Maybe an Old Town?

[Mark Kerr]

I started work on # 42886, 17ft but the strange thing is, this has no diamond head bolts. The seats and thwarts bolt heads are recessed and plugged. The canoe looks like an Old Town Otca, with sponsons, a floor, outer stems and set up for sailing. The inwales and outwales have a chamfered edge instead of rounded. All wood work is mahogany. Help with this is appreciated.

Mark Kerr

 

[Gil Cramer]

Diamond head bolts weren't used until the very early twenties. Before that, plugged, countersunk eared bolts were used. Most OT sponson canoes were HW models. It might be an OTCA. but I would guess HW, especially if it has hand holds

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 42886 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, 20 inch mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, outside stems, a floor rack, and sponsons. It was built between April and June, 1916. The original exterior paint color was dark red. It shipped on July 21st, 1916 to Big Bay, Michigan. A scan of this build record can be found 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/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will donate, join, or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or renew.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The diamond headed bolts didn't appear until around 1922 as Gil mentioned. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Mark Kerr]

Thanks for the info. I used to be a Forester for Conner Forest Industries back in the mid 70's and traveled many times
from Big Bay west to Skanee where Conners owned a lot of timberland. Big bay was rather remote then. I can't imagine what it was like back in 1916. The build sheet makes no mention of the sailing components found on this canoe. Was that something added at a later time?

 

[Benson Gray]

The build sheet makes no mention of the sailing components found on this canoe. Was that something added at a later time?

Yes, it was not unusual for a sailing equipment to be added after a canoe left the factory.

Benson