Canoe ID help
- Thread starter trouts2
- Start date
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
Possibly an Old Town? Look on the stems for a serial number -- and look at both ends, as one may be more legible than the other.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Looks like you are turning up some finds......
You should bookmark Dan's Dragonfly Canoe Works site:
http://dragonflycanoe.com/
The canoe identification material is very helpful for those of us that have not seen them all (yet).
http://dragonflycanoe.com/wood-canoe-identification-guide/features-decks/
You should bookmark Dan's Dragonfly Canoe Works site:
http://dragonflycanoe.com/
The canoe identification material is very helpful for those of us that have not seen them all (yet).
http://dragonflycanoe.com/wood-canoe-identification-guide/features-decks/
Got back to the canoe for more pictures. There are numbers stamped on the stem foot which look like 9375. If an Old Town then that puts the build around 1926-1929 according to a chart on WCHA. Anyone have the CD to see if this is a match. The length is 19' 9" and has a floor protector.
The Old Town canoe with serial number 9375 is 16 feet long and shipped in 1909 so that probably isn't this one. The only twenty foot long canoe in the 9375x series is number 93756 which shipped to Greenville, Maine in 1927 without a keel or a floor rack. Some of the tips at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may help you discover the correct numbers. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
Can you attach the photos of the numbers from each end? The Old Town with serial number 9875 is 17 feet long so that probably isn't the correct record. The Carletons with numbers 9375 and 9875 are 18 and 15 feet long respectively so they don't match either. The Old Towns with numbers 98754 and 98755 were both 20 feet long. The first one was CS grade with bilge keels and the second was AA grade with lots of mahogany and a floor rack. Are there any signs of extra keels or mahogany on this canoe? Additional pictures might really help in this case.
Benson
Benson
>>Can you attach the photos of the numbers from each end?
When I first went out there I only found numbers on one end.
I’ll post pictures of the numbers, seat attachment and thwarts.
I went out there yesterday with a flashlight and got a good look at the numbers and could not find a trace of a digit on either side of the 9875.
There were no bilge keels but the canoe has been classed over and they may have been removed.
>>and the second was AA grade with lots of mahogany and a floor rack.
Given the money and family the AA grade makes sense
I’ll go back out there today and go over it again.
My guess is that you have the Old Town canoe with serial number 98755. This is a 20 foot long, AA (or top) grade, guide's model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, a keel, and a floor rack. It was built between 1928 and August, 1929. The original exterior paint color was one coat of dark green. It was shipped on August 16th, 1929 to Upper Dam, Maine. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the thumbnail image attached below.
This scan and several hundred thousand others 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.
Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Thanks,
Benson
This scan and several hundred thousand others 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.
Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Thanks,
Benson
Attachments
Benson,
Glad you mentioned looking at the other stem which I did today…(another hike in so getting my exercise). The picture shows the missing trailing 5. I cleaned off parts of the deck and gunwale and they are mahogany.
The canoe is in a boathouse at Upper Dam and has been in the family for a few generations. The owners grandfarther purchased 5 Rangeley boats some time around early 30’s. The canoe was probably bought at that time. Thank you for the help.
I’m a current member of WCHA and went to the records page but did not see any links to specific records, only group charts. If the actual records are available I missed that.
Glad you mentioned looking at the other stem which I did today…(another hike in so getting my exercise). The picture shows the missing trailing 5. I cleaned off parts of the deck and gunwale and they are mahogany.
The canoe is in a boathouse at Upper Dam and has been in the family for a few generations. The owners grandfarther purchased 5 Rangeley boats some time around early 30’s. The canoe was probably bought at that time. Thank you for the help.
I’m a current member of WCHA and went to the records page but did not see any links to specific records, only group charts. If the actual records are available I missed that.
No, they aren't there so you didn't miss anything. You can purchase a set of these records from http://store.wcha.org/Old-Town-Build-Records-on-CD-ROM.html if you want to browse through them yourself.
It is interesting how some of these canoes never move from their original shipping destination. I picked up an Old Town last week that has been in the same family's barn since it left the factory in 1907. It traveled further in the last week than it had in the prior century. The other amazing part is that it does not appear to have any broken ribs, rottted tips, or other significant damage. The finish is a bit rough but the canvas may be original and it doesn't even leak!
Benson
