Is this a Carleton?

[Howie]

Can someone verify my suspicions that this is a Carleton? It has the heart shaped decks and a single arc shaped carry thwart by the front deck. It is missing the brass Carleton plaque, but the front deck does have 4 holes in a rectangular pattern to suggest they once held the plaque.

It's serial # is very difficult to read but I believe it is '16566 15'. It is indeed 15 feet long as the serial # suggests. Can someone date it?

I note also that the screw holes are bored so that the screw heads are below the inwale surface. Many of the screw holes are capped with wood plugs. I believe I've read that when Carleton was bought out by Old Town the screws were changed to the diamond head types at some point. Maybe this can help date it too.

It's a petite thing - it measures only 31" at the center measured from the inner sides of the outwales. That seems to me to be quite narrow! Seems to me this might mean that it'll be a bit tippy. Can someone confirm/deny this?

Oh... does anyone have a spare Carleton plaque they want to part with?

 

[Benson Gray]

The Carleton canoe with serial number 16566 is a 15 foot long, regular (or middle) grade, Carleton model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch thwarts, birch seats, and a keel. It was built between January and February, 1922. The original exterior paint color was bright red with a two inch white stripe. This may have been similar to the one shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design34.gif which was known as the Old Town design number 34. It was shipped on February 23rd, 1922 to Rochester, New York. 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 as you probably know well. 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 join or 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 don't match the canoe. The pictures and characteristics that you described all look and sound like a Carleton. It appears that Old Town and Carleton didn't start using diamond headed bolts until after the middle of 1922 so this also fits. Their 1921 catalog listed their 15 foot canoes as being 34 inches wide so this is slightly narrower than usual. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Howie]

I stripped & cleaned the area around the serial #s - it does indeed read '16566 15'. So it dates from 1922 & shipped to Rochester NY. Mystery solved. It's always nice to know a bit of a canoe's history. Thanks very much Benson! By the way, the fella I bought it from found it in an antique shop on Keuka Lake somewhere a few years back.

I've just stripped & bleached the seats & thwarts. All the wood is very solid & looks great. Now, if only I could find a Carleton name plate!

 

[MGC]

I've just stripped & bleached the seats & thwarts. !

Come on Howie...get to work on that OT...

 

[Howie]

Not yet Mike - I want to get the new inwales installed on the 13 foot OT while the weather is decent. Then the canoes will be packed away for the winter while I make & refinish seats & caining & stuff for the 3 of 'em. Then I have to build & try out new new removable seat backs designs I've been working on.