Build record for Old Town #232810?

[Jerry Fruetel]

Hi Benson,

It looks like the serial # is 232810. Is there a build record for it? It's 17', and appears to have original fiberglass skin and dark green gel coat. Thanks for any info you can find.

Jerry

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 232810 is a 17 foot long Otca model with a keel, a stem band along the full length of the keel, outside stems, two painter rings, and a fiberglass covering in place of canvas. It weighed 87 pounds and was built between April, 1980 and October, 1981. The original exterior color was green. It shipped on December 31st, 1981 to Minneapolis, Minnesota. A scan showing this build record can be found below.

This scan and several hundred thousand others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. 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 http://www.wcha.org/about-wcha to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/store/membership to donate or renew.

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

Benson

 

[Jerry Fruetel]

Thanks, Benson! Any idea which resin was used in fiberglassing it-- epoxy, polyester, or vinyl-ester?

 

[Benson Gray]

Any idea which resin was used in fiberglassing it-- epoxy, polyester, or vinyl-ester?

My guess would be polyester. You can always try the 'scratch and sniff' test. Epoxy smells slightly nutty while polyester smells really nasty. I don't believe that Old Town ever used vinyl-ester on a production basis in place of canvas. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Jerry Fruetel]

Thanks again. You're providing a great service to the wooden canoe community.