1945(??) Old Town Serial 147575 17

[Nick Bailey]

Hello.

I just bought this boat, Old Town 147575 17, at an estate sale. I was hoping someone could help me get some details on it.

Its got a ton to be done to it. THe owner pulled his car in too far and crunched it. Lots of new ribs, new inwales & outwales, lots of replacement planking, etc. Other than that its in great shape! The decks, seats, fasteners, stems, one of the thwarts, and floor rack all look great.

IThe story is that the original owner (seller's father) bought it with the $200 he got from the government right after he came home from WWII. He literally got off the bus and bought the canoe, a tent, and some camping gear. True or not, I love that story!

THanks in advance for any help you can give me!

-Nick Bailey

 

[normsims]

The build record for #147575 17 indicates it's a 17-foot AA (or top quality) grade HW model that was built in 1947 and shipped to Minneapolis, Minn. So it's in the right time frame for a returning veteran. It had open mahogany gunwales, a keel, and a floor rack. The original color was dark green.

The scan of this 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 you and anyone else reading this will join or renew membership in 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.

If you are selling your canoe and plan to use this build record information as part of an ad, please consider giving the WCHA credit for this information on eBay or craigslist or wherever your canoe is listed.

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.

Norm

 

[Nick Bailey]

Thanks so much!!