Need help I am a new member as of tonight and i have a old town canoe with serial # 143572 16 and need help finding out what year it was made and possible model Thanks much
Welcome to the WCHA. The Old Town canoe with serial number 143572 is a 16 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, HW (heavy water) model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, a keel, and a floor rack. It was built between December, 1945 and March, 1946. The original exterior paint color was yellow. It shipped on March 13th, 1946 to Chicago, Illinois. 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 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 renew.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Welcome to the WCHA! Many of these canoes don't stray too far from their original destination, so I have to ask: Are you located in the Chicago area? Our local Great Rivers Chapter has gatherings several times a year, and everyone's welcome to attend. You can find our president's contact info at the "Local Chapters" page: http://www.wcha.org/local-area-chapters/ We also post our activities to the "Chapter Happenings" area within this forum, so you can find out about stuff there.
You'll also find much great advice for repairs & restoration on this site, and info on other chapters' activities, as well. We'll hope to see you son!