The Old Town canoe with serial number 135859 is an 18 foot long, AA (top) grade Otca model with open mahogany gunwales and mahogany seats, decks and thwarts, and was equipped with half ribs, outside stems, a keel and a full length bang plate. It was built in 1942, being finished in December 1942. Some of the date stamps are unclear on the build record, but a coat or orange shellac was put on sometime in December 1942, the 14th? (an unusual bit of finishing), and varnishing also completed in December 1942, as best I can tell. The original exterior paint color was dark red, and a name was painted in block gold letter on the left and right sides of the bow – “Benardelin” . It was shipped to Turner Falss, Mass. on December 30, 1942. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the thumbnail image attached below.
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 you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See
http://www.wcha.org/about-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and
http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html to join.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Because this canoe was built during WWII, when there was a shortage of various materials for consumer use, such as brass, it is likely that some or all of the metal parts of your canoe, such as tacks, screws, bolts, and bang plates, are not the usual brass, but some other metal, usually steel.
Greg Nolan
