Can you post a picture of the serial numbers from the other end as well? Some of the tricks described at
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may also help. The build record for serial number 9913 shows a 17 foot long canoe from 1909. The 15 foot long fifty pound model was introduced in 1910 as Dave mentioned and the 13 foot version didn't appear until 1926. The chart at
http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html indicates that this should have a five or six digit serial number. Can you apply any varnish remover?
My guess is that you have the Old Town canoe with serial number 129913. This is an 13 foot long, AA (or top) grade, fifty pound model with open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, and a floor rack. It was built between April and July, 1940. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on July 19th(?), 1941 to Urbana, Illinois. A scan of 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. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
