14 inch wide stern seat on st louis boat and canoe company canoe

[sam.p]

The holes for stern seat Are 14 inches apart. They are original, and only holes. Wow that's wide. Not to the point in restore to put seats in. Any thoughts?
Cordially
sam

 

[Walter Hauck]

Interesting. I have #2623 from early 1947 and have holes for a stern seat that are 14.5" apart. The seat has been replaced with a smaller 10" seat. This is a square stern so a larger seat in the back would make sense. Wally Hauck

 

[sam.p]

Mine not square stern. Serial no. 2277. No other holes so seat was never changed. But I don't have the seat.

Cordially,
sam

 

[Jan Bloom]

Make one that fits. Seats are pretty easy to make.

 

[sam.p]

Hey Walter. Was seat originally a solid seat or caned. .
If I make one i'm going to have to learn to cane. Aargh.

Cordially
sam

 

[sam.p]

Hey Walter. Was seat originally a solid seat or caned. .
If I make one i'm going to have to learn to cane. Aargh.

Cordially
sam

 

[Dave Osborn]

Sam,
You could find a person that hand weaves cane...
Check with upholstery shops in your area. If they don't do it, that can more than likely recommend someone.
Typical cost is about $1.00/hole.

 

[sam.p]

I live in an o-so-rural area of Georgia that if I want it caned I will have to learn to do it myself. But that's ok.

Sam

 

[Jan Bloom]

You can do the simple weave rather then the more complex. I don't remember what it is called.

 

[Jan Bloom]

The thing to remember about seats is that they have an odd number of holes in one direction and an even number of holes in the other direction. To be more clear width vs length have a different number of holes. Doesn't seem to matter which way.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Well, ya must go to town sometime! Lol.. But if you want to do it yourself,
H.H Perkins sells cane, etc. They also sell an instruction booklet for a few bucks.
Find them with a web search.

 

[Greg Hare]

Sam;
I live in Northeast Ohio but I will be in Northwest corner of S.C. next week visiting family and checking on property I own near Clemson. Don't know if you are close to there or not but if you are I would be happy to help you if you want.
Greg

 

[sam.p]

Thank you so much Greg but that is about 6 hours away. I'm not to the point in the restore of putting in the seats so I've got some time to figure out what to do.
Anyway that is a nice area of S.C. we go through that area on the way to N.C.

Cordially
Sam

 

[sam.p]

Town is a Walmart. Thank goodness for internet.
Still wondering if it was a solid seat and not a cane seat.. Need more research.


Cordially,
Sam

 

[Kathryn Klos]

I don't know the specifics of the St. Louis canoes, but most 20th century wood-canvas canoes have cane-filled seats except for those built during a WWII cane-shortage. I know Old Town used a slatted seat from about 1943-'47, and Penn Yan filled the opening in their seats that otherwise would have been cane-filled with a hunk of plywood. Some folks with these war-era canoes change the seats for those with cane, because cane is lighter weight and more comfortable... good-looking too... adds a bit more design and a different texture to the canoe. Chances are that your canoe had cane seats, and even if not, it would be your choice to go that way if you wanted to.

Someone with a canoe like yours should be able to post pictures so you can copy the seat-design (wooden part-- rails and stiles). My guess is that the caning would have been the traditional 7-step (like a dining room chair), but some companies and some individuals preferred the "canoe weave" that cuts out a step and has a springier feel. There are threads here about caning-- setting things up, etc.-- and there are YouTube videos in addition to instruction in books. But ask questions here, too. We like progress reports and pictures!

Kathy

 

[sam.p]

Thank you. Very interesting.I did not there was a cane shortagr during WWII . Im guessing we were getting cane from se Asia. Mine was built in 1944. Pictures would be nice.

Cordially,
Sam

 

[Benson Gray]

Mine was built in 1944. Pictures would be nice.

I don't have any pictures of a stern seat from a St. Louis canoe but the pictures below show examples of stern seats from some Old Towns and how they look including: hand cane with rounded corners, hand cane with square corners, manufactured cane with square corners, wooden slats, and manufactured cane with rounded corners. Let us know what you decide to do.

Benson

 

[Walter Hauck]

Here are some photos of slat seats from St. Louis Boat and Canoe #2261 I have. It's really close in sequence to your #2277. Also, #2224 has caned seats.
The seats are standard sizes and not the 14-inchers. Also interesting under-seat supports.
I checked dates for your canoe and #2190 was completed on 8-10-45, and #2332 was 5-4-1946, so your canoe falls somewhere in between.
Wally Hauck

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Here's the rear seat from an Arrowhead i owned briefly, never measured them though. I think the boat as late twenties, Wally dated it but i cant remember for sure.

 

[sam.p]

Cool. Thank you Andre. The photos will give me a "go by" for replacement seat.

Cordially
sam