Canoe ID for a 17' White Canoe or SN search

[MarkBovie]

Any help will be great.

I have bought a used canoe to get started with. I would like to know a little more about it. I have spent endless hours searching the internet for ANY info on when it was made, what it was made for, or anything.

The Facts:

It's Fiberglass - The fiberglass weave can be seen from the inner hull. Under the gelcoat the fiberglass mat can be seen.
It's length - 17' long bow to stern (Not sure on the correct way to measure)
It's Marked - The main sticker under the yoke says, "White" in large letter and under it says "Old Town, Maine" on both sides.
Also Marked - In all capital letters on the bow and stern it says, "WHITECAP"
SN embossed - The serial number on the outside hull just under the gunwale says, "XTC62756A585" not sure if that the SN or something else.
It's color - Red gelcoat
Gunwales - made of vinyl or rubber or similar
Seats - Two seats, cane made of wood, flat, with spacers connecting to gunwale, bolts are phillips, square nuts concave to dig into wood
other - Two wood handles, one wooden thwart
Hull - Slight keel, V-shaped i guess,
Deck lids - Black Plastic


My Guess:

It's a White Company Canoe made under new ownership by Old Town canoes. The SN tell me it was made in 1985 in January, from what I've read.


any info to go on would be great. Thanks for the help.

-Mark



Pictures:

 

[MarkBovie]

 

[Benson Gray]

Old Town purchased White in 1984 so your guess is correct. The Whitecap model is shown in the attached page from the 1985 White catalog. More information about this and other White canoes can be found at http://store.wcha.org/The-Historic-...pany-Catalog-Collection-Version-2-CD-ROM.html in the Historic Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection. Old Town's customer service department may be able to locate a paper build record for you but the scanned records that we use end around 1975.

Benson

 

[MarkBovie]

WOW, That was quick!

Thanks for the info. I guess under the fiberglass in the floor is balsa wood. Neat! So if in 1985 Old Town owned the co they might have some other info. But you have confirmed what i was guessing at. the additional info on the load capacity is also good to know.

Thanks again,
Mark

 

[Greg Nolan]

I think that the printed load capacity on that catalog page has little relationship to the real world. I suppose you could put 1000 pounds in that canoe without sinking it, but I don't think you would want to paddle it -- certainly not in any conditions with significant waves, or that required maneuverability.

Consider that the canoe in the catalog picture is probably carrying some 300-350 pounds with its two passengers. First, what more would you be carrying that would weigh some 700 additional pounds? A load of bricks? Even a heavy load of camping gear would not likely go over 200 pounds. Two more people and a picnic would still not get you anywhere near 1000 pounds.

In fact, it is unusual for canoe catalogs to give a weight capacity, but for comparison, Morris canoes give a 900 pound capacity for its 20 foot canoe with a 36 1/2" beam -- a lesser load in a significantly larger canoe.

If you were to load 1000 pounds in your canoe, I would wonder how much freeboard you would have -- maybe 6 or 7 inches? The canoe in the catalog picture probably has 11" or 12" of freeboard, and certainly a canoe is safe with less freeboard than that. But there gets to be a point where lack of freeboard, lack of ability to rise up over waves, and lack of maneuverability because of weight all combine to create an unsafe condition -- and I would guess that 1000 pounds in your canoe would be pushing things in most conditions.

 

[MarkBovie]

We had three people and a dog when I tested it, around 550 to 600 lbs. I could only see adding maybe Another 100 lbs. We where on flat calm water. Waves would make it a different story. I will need to do more tests and see how it responds with gear. I will be using it to camp and fish. most of my gear is for hiking and is lite. My tackle and rods are minimal and fit in a small bag. I don't play on take three people regularly. The majority of the time it will be used solo or with one other person. Thanks for the comparison.

Mark