Help IDing Canoe w 3-Digit S/N

[VoxComfort]

My dad always said this canoe was an Old Town, but likely not with a 3-digit serial number. I have reached out to and got confirmation of that back from Old Town directly. So, now I'm turning to the experts here - hope you can help! My dad bought this canoe used in the late 1950s, he used it heavily back then, went into storage & suffered for it. Was completely restored/recanvased, etc. in the 1970s. It's been a great canoe on our mid-Missouri lake ever since. Not used for several years and now the paint is suffering, but structure and canvas all appear good.

The s/n is stamped on top of the stems on both ends, one is very hard to read, but they appear to match and look to show # 363. It could be "863" but in looking closely at both I'm pretty sure it's "363."

17', 36" beam, 11-12" deep at center.

Photos attached. Any help or insights appreciated.
- Bill

 

[Benson Gray]

My guess is that you have a canoe from the St. Louis Boat and Canoe Company. It appears to have their distinctive arrowhead deck as shown at https://www.wcha.org/catalogs/meramec/deck.jpg and below. The serial number font is also similar. The page at https://woodencanoemuseum.org/builder-history/st-louis-meramec-canoe-company has more details. The founder was Alfred Wickett who worked at Old Town from 1901 to 1914. There are no know records available for their serial numbers with three digits, but yours is probably from the 1930s. The link below has more information about a similar canoe. Nice find,

Benson

Very Old Town

I'm beginning to think I might have one of the oldest Old Town canoes out there, and I'm hoping the experts here can help confirm or deny that belief. The serial number is stamped the same at both ends - "793 17". My father contacted Old Town about this canoe when he purchased it from a friend...

forums.wcha.org

 

[VoxComfort]

Thank you SO much! Clearly has the “arrowhead” deck. Would love to hear more from Walter Hauck if he’s still active.

 

[Walter Hauck]

Hi everyone…….It’s great to hear about another St. Louis Boat and Canoe. The canoe with the #363 was built in 1933.
If you look at the first number, it has the dots where the “3” starts and stops. Those would not be on an “8”.
I see the Innsbrook sticker on the canoe and was wondering how close you are to St. Louis? My studio is downtown just south of the Stan Musial Bridge. Stop in sometime and I’ll show you a bunch of Arrowhead canoes. It looks like a great canoe~~~~~ Just needs a little TLC. Wally

 

[VoxComfort]

Wally, thanks so much for the confirmation and more-precise aging of the canoe! I now live out of state but am back in the area quite often. I'd welcome the opportunity to visit you downtown. I'll reach out ahead of my next visit. - Bill