Here is an antique sailing canoe I recently acquired. There are no maker's marks on it that I have found so far. The dimensions are 15' x 32". Construction and design appear to be consistent with J.H. Rushton, and the canoe may be one of his Mohican No. 2 models (see the 1898 Rushton catalog, that has been reproduced).
The canoe is not in great shape, and its sail rig and most of its hardware have gone missing (they are probably in the same place lost socks go). It is lapstrake construction, and the strakes are clinch-nailed to each other and to the narrow half-round ribs. The garboards are riveted to the keel.
If you have any experience with Rushton design and construction, I would appreciate hearing from you. I can provide further details on request.
| Overview from the bow. The strakes are white cedar, except the sheerstrake which is Spanish cedar. | |
| Bow View | |
| View of the bow. Notice the original nickel-plated fittings around the painter hole. | |
| View of the stem. It is sawn from a natural hackmatack knee. | |
| Detail of the tip of the stem and stembrass. | |
| View of the stem band. Note how it flares at the end. | |
| View of stern. The gudgeons are original and nickel-plated. | |
| View of stern post. Like the stem, it is sawn from a natural knee. | |
| Another view of stern post. | |
| The bow deck. There are two mast holes and a larger hole for access to the watertight compartment. Unfortunately, the hatch cover is missing. The deck is mahogany. | |
| The stern deck. There is a single mast hole. There is no evidence of mounted steering gear. There are two holes in the coaming to either side of center, that may have acted as fairleads for guideing the steering rope into the cockpit. | |
| Close up of the bow hatch. You can see the copper air tank inside (there is another copper air tank in the stern). Also seen is a plug for the foot of the mast. I am not sure if the mast had a ferrule to fit over it, or if there was a mast tube that has gone missing. | |
| The bulkhead that forms the watertight compartment. There is a second layer behind it, composed of three pieces set perpendicular to the one seen here. On the unseen bulkhead, the center of the three pieces is wedge-shaped. They are joggled to fit over the laps, and bedded with linen (or something similar) presumably soaked in white lead. | |
| General view of the coaming. | |
| Close-up of the coaming, showing the deck scarf (which is a stopped scarf), and the small brass brackets that support the coaming. | |
| Close-up showing the stopped scarf of the deck. | |
| View of the centerboard slot; exterior, board retracted. | |
| View of the centerboard trunk; interior, board retracted. | |
| The Radix centerboard extended. It is composed of telescoping brass sleeves. | |
| The Radix centerboard retracted, to show a bit about how it is constructed. | |
| The Radix centerboard partially extended, to show a bit about how it is constructed. | |
| The Radix centerboard partially extended again. | |
| There is a cockpit cover for the foremost part of the cockpit. There were probably four of these in all, that would fully cover the cockpit for transport. There is evidence of mounting hardware for the other covers. In addition, the bow and stern cover could be used as spray skirts. | |
| Another view of the cockpit cover. | |
| The underside of the cockpit cover. There are small brass bits under the cross arms. The hatch is installed by setting down a bit aft of where it goes, and sliding into position. There may have been enough to cover the cockpit entirely, which could be locked to prevent pilfering of ones gear. | |
| Catalog page from 1889 catalog showing Rushton's Mohican No. 2 model, which to date appears to be the closest to my canoe. | |