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221:: 18 feet long, with 36-inch bow deck and 24-inch stern deck; canoe is usually tricked out with rub-rails, extended (torpedo) stems, outside stems, D-shaped outwales, half ribs, floor rack, flag sockets, and is seen fitted with bilge keels and spotlights. This model wasn't offered in any known Morris catalog, but was a distinctive canoe built for C.J. Molitor's Livery on Belle Isle in Detroit. After the Morris factory fire, the model was built by Old Town. There is also a Molitor model built by the Carlton Canoe Company. The Molitor name is currently attached to the most expensive of Old Town's canoe models.
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Morris has served as a model for other canoe-builders. The highly prized canoes that came from the shop of Ely builder Joe Seliga were modeled on two Morris canoes he had known as a youth. The
Wisconsin company, Rhinelander Canoe, hyped its canoes and boats by saying they were Morris replicas. Replicas of two Morris canoes are currently offered by Rollin Thurlow of Northwoods Canoe Company as they "are considered to be some of the finest wooden canoes ever built."
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distribute through a system of dealerships. In the early years of the twentieth century, Morris began offering a less expensive factory-direct line of canoes under the name "Veazie Canoe
Company". These canoes were identical to those carrying the B.N. Morris name with the exception of being trimmed in ash or maple rather than high grade mahogany.
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I have two canvas-covered canoes, both old and beautifully made. They came from the
Penobscot River in Maine long ago, and I treasure them for the tradition of craftsmanship in their construction, a pride not only of form and line but of everything that went into their building. When l look at modern
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contain accounts of the fire but contradict each other in regard to the possible location of the fire's start and the extent of loss. Both articles assure the public that the factory would be rebuilt, but it was not. The factory's office building survived the fire and is today the office of a Veazie
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A model designed specially for racing, and is without a doubt a fast canoe. It is built in two lengths, 17 and 18 feet. To obtain lightness it is fitted with light, tough spruce wales, seats, braces and decks. it is also furnished without keel or floor rack, unless ordered (no charge). Other extras
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Model B, which is a later development, has been very much appreciated by those who desire a canoe with greater capacity, for family use. It has been on the market a number of years, with a steady increase in demand. Its lines in general are very pleasing, and its paddling qualities are exceptional,
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Rebirth of widespread interest in canoes built by Morris came after the formation of the Wooden Canoe
Heritage Association in 1979, as members began to see and compare a wide variety of canoes, and the canoes produced by B.N. Morris stood out among others. Prized for its lines and performance, the
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B.N. Morris short decks are either heart shaped or display a gentle concave curve. The factory-direct Veazie canoe rarely has a heart-shaped deck but more commonly sports the concave curve, which in older canoes has a circular-area removed from the middle, and is referred to as "the keyhole deck".
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Model A, is for all-round use, and will be found efficient, safe, staunch and comfortable, principally due to the flat floor, full rounded sides, and remarkable surface bearing. Its dimensions are moderate and pleasing in lines, and from its first appearance on the market up to this day, all users
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Early in the twentieth century, Morris began to advertise that his canoes were "all one grade" mahogany-trimmed vessels, available worldwide through dealerships. A second company, the Veazie Canoe
Company, was developed to offer a less expensive factory-direct model trimmed in hardwoods other than
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are found on small brass tags, either mounted on the stem or on the left inwale just after the deck. Tags often go missing, but evidence of nail-holes may be present. Morris canoes are numbered sequentially. The lowest serial number known as of 2014 is 69. Following the factory fire, a number of
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Initially offered in three grades, by the early twentieth century Morris advertised his canoes as being one grade only, the standard model being planked and ribbed in cedar, with spruce rails and decks, thwarts, and seat frames of mahogany. The canoe was offered in four models, much the same in
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When the shop behind the family home became too small for the growing company, it was replaced by a large factory-complex consisting of nine buildings, each serving a step in the canoe-building process. Although Morris was not the first to market canvas-covered canoes, it was among the first to
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B.N. Morris canoes were offered in a single grade, and are customarily found with mahogany decks, thwarts and seat frames. Rails may be spruce or mahogany. If outwales are mahogany, they are D-shaped. Open gunwales are mahogany with a D-outwale. The following "Types" were offered:
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Model D is a design with more freeboard and less tumble-home. Has quite a flat bottom, and is quite seaworthy. its paddling qualities in quick water are excellent, and it is unequalled as an open sailing canoe. Its principal uses are hunting and
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The men behind the B.N. Morris Canoe
Company were Bert Morris (24 June 1866 – 31 May 1940) and his older brother, Charles (10 February 1860 – 9 May 1928). Initially, canoes were built in a shop behind the Morris family home in
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from 1891 until fire destroyed the factory late in 1919. The shapeliness, style, and workmanship of the Morris canoes and boats made some of the most picturesque craft that were ever built with this construction form.
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have an identical cedar stem, possibly because
Kennebec founder George Terry hired men from Morris. The Rhinelander Boat Company employed a splayed hardwood stem on its boats as well as its canoes.
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are 3/8 inch thick rather than the more common 5/16 inch and are tapered to about 1-1/8 inch wide at the tip. In closed gunwale canoes, the ends of ribs are inserted into mortices in the inwale.
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Morris canoes display a “splayed stem”, 3 inches or so in width at the inboard end and made of cedar. The splayed end of the stem has a squared-off appearance. Some canoes built by the
161:: Prior to approximately 1905, this was the name of the wider of Morris's canoe models. (1899 Catalog) Its catalog image is used as the logo of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.
97:, which would quickly dominate the business. However, in the eyes of many aficionados, the finest of all the early wood and canvas canoes were manufactured in the little town of
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Spruce inwales, stained. Mahogany top and outwales. 24” mahogany decks, flag socket, painter ring, mahogany seat frames and braces, spruce grate, keel.
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Model C, carries about the same dimensions as Model A, except that it has less tumble-home and sharper lines for and aft. It is a fairly speedy canoe.
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B.N. Morris was the featured canoe of
Assembly 2015 of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. More than 40 Morris canoes were present at the event.
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have only the highest appreciation. This model is built with two styles of ends; the
Special, or so-called Torpedo ends, and the Standard Ends.
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are brass and commonly fastened with rivets rather than screws. On canoes with outside stems, the bands are typically screwed on.
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appearance but with variations in depth and width. Customers could customize their canoe with longer decks and a fancy paint job.
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as "... very spectacular, lighting up the country for miles around", destroyed the B.N. Morris factory complex. Articles from
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canoes, of metal or fiberglass stamped out like so many identical coins. l cherish mine even more ... --Sigurd F. Olson
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launched the wood-and-canvas canoe industry from his Bangor shop in the late 1870s. In the Old Town area, both
74:. The building was four stories high, with a different aspect of canoe construction completed on each floor.
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The Wood & Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its
History, Construction, Restoration, and Maintenance
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surviving Morris canoes were finished at the Old Town factory; these have serial numbers in the 17000s.
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Spruce gunwales, mahogany seat frames, braces (thwarts), short decks. Spruce grate (floorboard). Keel.
155:: Prior to approximately 1905, this was the name of one of the two Morris models.(1901 Catalog)
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101:, exactly midway between the two better known cities, by the B.N. Morris Canoe Company.
501:, a reprint of a 1908 catalog produced by the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association, 1982.
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Morris canoes commonly have a keel, attached with a screw through every rib.
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considering its dimensions. It is also a very fine canoe to equip for rowing.
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Sign used on the original canoe shop, behind the Morris family home in Veazie
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serial number tag affixed to the splayed stem of a Morris canoe
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Long decks on Morris canoes are three-piece with a coaming.
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The Historic Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection
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The Historic Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection
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serial number tag located on the inwale of a Morris canoe
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as with Type 2, with the addition of oak outside stems.
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The evening of December 15, 1919, a fire, described in
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and Guy Carlton had head starts on an eventual giant,
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Thurlow,Rollin, Northwoods Canoe Company literature.
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Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1891
416:– via Town of Veazie Maine official website.
134:B. N. Morris wood-and-canvas canoe with long decks
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698:Defunct manufacturing companies based in Maine
683:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1919
564:The Morris Canoe: Legacy of an American Family
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668:Companies based in Penobscot County, Maine
458:Veazie: A Catalog Found, A History Unfolds
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285:heart-shaped short deck of a Morris canoe
577:Discovering the History of Wooden Canoes
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673:American companies established in 1891
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377:, The Harpswell Press, 1987, p. 47-48.
213:can be had to order at regular prices.
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618:The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga
428:The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga
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373:Stelmok, Jerry and Rollin Thurlow,
293:curved short deck of a Morris canoe
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511:A Catalog Found: A History Unfolds
430:, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2002, p.26.
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122:motel known as The Stucco Lodge.
629:Gray, Benson and Daniel Miller,
529:Gray, Benson and Daniel Miller,
693:1919 disestablishments in Maine
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276:Kennebec Boat and Canoe Company
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688:1891 establishments in Maine
620:, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2002.
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486:The Bangor Daily Commercial
119:The Bangor Daily Commercial
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159:Special Indian, Extra Beam
517:144:12-15, December 2007.
464:144:12-15, December 2007.
33:B.N. Morris Canoe Company
631:Rhinelander Boat Company
590:Retrieved August 5, 2016
579:, Dragonfly Canoe Works
562:Klos, Kathryn Hilliard,
553:156:7-14, December 2009.
547:The Canoes of Belle Isle
441:The Canoes of Belle Isle
395:History of Veazie, Maine
392:Hamilton, Jean (1978).
447:156:10, December 2009.
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599:Dean, Jeff and Jill,
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115:The Bangor Daily News
111:The Bangor Daily News
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476:, December 16, 1919.
259:Identifying features
39:, produced wood and
663:Canoe manufacturers
488:, December 16, 1919
607:21:6, Winter 1985.
586:2014-09-03 at the
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51:The Morris Company
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474:Bangor Daily News
338:The Morris Legacy
20:Cover image from
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616:Stelmok, Jerry,
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601:Morris Potpourri
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147:Models and types
126:The Morris Canoe
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331:Serial numbers
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204:(1919 Catalog)
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153:Special Indian
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95:Old Town Canoe
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27:Morris catalog
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410:. Retrieved
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87:E.H. Gerrish
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531:B.N. Morris
64: 1910
25: 1908
657:Categories
407:B0007AMGRI
361:References
143:mahogany.
91:E.M. White
412:August 5,
311:Stembands
208:Tuscarora
202:cruising.
584:Archived
637:, 2003.
537:, 2003.
219:Molitor
197:Model D
187:Model C
176:Model B
165:Model A
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249:Type 3
240:Type 2
231:Type 1
99:Veazie
44:canoes
41:canvas
399:(pdf)
414:2016
403:ASIN
317:Ribs
305:Keel
298:Deck
272:Stem
117:and
31:The
35:of
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61:c.
22:c.
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