Build and History search SN 136491 16

[John Cochran]

Hello -

My father had our old towne since he was a kid and passed it onto me after he died in 2003. It's in great condition but I was thinking of trying to restore it. As I started stripping off some of the pain on the inside, I came across a serial number and I'd love to find out more about it. The number is 136491 16

Any help you can provide with finding the build info on it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
John

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome, the Old Town canoe with serial number 136491 is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, HW (Heavy Water) model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash, seats, a keel, a mast seat, and a mast step. It was built between November, 1942 and June, 1943. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on July 1st, 1943 to Averill, Vermont. It sold for a slight discount as a factory second because three ribs had been replaced from a accident at the factory. 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 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. Canoes with a family history are always extra special. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson

 

[John Cochran]

Thank you for such a quick reply on this Benson!