New member boat serial number

[Dave Wermuth]

yES

Quite true about the use of 'glass. And most of the troubles we see in 'glassed w/c canoes is from inexperienced one time 'glassers' (like me), or 'glassed jobs that are 20 years old or so. And Quite often you will see Grand Lakers built with 'glass. BUT---I think that the traditional methods are tried and true and if I were to want to work with 'glass I would consider building a stripper as they are the tried and true designs for that.
'
You might want to look at the Old Town Catalogue for weights of their 'glass vs canvas canoes to get an idea of weight savings but I doubt you'll save any weight and I still think it'll end up heavier.

If you really want to save weight, reconsider using DACRON instead.
If you are comfortable with 'glassing because of your experience with it then I can understand your inclination that way. In my experience, canvassing is way easier that 'glassing.

A man near me 'glassed his Old Town and found that the 'glass split right down the keel in a short time. Don't know what weight cloth he used tho. And as I understand it, 'glass needs to be in balance between compression and tension.

The thing is- it's yours and you get to decide. With your experience with 'glass I believe that you'll end up with a nice job that will last for years. I would be curious tho as to whether you save any weight.

I suspect that you will decide to use 'glass so let me close with this: I painted, varnished, and railed a 1920 OT a couple years ago. It had been prior 'glassed by someone at some unknown time in the past. It was a fine job and the canoe was in good shape with the exception of the outwales which I replaced with spruce to save weight. the canoe was 16' and I doubt it weighed over 55# when it was done.

Good luck with what you decide and let us know how it turns out.

 

[ppine]

tradition

Michael,

I have really hit a nerve right out of the chute with this glass versus canvas question. Thanks for your well-thought out reply.

I just found Marc Adams north of Reno, a regular with WCHA. He has offered to assist with restoration. Pulling the old canvas will probably make the decision about which way to go.

 

[ppine]

OT number mystery

Hi Scott--

Attached is the FG model that goes with the build record for 180108... unless your canoe looks like this, you should check the number again...

Kathryn,

The serial number on the OT stern is different than the one on the bow. The new and probably correct number is 160,108 18. An 8 was transposed with a 6. Thanks for your great help.

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town with serial number 160108 is an 18 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Guide model with a keel. It was built between May and June, 1953. The original color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It shipped on July 15th, 1953 to Fenton, Michigan.

A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the thumbnail images attached below. This scan and several hundred thousand more 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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to renew.

My oldest sister lives in South Lake Tahoe if you want to talk with another person in the area who has a wooden Old Town canoe. Her name is Penny and http://www.quiltingtahoe.net/ has her contact information.

Dacron covering is likely to be the best way to save weight as others have mentioned previously. Page 6 of the 1967 Old Town catalog listed the same 15 foot long canoe with three different coverings on the outside. The model names and weights were: the Lightweight with canvas at 58 pounds, the Trapper with fiberglass at 55 pounds, and the Featherweight with Dacron at 46 pounds.

The clear fiberglass exterior can look nice when new but it soon turns white as it gets scratched. Old Town also uses flat headed tacks and carefully selects matching planking for their clear fiberglass canoes. Round headed tacks were probably used on your canoe which may create more bubbles if fiberglassed and the planking might not match as well.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description don't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[ppine]

OT right number

The Old Town with serial number 160108 is an 18 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Guide model with a keel. It was built between May and June, 1953. The original color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It shipped on July 15th, 1953 to Fenton, Michigan.

A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the thumbnail images attached below. This scans 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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to renew.

My older sister lives in South Lake Tahoe if you want to talk with another person in the area who has a wooden Old Town canoe. Her name is Penny and http://www.quiltingtahoe.net/ has her contact information.

Dacron covering is likely to be the best option if your objective is to save weight as others have mentioned previously. The 1967 Old Town catalog listed the same 15 foot long canoe covered on the outside with light weight canvas, fiberglass, and dacron. The model names and weights respectively were: the Lightweight with canvas at 58 pounds, the Trapper with fiberglass at 55 pounds, and the Featherweight with dacron at 46 pounds.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description don't match your friend's canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

Benson,

Thanks for the rapid response on the build record. It is a relief to finally have the pedigree.

cheers,
Scott Imus

 

[Fitz]

No need for a barn or to beat

a dead horse, but you can canvas a canoe between a couple of trees or vehicles in a couple of hours. Another nice thing about canvas is it is readily renewable / removable.

I haven't had any problems with canoe fillers leaded or unleaded.

I have one canoe that is fiberglassed on the outside and that canoe is by far the heaviest canoe I own and nearly the shortest!!

Good luck, let us know how you make out.

 

[ppine]

Michael,

Thanks for the contact info with Mark Adams. I met with Mark this week and toured his storage units stuffed with W/c classics. He knows his stuff and got me straightened out. I appreciate your words.

 

[ppine]

thank you very much for our assistance.