How old is my boat and where did it come from?

Just curious if there are some gurus out there who might have a formula or algorithm out there for determining where my boat actually came from and where it was made. I have a good sense it's a mid 60's don hill style or Keith Steele style but have no way of really knowing. Any thoughts? Can send pics if interested. Thanks in advance.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on June 1, 2012 at 9:20pm

Pictures, pictures, pictures! If you need help posting them let me know, I've helped many decipher the task.

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 2, 2012 at 5:16am
Thanks Rick, I will get some pics to you ASAP. Thanks for being interested and helping me out.
Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 2, 2012 at 3:07pm
Hey Rick, I'm trying to send you some pics but having trouble uploading them from my computer. Thoughts? I loaded them both on my computer and my phone but when I send them to woodenboatpeople.com, it comes back as a failed sent message. Hmmmm.
Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 2, 2012 at 5:51pm
Hey Rick, I was able to load 8 pics onto my page with my phone. The quality isn't too good and the lighting also not good but maybe you can diaper something from them. Keep me posted. Much appreciated. Thanks, tom
Permalink Reply by David Jensen on June 1, 2012 at 10:00pm

Ditto to Rick.  I have 2 Steele's, and am a friend of Steve Steele, who has all of Keith's production records.  What  would help if it it is a Steele is to get the bow ID number plate, and then Steve  can tell who bought it and when.

Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 2, 2012 at 5:20am
hey, David, thanks for the reply. There is no bow ID number as far as I know but I will take some pics today (though right now we are fixing it up so the benches, standing frame, etc..is out of the boat). Would it be easier if I waited until we finished the thing and had it all reassembled or might you tell from the frame, shape, style?
Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on June 2, 2012 at 8:20am

Thomas, the boat designs while similar have slight differences in construction techniques that can often be spotted by the folks here. So pictures, pictures, pictures! It's just like real estate; location, location, location.

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 10, 2012 at 5:57pm
Hey Rick, those pics I took are posted on the photo page under thomas schumacher. If you get a minute, take a look and let me know if you have an idea of age and style of my boat. Early 60's mckenzie I've been told but still not totally sure. How can one estimate the age?
Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on June 10, 2012 at 8:06pm

Thomas, just got home and saw your email. I see a couple of characterisitcs that could lead to your boat being possibly built by Kieth Steele. However I am no expert I know there are many others that know much more than I. Here are some pictures of a Steve Steele boat, Steve is Keith's son and as I understand it the boats share many similarities. Look at them and see what you think. On the ninth frames of both your boat and steve's boat there are fittings that allow the front knee brace to be removed to enable stacking of multiple boats to reduce shuttle costs. I do not know how many other builders use the same setup. I will leave that to others to alert us. The last picture illustrates the tag that Kieth Steele installed in the boats that he built. Notice too the piece of steel bent to fit between the inner gunwales at the bow. I have seen this on many older  McKenzie River driftboats. I look forward to hearing who others suggest the boat was built by. I love to learn more.

Roger Fletcher might be a better person to help you determine the age of the boat. Perhaps he will stop by and provide sme insights.

Best regards,

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 11, 2012 at 6:17pm
Thanks again Rick for your reply. You certainly know more than me. As far as I can tell there was never any sign of a metal plate/plaque on the bow and never any sign of a bent frame between the inner gunwales on top of the bow. Hmmmm. I do see what you mean about the front knee brace and the similar system used between both my boat and the one you sent with the picture. The overalll style seems quite close...right down to the boards inside that the benches rest on. My boat system set up to rest the bench on a metal pipe going lengthwise like in your pic but also reconstructed to rest on the boards themselves. If you have any further thoughts, as always, I am all ears. Thanks again!
Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on June 2, 2012 at 5:53pm
Hey David, I was able to upload 8 pics from my phone. The quality and lighting are not good but you will likely get an idea of the frame, shape, style, etc....it's all gutted out right mow and maybe the benches, shelves, standing frame could shed some light? If so, let me know and I can send pics of those. Also, I will to get a clear pic of the bottom for you to better explain those splits down there. They are not big and seems just happened over year of the wood flexing and such. Thanks, tom
Permalink Reply by thomas schumacher on August 5, 2012 at 8:20pm
David, I finished remodeling my boat and have some pics I'd like to send you so that maybe you can forward them on to Steve Steele if you would be willing. It's looks an awful lot like a Steele but there is no ID plate though it appears at one time there may have been. If you have an email address, I'd like to send the pics to you to see what you can come up with. Worth a shot, I figure anyway...

Thanks, Tom

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