# 25768 18

[Tobias Siemsen]

I am from Germany and recently found an old 18 feet WC canoe with closed gunwales in a shed closed to Hamburg.
Stripping the interior I found this number on both stems 25768 18.
The decks look to me like the ogee decks OT once used.
Maybe someone has an idea,
many thanks,
Tobias

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 25768 is a 16 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Livery model (although it may have started as a Charles River Model) with red Western cedar planking, closed spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, spruce finish rails, and a keel. It was built between February and June, 1913. The original exterior paint color was moss green. It shipped on June 20th, 1913 to Hamburg, Germany via Boston Mass. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image 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/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. What is the maximum width of your canoe in inches? The Livery model was 36 inches wide while the Charles River model was 32.5 inches according to the 1913 catalog. This is a nice find and good luck with the restoration. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson

 

[Tobias Siemsen]

Hello Benson,
thanks a lot for this fast information, I really do appriciate this. The canoe is 36 inches wide. So you encouraged me to ask for another number which seems to be be so similar
to the other and so hard to read, but it could be 25758. She is defenately 18 feet long has ogee decks, closed gunwales and was also a find in Hamburg.
Regards, Tobias

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town with serial number 25758 is an 18 foot long, GS (Guide's Special or low) grade, IF (Indian Fishing) or Guide's model canoe with red western cedar planking, closed spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, and ash seats, spruce finish rails, and a keel. It was built between February and March, 1913. The original exterior paint color was slate. It shipped on April 11th, 1913 to Hamburg, Germany. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

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.

Benson

 

[Tobias Siemsen]

thanks again Benson, there is still some of the original color left, this canoe needs really a lot of restoration work!
I did not know OT did ship that early boats to Europe.
Best regards,
Tobias

 

[Benson Gray]

Shipping boats to Europe and other distant locations was a key to Old Town's success. The build record shown below indicates that one of their canoes went to Egypt in 1906 and the catalog page below shows that they had five foreign dealers in 1908 including one in Hamburg. More information like this is available at http://store.wcha.org/The-Complete-Old-Town-Canoe-Company-Catalog-Collection-CD-ROM.html on the catalog collection. It is unusual for any canoe this old to survive, especially ones that were shipped so far away. You have done well to save these,

Benson