Looking for help - 121321 16 AND E 8357 16
- Thread starter gblanck
- Start date
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
Pictures are always nice... we like pictures!
Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 121321 is a 16 foot long, AA (or top) grade, HW model with open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, a floor rack, and sponsons. It was built between April, 1937 and March, 1938. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on July 8th, 1938 to Lake George Village, New York. A scan of this build record can be found 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/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will donate, join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-wcha to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/pricing-plans/join to donate or join.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer this description doesn't match the canoe. Old Town didn't commonly use letters in their serial numbers so pictures of the numbers and surround areas from each end of the other canoe could help as Paul suggested. Feel free to reply if you have any other questions.
Benson
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/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will donate, join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-wcha to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/pricing-plans/join to donate or join.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer this description doesn't match the canoe. Old Town didn't commonly use letters in their serial numbers so pictures of the numbers and surround areas from each end of the other canoe could help as Paul suggested. Feel free to reply if you have any other questions.
Benson
My guess is that you have the Old Town canoe with serial number 118351. This is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Yankee model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, a keel, and outside stems. It was built between June and December, 1936. The original exterior paint design was similar to the one shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design37.gif which was known as the design number 37. It was shipped on July 2nd, 1937 to Ticonderoga, New York. A scan of this build record can be found below.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer this description doesn't match the canoe. Penn Yan is know for occasionally using letters in their serial numbers to indicate a wood but Old Town didn't commonly use letters in their serial numbers. Feel free to reply if you have any other questions.
Benson
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer this description doesn't match the canoe. Penn Yan is know for occasionally using letters in their serial numbers to indicate a wood but Old Town didn't commonly use letters in their serial numbers. Feel free to reply if you have any other questions.
Benson
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pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
Nice looking canoes!!!
Dave Osborn
LIFE MEMBER
The wood grain will play tricks on you!
I don’t think Old Town used letters in the serial number. However, I just heard of one with pine planking, so anything is possible.
I don’t think Old Town used letters in the serial number. However, I just heard of one with pine planking, so anything is possible.
Thank you! Is there a 158357? I really do not think the last character is a 1. I have read that a T after the serial number indicated that it was a premium AA grade? It is also possible that the last character is a 7. Here is the best pic. That all said I am near Ticonderoga so that is certainly possible too.
Attachments
Yes, the Old Town build record for serial number 158357 shows a 15 foot long, fifty pound model canoe in AA grade with mahogany trim and a floor rack. This one had no half ribs or outside stems and shipped to Michigan in 1952. This is not a good match for the canoe in your pictures. Can you provide a link or reference to the comment that "a T after the serial number indicated that it was a premium AA grade?" Thanks,
Benson
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Ah yes - it is def 16' so that is not it. I am also mistaken (misinformed) on the 'T' (Thanks ChatGPT!). So that final number is def a 1 or a 7. Final ask I guess is what 118357 might show you? I am thinking that you are correct that it must be 118351 since that was sold in Ticonderoga (not far from me) but just want to rule out that the last number is a 7. Thank you!
The Old Town build record for serial number 118357 shows a 17 foot long, HW model canoe with an oak middle thwart that shipped to Lake Huntington, New York in 1936, which doesn't seem like a better match. That canoe is about 34 inches wide and I suspect that your canoe is around 36 inches wide. There isn't a lot of information about canoe serial numbers available on the internet so artificial intelligence often struggles with the topic. We will all probably need to continue working with real ignorance for a while. The link below has some more background about canoe serial numbers if you are curious.
Benson
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