Carleton Canoe #16748 16

[Tamarack]

Greetings Wooden Canoe People

After sadly parting with the family summer cottage, the family canoe has come into my possession. It is about 100 years old and has been in the family since the mid-1930s. The brass plate is long gone, my Dad's recollection is that it was built in Old Town, Maine, but not by Old Town Canoe Company. As was typical of the time, my Dad stripped off the canvas and fiberglassed it about 1960.

Thanks to the excellent information provided by WCHA and Dragonfly Canoe Works, I think this is a Carleton canoe, based on the the heart- shaped decks and outline of the former brass plate.

Serial number 16748 16. Can anyone confirm this is indeed a Carleton, and/or any more information how old it is?

Many thanks.

 

[Benson Gray]

Your pictures look like a Carleton. The Old Town and Kennebec canoes with this serial number are 17 feet long. The Carleton canoe with serial number 16748 is a 16 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Carleton model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch thwarts, birch seats, a keel, and outside stems. It was built between March and June, 1922. The original exterior paint color was black with a half inch white stripe and Greek ends. This design would have looked similar to the one at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design32.gif with different colors. It was shipped on July 5th, 1922 to Walloon Lake, Michigan. A scan showing this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image 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.

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

Benson

 

[Tamarack]

Thank you Benson!

This is exactly the right canoe. My family owned a cottage on Walloon Lake from 1910 through 2011. Except for some side trips, this canoe has spent its entire life on Walloon Lake.

My father and uncle acquired the canoe from an older gentleman when they were about 12 and 8. They offered him $5 for it. After grilling them regarding their finances and good intentions, the gentleman gave it to them.