I purchased a vintage canoe recently specifically to restore and resell it. It was represented to me as a 1911 Old Town based upon the serial number 204341 stamped into in the inside keel strips. It turns out that it truly is an Old Town but it is a Carleton Model of the Old Town and the Carleton Model canoes made by Old Town have a different sequencing of serial numbers... This one is actually a 1942 model, shipped from Old Town Main and delivered to a sport shop in Peoria IL. It turns out that the 1911 model was a 17' unit whereas the Carleton unit in 1942 was a 16' unit. Another distinguishing feature is the short carrying handles (thwarts) at each end on the Carleton model. Not many folks who access WCHA's canoe information resource realize that Old Town maintained two different serial number sequences. In 1909 Old Town bought out the competing Carleton factory in Old Town, Main and just two years later the Carleton factory burned down. Old Town then dramatically expanded their own facility and continued to build the Carleton canoes in their new facility. They continued the use of the previous Carleton serial numbers in the process.
Some 40 years ago I bought a 16 foot Old Town canoe who's serial number indicated it was a 1911 production model... We used that canoe for a number of years and then gave it up in favor of aluminum canoes for our family... I'm of the opinion that 16' canoe was also a Carleton model and probably a lot newer than I realized at the time. I probably made the same mistake that my seller did. I don't feel cheated by the misrepresentation as I'm not into restorations to make a profit and it was a honest mistake. I would hope WCHA might consider writing a news article in their magazine alerting our membership to the problem and also suggesting that when researching the age of a canoe, more descriptive information is needed than just the serial number.
Harold
Some 40 years ago I bought a 16 foot Old Town canoe who's serial number indicated it was a 1911 production model... We used that canoe for a number of years and then gave it up in favor of aluminum canoes for our family... I'm of the opinion that 16' canoe was also a Carleton model and probably a lot newer than I realized at the time. I probably made the same mistake that my seller did. I don't feel cheated by the misrepresentation as I'm not into restorations to make a profit and it was a honest mistake. I would hope WCHA might consider writing a news article in their magazine alerting our membership to the problem and also suggesting that when researching the age of a canoe, more descriptive information is needed than just the serial number.
Harold