Information for 2 OLD TOWN canoes

[JHP]

Hi,

I was looking for some information: I recently inherited two Old Town canvas (?) wooden canoes: I believe the serial numbers on the stems read "46 152" and "4877 18". I also have two wooden Old Town folding seats--I expect one was for each canoe, but I'm not sure. The canoes have been in storage at my aunt's house for as long as I can remember--they are old (at least 40 years old) but probably older than that--they may have belonged to my grandfather before my aunt owned them. One has a sticker from 1978--I think my uncle must have attached an electric motor to one at one time. Overall, each looks to be in good condition although the canvas is chipping in some places.

Thank you!

John

 

[Benson Gray]

The canoe with serial number 46 152 does not appear to be an Old Town. It looks like a White from 1946 but there are no known White serial number records available to confirm this.

The Old Town build record for number 4877 shows a 16 foot long canoe so this isn't a good match for your canoe. The one with number 48770 is the right length and model but it had a floor rack which isn't shown in your pictures. My guess is that you may have number 48779 so check the numbers in the other end to see if the last digit is more clear there. This is an 18 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Otca model with red Western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch thwarts, birch seats, and a keel. It was built between March and June, 1917. The original exterior paint color was bright red with a one inch black stripe and ends to match a sketch that was provided. This may have looked similar to the one shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design37.gif with a wider stripe. It shipped on June 20th, 1917 to Winthrop, Maine.

Scans of these build records can be found by following the links behind the thumbnail images 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/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 join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The seats are probably from the 1940s or 1950s based on the decal. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Thanks,

Benson

 

[JHP]

Thank you very much for the reply--this is all new to me so I really appreciate the history lesson (I had never known there were other canoe manufacturers in Maine!) I will check the other stem of the Old Town 4877 to see if there is another number that is more clear. I am also going to check out your Classified Ads and likely put them up for sale as I unfortunately have no place to store them.

Thank you again,

John

 

[Benson Gray]

You are most welcome. The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57 may help you sell them. Good luck,

Benson