Would be nice to see pictures of this canoe, if you are able to post them for all to see. You may email to
dkallery@up.net (my computer isn't working) or to Benson-- who is particularly knowledgeable regarding Old Towns-- at
benson@maine.rr.com. To post pictures yourself, just scroll to the box below this one and click on "manage attachments", which gives you a browse box to upload pictures from your computer.
I have found a build record which might be your canoe, but it would be great to confirm by looking at pictures. Several of the old canoe builders had serial numbers that are similar in format to Old Town serial numbers.
If your canoe is 16 feet long, the number at the beginning of your serial number would be "16" and not "18". Check both stems and see if this is the case. Old Town hull number 8111 is a 16 foot AA grade Charles River model, finished between December of 1907 and March of 1908. It has red Western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, half ribs, and a keel. It was painted dark green and shipped March 13(? hard to read) 1908... and I can't read the location on my scan.
The Charles River has high, sweeping ends... but it may have Old Town's "traditional" short deck rather than the 20 inch decks with coaming that the Otca had. As I understand it, an early Chestnut would have had heart-shaped decks... but would also have had high, sweeping ends as they looked a lot like a Morris.
So... pictures would be good... but knowing the deck-style would help a lot in diagnosis. Does your canoe have half-ribs and open gunwales? Does the trim appear to be mahogany (AA grade indicates mahogany trim).
I'd attach the scan for this canoe but my computer is belly-up and Denis' computer apparently can't convert the file to something this website likes... so someone else will have to post the scan, which is #1118. Someone else's scan may be easier to read and we'd know where this canoe was shipped.
We'd love to see pictures of this interesting old canoe!
Kathy