I recently picked up a new canoe and I am trying to get more information on it. I was told it was an LL Bean canoe, but I don’t think that’s accurate.
Any idea what kind of canoe this is?
The HIN number is: SCSF5I05D292
The side is the boat says Falcon. It’s a green fiberglass(I think) canoe, with woven seats. I can’t find any other identification information.
Thanks in advance.
Apparently several manufacturers have used the SCS identifier. The search continues.
I wonder if it is a Stowe canoe? What are the dimensions? Their later Stowes were fiberglass with wooden ribs and wood and cane woven seats. Located in Vermont so could have been a source for L. L. Bean, who has always liked to carry New England made goods. Most models were called Mansfield and came in 11’, 13’ and 15’ with 39" and 40" beams.
The only possible problem is that they apparently closed down Stowe Canoes “in or around” 1991 (sold out to an investment grou that owns Vermont Tubbs) and the S/N indicates a 1992 manufacturer date. Though some other information on line indicates that Stowe founder, Robert Hartt, continued to make canoes under new names for a few more years. He died in 2018.
I found a Facebook group for Stowe, Merrimack and Navaro canoes. According to post on there, the SCS serial prefix was for “Stowe Canoe and Snowshoe” which is what the Bob Hartt canoes were called after he sold the brand to Vermont Tubbs, the snowshoe company. Per one of the comments in the group, this is the response he got when researching his SCS numbered canoe from the USGS Boating Safety Compliance Officer:
" I recently acquired an unmolested 1996 Mansfield canoe that had different construction details and a different Manufacturer’s Identification Code than the classis Stowe canoes. The new MIC is “SCS”, not “SWE” like the original Mansfield canoes. Here is the response from the Coast Guard to my inquiry:
Mark,
The first three letters of the HIN make up the manufacturer’s identification code (MIC). Our records show the company that was assigned the MIC “SCS” in the mid-1990s was named either Stowe Canoe or Stowe Canoe & Snowshoe CO.
Very Respectfully,
Timothy M. Rafter, CWO-3
Safety Compliance Officer
USCG Office of Boating Safety (BSX-23)"
So what you have appears to be an early “Stowe Canoe and Snowshoe” canoe. I wonder if the metal gunwales are original, since the photos in the Stowe canoe group show mostly wood and then the one “Stowe Canoe and Snowshoe” fiberglass model has plastic gunwales. You could post photos to this group for information.
(You’re welcome.)
Were you able to get any feedback on verifying the source of your canoe from the Stowe Canoe Facebook group?
