old town 18 foot
- Thread starter Manny
- Start date
The Old Town canoe with serial number 185474 is a 16 foot long fiberglass FG model that shipped on July 1st, 1971, the one with serial number 85474 is a 17 foot long HW model that shipped on March 17th, 1926, and number 35474 is an 18 foot long IF model that shipped in June of 1915 to Washington, D. C. so those don't seem like your canoe. My guess is that you have the one with serial number 135474. This is an 18 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Otca model with open spruce gunwales, twenty inch ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, a keel, and outside stems. It was built between May, 1942 and July, 1943. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It was shipped on August 6th, 1943 to International Falls, Minnesota.
Scans of these build records can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below. These scans 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/catalogs/old-town/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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.html to join.
It is possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. If you are still not sure than please post some pictures of the numbers from each end and a few overall images. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
Scans of these build records can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below. These scans 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/catalogs/old-town/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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.html to join.
It is possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. If you are still not sure than please post some pictures of the numbers from each end and a few overall images. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
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Thanks and you are most welcome,
Benson
Benson
135474 18
Thank You, We are pretty sure that the canoe number is 135474 18. Does any one now what wood was used for the planking? thwarts? Were there canvas or woven seats on this model? What does sponssons mean? Is that a type of varnish?
Thank You, We are pretty sure that the canoe number is 135474 18. Does any one now what wood was used for the planking? thwarts? Were there canvas or woven seats on this model? What does sponssons mean? Is that a type of varnish?
The planking was probably red western cedar as described at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/specific.gif since that line was left blank on your build record. The thwarts were ash. The seats were most likely to have been woven cane. They typically did not have canvas seats from the factory. Sponsons are air chambers along the sides to increase buoyancy. Your canoe probably did not have these originally since there is note or date in that line on your build record. See http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?12416 for some pictures of a canoe with sponsons and the associated build record. The varnish was usually a good marine spar varnish. Let me know if this doesn't answer your questions.
Benson
