Need some assistance... Old Town?

rbartow

New Member
Needs some assistance with identifying a wood and canvas canoe. The canoe has been in storage in our boathouse since at least 1945 when the previous owners vacated the property) They built the boathouse in 1895. The canoe is of wood and canvas construction. The deck style and diamond bolts on the seats tell me this might be an Old Town. The length is between 15 and 16 feet (sorry no tape measure handy when I wrote this). There are no discernable serial numbers on the stems. When comparing the canoe to my OTCA, there are some major differences in construction. The ribs are noticeably tapered at each end. The planking is much wider, and there are cleats on the floor between each rib. There is also only one thwart. I have attached a number of photos to illustrate what I've observed. I would appreciate any insights on what this canoe might be.

Thanks,

Rick Bartow
Raquette Lake, NY
 

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Benson,

Unfortunately there are no discernable serial numbers (noted in my original post). It looks as though someone may have sanded the stems in the past (to re-varnish) as there are traces of the edges of a serial number, but nothing I can make out. I have not tried the "chalk" method yet, but will try today. Based on the photos and the notes in my post, do you have any idea what the model might be?

Thanks,

Rick Bartow
Raquette Lake, NY
 
Sorry about that, I had skipped over your comment about "no discernable serial numbers on the stems." It looks like an Old Town with half ribs and open gunwales from the late 1920s or 1930s. The single thwart and lightweight construction implies that it might be a 15 foot long fifty pound model. You can probably figure out the model from the dimensions at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/dimens-1.gif and http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/dimens-2.gif with some luck. We may be able to find the build record if you can piece together enough digits of the serial number from each end. More eyes may help if you can post some pictures of the stems.

Benson
 
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Has that thwart been moved? It looks like there is a hole in the unbroken inwale just a bit forward of the thwart's current location, at the approximate center of the canoe, which might have been for attaching a thwart. If that is the original thwart, and if it were originally in the center of the canoe and then moved aft several inches, it would be distorting (enlarging) the beam measurement of the canoe. Or perhaps the thwart was shortened if and when moved?
 
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