OCTA build sheet

[D.Mac]

I recently purchased an Old Town OCTA 17 foot canoe, and would would like to see what information the build sheet can reveal. The serial # is 117531. I believe this is a 1936 build. According to the P.O. his father had this canoe restored in the early '80's. Looks like it has had very little use since, but there are several things that were apparently done during the resto that I have questions about, and I will try and get some photos and post them on the forum.
Doug.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 117531 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with red Western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, outside stems, and a floor rack. It was built between March and April, 1936. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on May 4th, 1936 to North Hollywood, California. A scan of 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/ot_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 your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[D.Mac]

Hello, Benson,
Thanks for your help with the forum, and thanks for the build sheet info. No real surprises on the build, but, I had wondered if the canoe was originally shipped out west or hauled out at some later date. I bought the canoe down in Santa Rosa ,California- which is about 55 miles north of San Francisco. The railroad north reached the area in the 1870's, and it was called the "Gateway to the Redwoods", and trainloads of tourists flocked from the San Francisco region and points south, for day trips and longer vacations. Besides the Redwoods, the Russian River there, was and still is a popular fishing and canoeing location, with camping, canoe rentals etc- Kind of a western version of the Adirondacks? In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic and they could just drive on up, and skip the ferry.
Doug.

 

[Benson Gray]

I was interested to see that this was the first of three similar sequentially numbered canoes that all went to the same location as shown below.

Benson

 

[D.Mac]

That is interesting, all on the same order, same specs. A quick search shows several James Gautiers in the L.A. area in 1936, the address listed is currently commercial.
Doug.