Ebay canoe

JClearwater

Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
Check out this canoe for sale on Ebay. It looks interesting, I have no idea what it is. Only two days left until the auction ends, no bidders yet. Ebay item #7324853947. Regards Jim C.
 
Dan,
I agree with the Thompsonesque ogee deck. The thwart arrangement, unless altered at sometime, should scream out something, but nothing comes to mind. As for closed gunwales, I dunno.....I haven't looked at the Thompson CD lately. Could be a real early one......?
 
I am truly no expert but the deck looks exactly like the decks on my 1904 Old Town. The gunnell caps also look the same. The seller responded to a couple of questions I sent him. 15 ft. long, 3 ft. wide, canvas covered not fiberglass. It looks like it would make a great solo canoe. I can't buy it, my wife would have a fit, I already bought two canoes this month, but one of you guys should pick it up. Good luck.
 
JClearwater said:
the deck looks exactly like the decks on my 1904 Old Town

Does your canoe have a decal on the deck and is there any documentation to support the 1904 date?

Benson
 
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Benson,
Before the big computer meltdown I posted photos of my canoe before and after restoration. I brought it to the 2004 Assembly, you may recall it, blue and white, AA grade, closed gunnels that extend beyond the stem band. Serial #1473. I also posted, and lated mailed you a photo of the decal which did not survive the refinishing process. In 1991 just after I aquired the boat I received a letter from James Sucher, Akron, Ohio, who was a WCHA member at the time, he may still be. He said that in his copy of the 1968 Old Town catalog it states that canoe #1617 was shipped in 1903. Therefore my canoe with #1473 might be older than the 1904 date I had figured. I do not have access to a 1968 catalog to check out what he was reading, maybe you could check it out. I should start another thread and repost the photos. Regarding the Ebay canoe that started this thread - it did not sell. I suggested to the seller that he list it with the WCHA classified ads - so maybe whose of interest may get another shot at it.
 
Hi Jim,

I do recall your canoe from the Assembly and the eariler forum pictures but I'm sorry for not recognizing your name. A copy of your early decal image is attached below. My hope was that you might be referring to another early Old Town canoe with more documentation.

The 1968 catalog does note that the record for serial number 1617 has a 1903 build date. The more complete answer is that the early records are inconsistent so extrapolation of dates from serial numbers less than about 4000 can be very unreliable. The oldest four records are for serial numbers 1604 to 2097 as shown below. All of these shipped in 1906 so that doesn't form a good trend line. The Old Town chart of serial numbers by date at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html starts in 1905 because there is no older information available. Your canoe is clearly an early Old Town but it would be very difficult for anyone to accurately put a specific date on it.

Benson
 

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