Just joined as I was just given a wood and canvas canoe that has a serial number 24522 17. It appears to be an old town but I would like to know more and see if there is a certificate...planning to restore...in reasonable condition but has 4 or 5 cracked ribs. Any assistance or advice appreciated.
newly acquired canoe
- Thread starter jayotte
- Start date
Welcome to the WCHA. The Old Town canoe with serial number 24522 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, HW (Heavy Water) model with red western cedar planking, closed mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, mahogany finish rails, a keel, a floor rack, long bang plates on the keel, a painter ring, a brass flag pole socket, a mahogany / cane seat back, two birds eye maple paddles with the name Edtons burned on them, and two 12x12 inch cushions. It was built between December, 1912 and June, 1913. The original exterior paint was dark red with Edtons in three inch gold letters on the right bow and left stern. It shipped on June 17th, 1913 to Schenectady, 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. 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 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 renew.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions and post some pictures if the name still shows. Good luck with the restoration,
Benson
This scan and several hundred thousand others 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/ot_records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will 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 renew.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions and post some pictures if the name still shows. Good luck with the restoration,
Benson
Attachments
Benson, Thank you for the warm welcome and for the information. It was very useful. The canoe has been in my father in-laws garage for 40 years in Scotia, NY (right next to Schenectady). It does not have a name plate or any other identifying info but it sure is full of mahogany and fits your description very well. The seats are not original but the floor rack is fully in tact and the other parts look good. I can see the red color, which was covered by green and then by light blue. Would like to do a nice restoration so any other tips or suggestions on how to get started down the right road would be appreciated--when you can.
Best regards.
Joe
Best regards.
Joe
The book titled "The Wood and Canvas Canoe" by Jerry Stelmok and Rollin Thurlow as described at http://store.wcha.org/The-Wood-and-Canvas-Canoe.html is a great place to start although it is out of print so you will need to find or borrow a used one. You may also want to contact a local chapter listed at http://store.wcha.org/The-Wood-and-Canvas-Canoe.html to see how they might be able to help. There is a wealth of information contained in this forum so the search tools may also help you find answers to your questions since most restoration issues have come up at least once before. It might also be interesting to see if you can do a bit of paint archeology and scrape or sand off enough of the light blue and green paint to see the orignal lettering on the red paint. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
This book: http://store.wcha.org/Building-the-Maine-Guide-Canoe.html and this one: http://store.wcha.org/The-Wood-and-Canvas-Canoe.html have an incredible amount of information about building & restoring W/C canoes. The second one is out of print, but may be found at your library, on-line booksellers, or Craig's List or eBay.
You may also find others in your area, depending on where you live, who share this passion, and may be able to help with all sorts of things. Check out the Local Chapters: http://www.wcha.org/local-area-chapters/
And don't hesitate to post questions here... the level of expertise here is amazing! Oh, and we like pictures... Projects, in progress, and finished all look good to us!
Sounds like quite a nice canoe. We'll look forward to seeing how it goes!
You may also find others in your area, depending on where you live, who share this passion, and may be able to help with all sorts of things. Check out the Local Chapters: http://www.wcha.org/local-area-chapters/
And don't hesitate to post questions here... the level of expertise here is amazing! Oh, and we like pictures... Projects, in progress, and finished all look good to us!
Sounds like quite a nice canoe. We'll look forward to seeing how it goes!
