Canoe ID help

[Randy Hess]

Can you help me ID this Canoe? I think it's an Old Town, Charles River maybe? Wood and Canvas. I'm not sure

Thanks in advance

 

[dhansen]

Hi Randy. I am surprised others have not commented yet. There are many here that know more about the Old Town models but yours looks to be a 15' light weight or "50 pounder" model. You'd need to find one of the smaller versions to get down to the 50 pound weight as the 15' version was a little closer to 60 pounds. (They came in 11', 13' and 15' lengths). One of the visual clues is the shape of the decks. The LW models had a simple radius as yours has when most all of the other models had a more complex shaped profile. The best way to get a positive ID is to look for the canoe's serial number which should be stamped on the top face of the stem on the inside of the canoe. (Both ends). It will likely be a 6 digit number with a space and a 2 digit number noting the length of the canoe. In this case it should be 15. Sometimes the numbers are erased by over zealous sanding during a refinish. If you find the numbers post them back here and we can find details of the canoe's construction.

 

[Gil Cramer]

Right off, I can't tell who the maker of this canoe is. 15' Old Town canoes only had one thwart. This one has two. OT, after 1923 or so, had diamond head bolts. This does nor appear to have them-but then again, my eyes aren't as good as they once were. The deck cutout isn't quite like an OT. My best guess is a Penn Yan or a Mullins based solely on the deck shape. I have been wrong many times before, but on a rare occasion, have been correct.

 

[Dan Miller]

This canoe was built by Mullins of Salem, Ohio.

 

[MGC]

More related discussion:
Mullins Yale Blue? | WCHA Forums

 

[dhansen]

Thanks guys. A good case of engaging one's mouth before engaging the brain. Two seats, check. No diamond head bolts, check. Deck shape, oh, there is a slight opposite radius at the inner gunnel, check. All dead giveaways. Edit: Bang plates are different too.