Got willed an Old Town wood/canvas canoe

[MNdude]

What a wonderful website - thank you for any info that can be provided.

I was just willed an Old Town wood/canvas canoe from an Uncle that recently passed away. He had restored other canoes and small boats in the past and I know he had a good eye for these things. I know very little about canoes, but I’ve had a hand in restoring some non-boat wood items in the past so I’m able to take on a project with a reasonable grasp on the difficulty involved. My untrained eye tells me the wood is in very good shape - it appears unrestored by the looks of the patina on the wood and hardware. No canvas currently on it, but it came with a roll of white canvas and several metal & wood trim pieces. Without question, I will be reaching out to a local canoe restorer for guidance on this project. I am fortunate in that I just moved to a very canoe-friendly area in northern Minnesota so I can eventually put it to good use. Enough talk from me, here are some pics and details about the canoe. I am looking for any background info on it that can be provided and I will probably ask some question soon about how to move it safely to its new home.
Old Town brand wood/canvas
Serial# 144762
Next to serial number is 17 which I suppose is length

 

[Todd F]

Dude, you certainly came to the right place, congrats. Benson will surely be along to provide the build sheet with great detail. Good luck on your restoration and use of her.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 144762 is a 17 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, HW model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, half ribs, a keel, and a mast seat. It was built between April and May, 1946. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on June 13th, 1946 to Cass Lake, Minnesota. The back side shows that it may have moved to Rosemount, Minnesota by April, 1986 when there was a previous request for a copy of this build record. Scans showing both sides this build record are attached below.

These scans and several hundred thousand more 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/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will donate, join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to rely here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the project,

Benson

 

[MNdude]

Wow, Benson, great info! Thanks for taking the time to respond - and quickly! The canoe was originally finished just a few months before my mother was born. I’ll likely not be able to work on it until next summer/next winter when my shop is complete. But that gives me time to research. Thanks again!

 

[MGC]

Hey Dude,
Looks like a good one.
There was a period around WW2 when Old Town was using steel tacks instead of brass. For the last 6 or so years I have been trying to pin down approximate dates for when these were used. It looks like there was still steel being used in 1946. With your canoe dating from May, I am guessing that the tacks are steel? It looks like it in the one image showing the stem and ribs. Could you confirm that? Other hardware that might also be steel are the diamond head bolts.
Thanks.
Mike

 

[MNdude]

Thanks! I won’t be seeing it again/picking it up for about a month. When I do pick it up, I’ll take a look at the hardware and get back to you.