New to this-- Old Town Laker 16?

[BillKistner]

Hello everyone, its been about 25 years since I was in a canoe and now that I have a 2 and a 4 year old, I am looking for a way to get them out. Tandem kayak may get one at a time, but would love to get them both out. So, I'm looking to a canoe. The sued market has all kinds of stuff out there, but I'm currently looking at an Old Town Laker 16. The problem I'm having is that google reveals next to nothing about these canoes. I can at least glean the year from the serial number but am at a loss as to where to go from there and everything I did find about Old Town serial numbers sent me here. The serial number is XTC20803M78H. Any help would be appreciated. It looks like a lot of effort has gone in to this site and the efforts to help people like me. Thank you!

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome, the Old Town canoe with hull identification number XTD20803M78H and serial number 220803 is a 16 foot long fiberglass Laker model that weighed 74 pounds. It was built in March, 1978. The original exterior gelcoat color was desert white. It shipped on March 28th, 1978 to New Hartford, Connecticut. A scan showing this build record can be found below.

This scan and several hundred thousand more were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. 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 join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. The page from the 1978 catalog that describes this model is also attached below. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[MGC]

I've previously posted about the 20 White I used when our boys were that age. We did several week long trips with them seated side by side in it along with our gear.
I am not familiar with the particular OT, but if you are still in the market, you might want to take a look at one of the OT Trippers. These are a very forgiving hull that has great load bearing capability. They do oil can a bit but it's a feature, not a problem. A 16 foot canoe with two youths and two adults is (in my opinion) a squeeze. I would want at least 18 feet to feel safe and maneuverable.

 

[Todd F]

Bill, you came to the right place, not just for specs on canoes etc but likely centuries of use and sharing with the next generation. I wish you well on finding a canoe that works for you and your gang, you can always upscale but I would head the words of some of these folks, valuable insight. What many will ask is where are you paddling, day trips, open water, carrying loads? Either way get after it, your kids will thanks you.

 

[Worth Gretter]

Bill, I assume that a 1978 fiberglass canoe is not very expensive. I have a couple that are newer and they are worth maybe $500 or $600 each even though in great shape.
So my advice is just buy it! Get your kids out for some fun! When they get bigger, or you want to take overnight trips, you can worry about upgrading to a bigger boat then.
Right now, you need a boat with a flat bottom for stability. The catalog pix look like this boat has that. Your next boat, or the one after, can be less stable but faster.

 

[John Sand]

Welcome aboard!
My Dad started putting me in a canoe when I was about four. That started me on a lifetime of boats. I highly recommend it.