Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
I know I have seen gear (vessels ?) like this in books about early waterfowling days - but cannot put my hands on any pictures after a quick search of my library. I had certainly never seen the real things.
A good friend in Cambridge showed them to me at his antique shop. They came from up on Lake Champlain - I do not know whether from the Vermont or New York side.
Fortunately, they are just Jack's size.....
Whatever they are properly called, they are very well-made - and with a boatbuilder's eye for design.
The sides and bottom look like half-inch cedar.
The foredeck and afterdeck are just canvas - with no wood beneath. Copper was used to protect the edges - it was fastened with copper nails. The rest of the fasteners are brass screws.
I could not tell what the bootstraps were made of - heavy canvas? rawhide? belting? leather?
This "reverse transom" was way ahead of its time.
Excellent workmanship everywhere you look.
The runners on the bottom look like White Oak - half-inch by half-inch.
The cleats presumably give some grip. So, they seem to be designed more like snowshoes than skis.
Here are the basic dimensions. I forgot to bring my scale along - but I am guessing each weighs about 20 pounds. The gunner or trapper who used these must have had some strong thighs.
So, does anyone have more information about these historic artifacts? Any photos, drawings, text ?
I am thinking they were more useful for trappers than for gunners.
All the best,
SJS
I know I have seen gear (vessels ?) like this in books about early waterfowling days - but cannot put my hands on any pictures after a quick search of my library. I had certainly never seen the real things.
A good friend in Cambridge showed them to me at his antique shop. They came from up on Lake Champlain - I do not know whether from the Vermont or New York side.
Fortunately, they are just Jack's size.....
Whatever they are properly called, they are very well-made - and with a boatbuilder's eye for design.
The sides and bottom look like half-inch cedar.
The foredeck and afterdeck are just canvas - with no wood beneath. Copper was used to protect the edges - it was fastened with copper nails. The rest of the fasteners are brass screws.
I could not tell what the bootstraps were made of - heavy canvas? rawhide? belting? leather?
This "reverse transom" was way ahead of its time.
Excellent workmanship everywhere you look.
The runners on the bottom look like White Oak - half-inch by half-inch.
The cleats presumably give some grip. So, they seem to be designed more like snowshoes than skis.
Here are the basic dimensions. I forgot to bring my scale along - but I am guessing each weighs about 20 pounds. The gunner or trapper who used these must have had some strong thighs.
So, does anyone have more information about these historic artifacts? Any photos, drawings, text ?
I am thinking they were more useful for trappers than for gunners.
All the best,
SJS
