Got me!

Denis M. Kallery

Passed Away July 3, 2012
In Memoriam
I've had someone contact me whose relatives used to live in the U.P He has their canoe now and hopes to find out about it. He thought it was an Old Town . This is the S.N. he sent me IT8794 78. I replied that I didn't think it is an Old Town number and could he send me photos. We have looked at the Dragonfly site and on the dvd,s - no luck. If , however, someone recognizes this numbering system please let me know.
Thanks -Peace, Denis :confused:
 
additionally...

We thought "78" might actually be "18", but he says it's a 17 footer. It has 24" decks with coaming (from the way he describes them) and two seats with two thwarts. He has been led to believe it's from the 1930s and someone thought it was an Otca... so I am thinking it might be one of the boats that resembles an Otca... Wish we had a picture!
 
My guess is that they have the Old Town canoe with serial number 118794. This is an 18 foot long, AA grade, Otca model with Western red cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, a keel, outside stems, a floor rack, and a bang plate on the full length of the keel. It was built between August, 1936 and March, 1937. The original exterior paint color was white. It was shipped on April 15th, 1937 to Ishpeming, Michigan. A scan of 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 as you probably know well. 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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.

The Old Town numeral one can easily be confused with a "7", an "I", or a "T" in some cases. People often measure a canoe from tip to tip and don't account for the extra curve of the stems so this may explain the lost foot. It is also possible that they 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
 

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Thanks Benson,
Sure sounds like it may be the one. This particular canoe went to a camp [cottage] just South of Ishpeming.
Has Richard made contact with you about the catalogue?
Denis
 
Denis M. Kallery said:
Has Richard made contact with you about the catalogue?
Denis

I have not heard from Richard but my plan is to stop by the Historical Society sometime and see if they will let me scan the Veazie catalog. Thanks for finding it,

Benson
 
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