If you can post a picture of the entire canoe, someone may recognize it. Many of the boat builders used a four-digit system. There won't be an actual build record connecting to these numbers, but the serial number format and images of the canoe may provide clues as to who made it and the possible time-frame. Things such as whether or not there are closed gunwales can place the canoe into the time-frame when it might have been built. It also helps to know where you found the canoe (city/state/province/whatever) because most canoes stick close to their original home.
Kathy