131936 18

[Saint Urho]

Hello everyone,

We’ve had this Old Town canoe stored under a tarp at our family place in Ely, Minnesota for decades, and it’s finally time to give it a full restoration and breathe some life into it for a new generation of paddlers.

The serial number stamped on the stem is 131936 18.

Could someone please look up the build record for me? I suspect it might have originally been shipped to an Ely-area outfitter or dealer, but I’d love to know for sure — and to learn what model, wood species, and color it started life with.

Many thanks in advance for keeping this history alive!

Nathan

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 131936 is an 18 foot long, GS (Guide Special or utility) grade, Guide model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, and a keel. It was built between March and May, 1941. The original exterior paint color was GS (Guide Special) green. It shipped on June 5th, 1941 to Camp Widjiwagan in Ely, Minn. 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 https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions,

Benson

 

[Saint Urho]

Wonderful!! Thank you!