If its 16 2, then its probably not an Independence…as others have said the Independence is 15 8 or so (or at least mine is…unless there were running changes to the Independence model I’m not familiar with). Since the gunwales are off, consider putting Watco or similar on the inside (hidden) edges of those pieces before they go back together. Most of us likely do not take the time to separate the gunwale pieces to do that, and since they are partially apart, its a good time to do it.
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The Traveler has a shallow V bottom hull as do many of the Mad River designs, especially those from Jim Henry. It does have nearly plumb stems and minimal rocker. There is a moderate amount of tumblehome at center.
The loops on the deck plates shown in the photo are not stock and are probably shock cords intended to hold looped painters.
Having been descended from a downriver racing canoe the Traveler shares the features of all such canoes which are intended to simply get downriver as quickly as possible with a minimum of maneuvering. It is deep (although not quite as deep as the Screamer) and hard tracking. Maneuvering the boat on a fast flowing river requires one to anticipate maneuvers as far in advance as possible and generally involve side slips and back ferries where necessary. An actual turn can be facilitated by heeling the canoe to the off-side onto the flat of the V bottom hull and employing a series of bow draws and stern pries. The boat is pretty stable and can actually be heeled over pretty comfortably by a kneeling paddler.
You can find a number of threads discussing the idiosyncrasies of the Mad River Traveler by using the search function on this forum. Here is one in which Charlie Wilson weighs in on the Screamer, which essentially handles identically to the Traveler:
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Thank you for the info! I really appreciate it.
I don’t think we have to worry about me doing any whitewater around here. I know it might not be the best canoe for a small calm lake, but it will be enough for my plans!
I just sold our MR 1981, one of the older Royalex Explorer 16. I don’t recognize this but I agree it must be Kevlar. Ours turned out beautifully and I just sold it to a guy from Atlanta. We have a folder full of our photos, but it does not upload easy to messenger. If you want to send me an email address, I will try to send it that way if you are interested. But like I said, ours is a MR Explorer 16 made of Royalex. I hated to get rid of it but my husband and I are in our 70’s and we wanted to get something lighter–like kayaks. Soos
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You know it is Kevlar for two reasons. One is the color of the interior of the hull. Second Mad River appended a “-K” to the end of the 12 character HIN on their Kevlar hulls.
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With its length/width ratio of 6.7 and its hard tracking the Traveler is a fairly efficient flat water hull and its 16+ foot length gives it a high maximum theoretical hull speed for a solo canoe.
The downsides are that with its size and V bottom it also has a lot of wetted surface area so more skin friction. So paddling it up to a fast cruising speed will take some effort. And due to its length, depth and plumb stems there is a lot of hull to catch the wind.
The sliding seat can come in handy in windy conditions. If you find the hull wanting to turn into the wind (weathercock) slide the seat back a little. If it is wanting to turn away from the wind (leecock) slide the seat forward a bit.
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Thanks again for all the info @pblanc . Great stuff!
I can’t wait for the ice to thaw now. 
This is a picture of the late taken by a neighbor about a week ago.
Very cool find.
Thanks