13 Foot Old Town
- Thread starter Ed Moses
- Start date
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
I bet you were thinking "dark green"...
Hi Ed--
Old Town 105637 is a 13 foot CS (common sense, or middle) grade 50 pound model canoe that was finished in March and April of 1930 (although the stamp was low on ink when they filled out this record and I had to obtain the year from looking at the records all around this one). It has red Western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, oak decks, oak thwarts, oak seat frames and a keel. Original color was (drum roll) BUFF. I don't recall ever looking up the record of a canoe that was originally buff. The person has nice, clear printing, too. However... that stamp really needed inking! I can't read the ship-date at all.... assume 1930 and at least April. It was shipped to Concord, NH. The scan of your build record record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image.
This scan and several hundred thousand others 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 anyone reading this will join or renew 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.php to renew.
Kathy
Hi Ed--
Old Town 105637 is a 13 foot CS (common sense, or middle) grade 50 pound model canoe that was finished in March and April of 1930 (although the stamp was low on ink when they filled out this record and I had to obtain the year from looking at the records all around this one). It has red Western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, oak decks, oak thwarts, oak seat frames and a keel. Original color was (drum roll) BUFF. I don't recall ever looking up the record of a canoe that was originally buff. The person has nice, clear printing, too. However... that stamp really needed inking! I can't read the ship-date at all.... assume 1930 and at least April. It was shipped to Concord, NH. The scan of your build record record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image.
This scan and several hundred thousand others 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 anyone reading this will join or renew 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.php to renew.
Kathy
Attachments
Last edited:
Kathy,
Thanx for the build info. You were spot on about "Dark Green". When the owner dropped off the canoe he looked at one of my OT's painted Dark Green and said that was what he wanted. Time has elapsed and now the color request has changed. His Dad will be 89 soon and they have discussed the restoration I am doing on the canoe . NNOOOOWWW that I have confirmed the original color all I have to search out is OT's color chart that shows this "Buff" color so I can try to match it as close as possible to Kirby's color chart for ordering. If you or anyone else has any suggestions, I'm open. I will do a search of the forum for OT color charts as I bet Benson has posted them in the past.
ON another topic dear to your heart, I will be starting work on refurbishing that 15 foot Morris I got in September when this 13 footer is done. I'm going to try and retain the original canvas and hope it will withstand heavy wet sanding the possible many coats of paint on it. I haven't decided on a paint color as yet or what stripeing design I will add. Do any original Morris paint color charts exist?? You are the one who would know. I have copied some of the Morris stripeing designs that you have posted in the past but would like to see many more (if they exist) before deciding..
Thanx.
Ed
Thanx for the build info. You were spot on about "Dark Green". When the owner dropped off the canoe he looked at one of my OT's painted Dark Green and said that was what he wanted. Time has elapsed and now the color request has changed. His Dad will be 89 soon and they have discussed the restoration I am doing on the canoe . NNOOOOWWW that I have confirmed the original color all I have to search out is OT's color chart that shows this "Buff" color so I can try to match it as close as possible to Kirby's color chart for ordering. If you or anyone else has any suggestions, I'm open. I will do a search of the forum for OT color charts as I bet Benson has posted them in the past.
ON another topic dear to your heart, I will be starting work on refurbishing that 15 foot Morris I got in September when this 13 footer is done. I'm going to try and retain the original canvas and hope it will withstand heavy wet sanding the possible many coats of paint on it. I haven't decided on a paint color as yet or what stripeing design I will add. Do any original Morris paint color charts exist?? You are the one who would know. I have copied some of the Morris stripeing designs that you have posted in the past but would like to see many more (if they exist) before deciding..
Thanx.
Ed
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Hi again Ed,
You probably have copies of all that I could provide. As far as I know, we have little information regarding the original Morris colors other than what folks have uncovered during archeology... if your project reveals anything, please share. I'll attach a couple indications of colors that I have on hand... the Morris Molitor has a really cool design, and although the colors have faded/changed over the years I can imagine it several ways, with gold leaf highlights. The 1919 catalog cover has provided a couple great suggestions. The 1917 catalog has a green (dark? medium?) canoe.
Looking at the Morris canoes that were shipped from the Old Town factory after the fire (the only Morris canoes with build records), we see greens and reds, a black, and a red with gold and green... these would be Old Town colors but must have matched what the customer ordered from Morris.
I'll post images from the 1919 catalog, showing the designs that could be ordered-- these are in black and white. Images posted are from "The Historic Catalog Collection", available on CD from http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web.
If you have some other pictures, please share. I'm posting from my little notebook computer that doesn't have everything in it.
Kathy
You probably have copies of all that I could provide. As far as I know, we have little information regarding the original Morris colors other than what folks have uncovered during archeology... if your project reveals anything, please share. I'll attach a couple indications of colors that I have on hand... the Morris Molitor has a really cool design, and although the colors have faded/changed over the years I can imagine it several ways, with gold leaf highlights. The 1919 catalog cover has provided a couple great suggestions. The 1917 catalog has a green (dark? medium?) canoe.
Looking at the Morris canoes that were shipped from the Old Town factory after the fire (the only Morris canoes with build records), we see greens and reds, a black, and a red with gold and green... these would be Old Town colors but must have matched what the customer ordered from Morris.
I'll post images from the 1919 catalog, showing the designs that could be ordered-- these are in black and white. Images posted are from "The Historic Catalog Collection", available on CD from http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web.
If you have some other pictures, please share. I'm posting from my little notebook computer that doesn't have everything in it.
Kathy
Attachments
Morris paint and stripe color schemes
Kathy,
Thanx for taking the time to copy the photo and Morris catalog pages from the 1919 catalog. There were some that I did not have. I really like the design on the photo of the Morris with the rub rail. I just might use that on the 15 footer (has no rub rail ) and also on an OT 18' Guide that does have a mahogany rub rail. Lookin' to be an interesting winter!! Some folks look forward to winter for the snow sports. I look forward to working on canoes in my nice warm shop.
Ed
Kathy,
Thanx for taking the time to copy the photo and Morris catalog pages from the 1919 catalog. There were some that I did not have. I really like the design on the photo of the Morris with the rub rail. I just might use that on the 15 footer (has no rub rail ) and also on an OT 18' Guide that does have a mahogany rub rail. Lookin' to be an interesting winter!! Some folks look forward to winter for the snow sports. I look forward to working on canoes in my nice warm shop.
Ed
