for $235 (plus tax and shipping), for a total new price value of over $6,000. Way out of my league.
But I got the canoe and cover for $2,000 cash! From a professional antique dealer and estate seller (who admittedly didn't know anything about canoes).
Now for the less good news. I'm sure this canoe is heavier than its listed weight of 60 lbs., or I'm getting exponentially weaker. So, I'm not sure I can safely lift it and have no place to store it. However . . . I recalled Robin saying the same thing on this site when he bought his 17' Chestnut Prospector earlier this year, but he bought it anyway. So I decided to GO FOR IT and become a member again of the wooden canoe cult.
I want to paddle this thing, which will force me to meet some other canoeists for the first time in many years, just so someone can help me lift the work of art on and off my vehicle—my real canoeing vehicle being a very high full size van.
I've passed up several W/C's over the years, including Harold Deal's unused custom Loon Works Aria by Tom MacKenzie a year ago, mainly on the grounds of price and too much similarity to my Bell Wildfire.
But a Morris is historic. E.H. Gerrish, E.M. White and B.N. Morris are usually given the credit for popularizing wood-canvas construction in the mid to late 1880s near Bangor and Old Town, Maine. Morris was in business from the late 1880's until his factory in Veazie and all his canoe forms were burned up in a massive fire on December 15, 1919. This 15 footer canoe is a reproduction by Rollin Thurlow from lines taken off a Morris canoe at the Adirondack Museum. Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok, both in Maine, are probably the two most famous remaining W/C builders, and they are both in their 70's. Moreover, Thurlow now has a two-year waiting period for new canoes and restorations.
What a find: a B.N. Morris made by Rollin Thurlow in as-new condition, and only an hour from me!
This 15' Morris reproduction is exactly the length I like for solo canoes and it has a customized, centralized solo seat in addition to a trapezoidal stern seat. It is 30½" at the gunwales, 33" at max tumblehomed beam, 12½" deep, with high-swept 25" ends. I believe the inwales, outwales, decks, thwarts, carry handles, and rub rail (trim rail) are all mahogany, and that the outside stems and keel are oak. But I'll try to contact Thurlow to verify all the woods and paint colors.
The two-tone paint is a cream or ivory off-white and a sort of dark russet or mahogany brown. Here are several pictures of the details, and then I'll discuss what an amazing purchase value this canoe was.
The canoe has been stored indoors since 2007 inside a Sue Audette (The Bag Lady) canoe cover. It appears completely unused without a mark on the bottom even the keel. Essentially brand new condition with a little dust.
Note the centralized solo seat aimed at the stern. Note also the slots under the inwales in front of the solo seat (on both sides) into which slides a custom carry yoke.
Here you can see the detachable yoke lashed up with leather straps and snaps under the solo seat.
The next three photos show the half ribs, trapezoidal stern seat, and mahogany (I think) woodwork, and the lashed-in carry yoke.
Here is the yoke in its slots while the canoe is upside-down on my car.
A B.N. Morris canoe can always be identified by it's splayed inside stems of cedar (not hardwood), which are about 3" wide at their ends. Rhinelander canoes supposedly also had a splayed inside stem but made of hardwood.
Here are the heart-shaped decks, one having an exact reproduction of the B.N. Morris sticker and the other being Rollin Thurlow's metal identification tag.
Some pictures of the canoe at home after I hosed it off a little, with the carry yoke on the hood.
This canoe currently retails for a base price of $4,400 on the Northwoods Canoe website. Adding up the additional custom details, which include hardwood trim ($250), two-tone paint ($275), keel ($170), half ribs ($225), trim rails ($325) and outside stems ($175), would yield a total new price of $5,820—plus a Bag Lady canoe cover, which now sell for $235 (plus tax and shipping), for a total new price value of over $6,000. Way out of my league.
But I got the canoe and cover for $2,000 cash! From a professional antique dealer and estate seller (who admittedly didn't know anything about canoes).
Now for the less good news. I'm sure this canoe is heavier than its listed weight of 60 lbs., or I'm getting exponentially weaker. So, I'm not sure I can safely lift it and have no place to store it. However . . . I recalled Robin saying the same thing on this site when he bought his 17' Chestnut Prospector earlier this year, but he bought it anyway. So I decided to GO FOR IT and become a member again of the wooden canoe cult.
I want to paddle this thing, which will force me to meet some other canoeists for the first time in many years, just so someone can help me lift the work of art on and off my vehicle—my real canoeing vehicle being a very high full size van.