chris pearson
Michigan Canoe Nut
Old Town, thanks in advance!!!!
147884 18
- Thread starter chris pearson
- Start date
The Old Town canoe with serial number 147884 is an 18 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with Eastern white Maine cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, a keel, and a floor rack. It was built between March and May, 1947. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on May 21st, 1947 to Pentwater, Michigan. A scan showing 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 as you probably know well. 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 https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or renew.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. Page five of the 1947 catalog at https://www.woodencanoe.org/_files/ugd/537308_a7896c21acfc4a57919d047b08f1c510.pdf has more details. Feel free to reply here 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 as you probably know well. 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 https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or renew.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. Page five of the 1947 catalog at https://www.woodencanoe.org/_files/ugd/537308_a7896c21acfc4a57919d047b08f1c510.pdf has more details. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
The seats on this canoe appear to have been replaced so Chris asked for the dimensions to recreate them. It is not clear if this canoe originally had slat or cane seats. I decided to share the information here in case anyone else ever wants these details. This could be subtitled 'everything you ever wanted to know about Old Town's canoe seats, and were sorry you asked.'
The short summary is that hand caned seats were replaced with the pre-woven cane alternative at Old Town as a result of the introduction of minimum wage in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The transition was gradual as they used up old stock so there are some canoes with hand caned seats that shipped well after that date. A woven mat appears to have been used as an alternative periodically from 1942 to 1945. Old Town canoes with wooden slat seats appear from 1944 to 1947 when cane was not available. The pressed cane seats with right angle corners were used until around 1979 when the curved corners first started to appear. Examples of the mat and slat seats are shown below.
The following are my attempts to measure and photograph the seats from some similar canoes. The 18 foot Otca model in AA grade with serial number 115088 from 1936 has seats made from stock that is primarily about 1.75 inches wide and about 0.75 inches thick. The bow seat is about 15 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 6.5 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.25 inches apart along the rails with 24 inches wide at the forward side and 26.5 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The stern seat is about 12.5 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 7.25 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 9 inches apart along the rails with 18 inches wide at the forward side and 14 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The 18 foot Otca model with serial number 167442 from 1958 has seats made primarily from stock that is about 1.5 inches wide and about 0.75 inches thick. The bow seat is about 14.25 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 6.75 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.25 inches apart along the rails with 24.25 inches wide at the forward side and 26.5 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The stern seat is about 14.25 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 6.5 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 9 inches apart along the rails with 17 inches wide at the forward side and 12.75 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The link below has more pictures and background about these canoes.
The most modern seats have rounded corners. This is shown on the 17 foot Molitor model with serial number 240003 from 1982 which has seats made from stock that is about 1.5 inches wide and about 0.75 inches thick. The bow seat is about 13.5 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 7.25 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.75 inches apart along the rails with 28 inches wide at the forward side and 25 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The stern seat is about 13.25 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 7.5 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.75 inches apart along the rails with 19.25 inches wide at the forward side and 15 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The page at https://forums.wcha.org/attachments/7787/ has the build record for this canoe. This is all probably more than anyone wanted to know but feel free to let me know if you want more details.
Benson
The short summary is that hand caned seats were replaced with the pre-woven cane alternative at Old Town as a result of the introduction of minimum wage in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The transition was gradual as they used up old stock so there are some canoes with hand caned seats that shipped well after that date. A woven mat appears to have been used as an alternative periodically from 1942 to 1945. Old Town canoes with wooden slat seats appear from 1944 to 1947 when cane was not available. The pressed cane seats with right angle corners were used until around 1979 when the curved corners first started to appear. Examples of the mat and slat seats are shown below.
The following are my attempts to measure and photograph the seats from some similar canoes. The 18 foot Otca model in AA grade with serial number 115088 from 1936 has seats made from stock that is primarily about 1.75 inches wide and about 0.75 inches thick. The bow seat is about 15 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 6.5 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.25 inches apart along the rails with 24 inches wide at the forward side and 26.5 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The stern seat is about 12.5 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 7.25 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 9 inches apart along the rails with 18 inches wide at the forward side and 14 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The 18 foot Otca model with serial number 167442 from 1958 has seats made primarily from stock that is about 1.5 inches wide and about 0.75 inches thick. The bow seat is about 14.25 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 6.75 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.25 inches apart along the rails with 24.25 inches wide at the forward side and 26.5 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The stern seat is about 14.25 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 6.5 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 9 inches apart along the rails with 17 inches wide at the forward side and 12.75 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The link below has more pictures and background about these canoes.
The most modern seats have rounded corners. This is shown on the 17 foot Molitor model with serial number 240003 from 1982 which has seats made from stock that is about 1.5 inches wide and about 0.75 inches thick. The bow seat is about 13.5 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 7.25 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.75 inches apart along the rails with 28 inches wide at the forward side and 25 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The stern seat is about 13.25 inches wide at the outside of the frame. The forward and rear supports are about 7.5 inches apart on the inside of the frame. The bolt centers are about 8.75 inches apart along the rails with 19.25 inches wide at the forward side and 15 inches wide at the rear side. This is pictured below.
The page at https://forums.wcha.org/attachments/7787/ has the build record for this canoe. This is all probably more than anyone wanted to know but feel free to let me know if you want more details.
Benson
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OP
OP
chris pearson
Michigan Canoe Nut
Thanks Benson......
