Years in Business
1906-1916
The Detroit Boat Company was founded in 1906 and went out of business in 1916. The company was noted more for its power boat production, but did build canoes, apparently throughout the period it was in business.
Models Offered
Detroit Boat Company offered four canoe models, all built to the same design but differing in trim, in lengths ranging from 14’ to 20’.
- Hudson River Model - Spruce gunwales (closed), oak stems, oak or ash thwarts, seats and decks.
- Yukon River Model - Rails spruce or mahogany; decks, thwarts, seats of mahogany.
- Belle Isle Special - the Deluxe version, with 34″ decks and gunwales of mahogany, and oak thwarts and seat frames.
- Takoma Special - 18′ length only. Same as Yukon River, but with higher stems and more upswept sheer. Decks birdseye maple or mahogany. Rails mahogany or maple. Seats and thwarts to match decks. 1911 catalog claims only 100 to be built that year, and no more than 5 to be sold in a single city.
| Detroit Canoe Dimensions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Max. Beam | Beam at Rails | Depth |
| 14 | 32 | 30 | 12 |
| 15 | 32 | 30 | 12 |
| 16 | 33 | 30½ | 12 |
| 17 | 33 | 31 | 12 |
| 18 | 34 | 31½ | 12½ |
| 20 | 36 | 33 | 13½ |
| Data from 1911 catalog. | |||
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