The Wooden Canoe Heritage Association's Rushton Classified Listing Archive
Title: 15ft 1901 Rushton Indian w/ floor rack
Price: $4000
Location: Honeoye Falls, NY
Description: You may never see another canoes like this for sale: a completely restored 1901 (or 1902?) 15ft Rushton Indian, serial #84. The Indian was the first canvas covered canoe Rushton ever made, and was made for only one year. Production on the Indian ceased when the Indian Girl was introduced the next year.
The canoe was restored in 2019. It is mostly original; the rail caps and sides and one thwart are new. The decks, seats, and thwarts are made of chestnut which is almost unobtainable today. And note the interesting flat and wide shoe keel. It weighs 67 lbs. The canvas was treated with a mildewcide and filled with Kirby's filler. The color is Epifanes Deep Green.
Since this ad is being seen in WCHA I'll include what little history I've learned of it along with some interesting things I've learned about how it was made. I obtained the canoe from a family that had at one time lived along Keuka Lake, located south of the town of Penn Yan, NY. The family believed the canoe to be an Indian Girl and that it was purchased 'used' in 1918 by the family's grandfather. I could tell by the shape of its decks and rear seat that it wasn't an IG, and there were no ID tags or decals visible to identify it as a Rushton. Also the canoe's birds-eye-view profile was wrong too - the rib tips behind the front seat were bulging outward caused by the canoe's one thwart being too long or positioned incorrectly. But on the other hand the front seat did hang from the side of the ribs a-la Rushton, there were no broken ribs, the decks were intact, and it came with floor boards that looked to be original. So I took a chance and bought it.
The first thing I did was rub some paint stripper on the stem. At first I saw nothing, but by chance I caught the light just right and saw a very faint JH RUSHTON CANTON NY stamped on the rear stem. I felt like I'd won the lottery! Subsequent rubbing revealed the same marking on the front stem along with the numbers 15 and 84 - indicating the canoe length and serial #.
As to the canoe's 'lumpy' profile, I got in contact with a WCHA member who also owned a Rushton Indian, and he gave me rib-to-rib measurements from his canoe which told me the canoe's true profile as well as the lengths and locations of the Indian's two thwarts. My canoe did indeed have bolt holes for two thwarts but their locations were different than his. Specifically, the first thwart on my canoe was positioned way too close to the front seat, and the holes for the 2nd thwart were different as well. After puzzling over this for a while I finally realized that a mistake had been made at the factory. Assuming the thwart bolt holes were drilled as soon as the canoe came off the form, what must have happened is that the positions for the front and rear seats were measured from the wrong end of the canoe. That is to say, the thwart bolt holes on my canoe matched the measurements from my WCHA friend's Indian if I rotated the canoe 180 degrees around. Goofs do happen. And sometimes it takes 118 years to correct them. I didn't want to relocate the seats, so I drilled new thwart holes based on this information and, voila-la, the lumpy profile was gone. As to the second thwart, I was able to obtain some old chestnut wood (I was told it came from the rafters of a house that was demolished in Ohio) and fashioned a replacement thwart identical to the measurements provided by my WCHA friend.
Also of note: The painter ring seen in the pics mounted on the canoe's front stem is shown in the 1916 J. W. Rushton catalog, so it is likely original. The included floor boards fit into the canoe quite well and thus are likely original as well. And the peak vertical height by the deck tips closely match the measurements taken off my WCHS friend's Indian. The decks, seats, and thwarts are made of chestnut wood - very hard to find nowadays. And check out that very cool shoe keel.
I've had the canoe in the water only a handful of times in a large nearby pond over the past 5 years. I can tell you it paddles beautifully.
Condition: Excellent Restored
1.1904/1905 Rushton Indian Girl, 15' Grade A, original canvas
2. $7500.00 OBO
6. Gillsville, GA
7. Please read the attachment "Martha Martha", and the attached Appraisal. They explain most of her information. The pic of her on the water was taken in July 2011 at the WCHA Assembly, stored and not on the water since. Like most of you, I have paddled many canoes, she is as sweet as it gets. She still adorns her original canvas for the last 118+ years. All original wood, not a bit of rot.my plan was to show her at the major boat shows but my circumstances have prevented it. She deserves to be enjoyed by many, and realizing I will never be able to do that, I am offering her for sale. She comes with her stand, Bag Lady Cover, period rowing seat, oar locks, oars, and period paddles.
8. She is in Remarkable Excellent condition.
TITLE: 16' Rushton Indian Girl 'Long deck'
PRICE: $3500
LOCATION: Honeoye Falls, NY 14472
CONDITION: Excellent Restored
DESCRIPTION:
Rushton Indian Girl, 16', #5213, circa 1915. From the pics you can see this IG has long decks, half ribs, and external stems. It is in Excellent Restored condition.
Restoration was completed in 2023. The canoe is mostly original except for: new seats, 1 new thwart, several replaced ribs, and long decks and coping (which are near exact copies of the originals). All exposed screws and bolts are brass just as they came from the factory.
The external stems are interesting as they are oval shaped in profile but with the inner & outer ends flattened to 3/8" to fit against the canoe's stem on the inner side and stem band on the outer side.
Title: 16' Rushton Navahoe Canoe
Price: $2,000
Location: Stone Lake, WI
Description: 16' Rushton Navahoe Canoe. Built between 1908 and 1917. Navahoe was the "value" version of the Indian Girl canoe. Purchased by father-in-law, date uncertain, probably mid-1970s. Used occasionally in WI lakes. Stored indoors. Professional restoration in the mid-1980s.
Condition: Excellent Restored.
1909 Rushton Canvas Canoe
$3,200
Amherst NY
1909 Rushton Canvas canoe. Made in Canton, NY Serial # 3032, 17' length, 32" wide and 12" depth
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