Build Record Request S.N. 15355

[LuvBemidji]

We just acquired an Old Town canoe from the family of the original owners. It has spent its' whole life on an island in the middle of Big Turtle Lake in Bemidji, Minnesota. I believe that the few cabins on the island were all built after the turn of the century and each cabin purchased an Old Town Canoe to use. That would have been about 1910. We would love the build information for this canoe since the outside canvas has been modified and painted but the inside is still that beautiful Old Town wood interior. The serial number is 15355.
Thanks! Lori

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town with number 15355 is a 16 foot long canoe with closed gunwales and no half ribs that shipped to New York City in 1911. The Carleton with this number is a 17 foot long canoe with open gunwales, sponsons, and no half ribs that shipped to New York City in 1921. The Kennebec with this number is a 30 foot long War canoe model that shipped to Center Lovell, Maine in 1922.

The existing records don't seem to offer a good match for the canoe in your picture so it will take more than a serial number alone to identify it. Can you provide some pictures of the serial numbers from both ends with the surrounding area (to see if there any hidden digits), the decks, more interior details, the profile of the stem, and confirm the overall extreme length in a straight line? Thanks,

Benson

 

[LuvBemidji]

The Old Town with number 15355 is a 16 foot long canoe with closed gunwales and no half ribs that shipped to New York City in 1911. The Carleton with this number is a 17 foot long canoe with open gunwales, sponsons, and no half ribs that shipped to New York City in 1921. The Kennebec with this number is a 30 foot long War canoe model that shipped to Center Lovell, Maine in 1922.

The existing records don't seem to offer a good match for the canoe in your picture so it will take more than a serial number alone to identify it. Can you provide some pictures of the serial numbers from both ends with the surrounding area (to see if there any hidden digits), the decks, more interior details, the profile of the stem, and confirm the overall extreme length in a straight line? Thanks,

Benson

Thank you for the quick reply. The canoe is 16 feet long in a straight line. I photographed the serial number on both ends, but it is difficult to read on one end because of the varnish, but the first 3 digits appear to be 155 instead of 153 which is clearly the first 3 digits on the other end.





Thanks for all your help. It is greatly appreciated! Lori

 

[LuvBemidji]

This is the end of the canoe where you can only see the first 3 numbers and it appears to be different from the other end.

 

[Benson Gray]

My guess is that you may have the Old Town canoe with serial number 15365. This is a 16 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Charles River model with red Western cedar planking, half ribs, and a keel. It was built between November, 1910 and March, 1911. The original exterior paint color was dark red. It shipped on March 23rd, 1911 to St. Paul, Minnesota. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the attached thumbnail image below.

These scans 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. Some of the date stamps on this build record are very light and didn't scan well. It would be good to get some varnish remover on the serial numbers to confirm each digit and the two digit length near the end of the stem. The ribs were typically not tapered on this model. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[LuvBemidji]

Thanks Benson! This sounds like a match. The owners lived in Minneapolis/St. Paul, so the ship location sounds right. The 2 digit length on the stem is 16. The year corresponds to what we were thinking.

Thank you,
Lori