Date of birth for my Oldtown

[rinkrat]

I was wondering if my 16' Oldtown's birth date could be tracked down along with any information regarding the species of wood used for various components since I may be restoring it later. The serial number is 114836. Thank you!

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 114836 is a 16 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, HW (heavy water) model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch thwarts, birch seats, a keel, and a bob stay (for towing). It was built between November, 1934 and February, 1936. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on March 9th, 1936 to Chicago, Illinois. A scan showing this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

This scan and several hundred thousand more were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/ot_records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The page at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/specific.gif has some additional information about the other woods used to build it. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson