Old Town? 10946 16
- Thread starter whafner
- Start date
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
The Old Town canoe with serial number 10946 is shown as 16 feet long, AA(top) grade, CC model with western red cedar planking, spruce gunwales, Mahogany decks, seats, and thwarts, spruce finish rails, and fitted with a keel and a floor rack. The canoe was built in 1909, being finished on April 29, 1909. The original exterior paint color was green. It was shipped to Salem, Ohio on May 3, 19o9, with a spruce paddle. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the thumbnail image attached 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 join or 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 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. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Greg
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 join or 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 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. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Greg
I've been thinking this is a close match to my canoe, but not perfect. I know it has been restored (poorly) in the past and that may have altered the materials some. I've attached some pictures of any distinguishing characteristics. The decks aren't original, but I'm guessing the shape matches the originals. I don't think the gunwales are spruce. If it is an Old Town, would there have been more of a curve to the decks? Could it be a different manufacturer? Thanks for any help.
The build record indicates that you have a Charles River model which usually had slightly more curve to the decks as shown in the 1909 catalog page below. The second picture shows the original deck shape of another Old Town canoe from this period. The tips are prone to rot so they often get cut down during repairs. The rest of the canoe seems to match so this is probably an Old Town.
Benson
Benson
Attachments
Will,
I was at Tom Seavey's shop in Henniker, N.H., today. He has been working on a 1916 OT Charles River. I've attached a picture of the deck. Tom said he could build the replacement decks for you, or he could send you a foam-board cutout of the exact shape. That might save you some time and trouble. Tom's address is 91 Ruffled Road, Henniker NH 03242.
Norm
I was at Tom Seavey's shop in Henniker, N.H., today. He has been working on a 1916 OT Charles River. I've attached a picture of the deck. Tom said he could build the replacement decks for you, or he could send you a foam-board cutout of the exact shape. That might save you some time and trouble. Tom's address is 91 Ruffled Road, Henniker NH 03242.
Norm
Attachments
Norm,
Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm on my own for this one. The canoe was restored one other time and it was modified enough that original decks won't fit. The gunwale was cut 3-4 ribs in from either end. I'll have to make a deck with an arrowhead type design make it fit. Also, the stem was cut short during the first restoration so if I used an original deck, it would have too much curvature. I bent new stems, but I did it based on the current shape of the canoe, not on what it would have looked like originally. If I had asked for the build record before tearing it apart I could have kept it more consistent with the catalog picture Benson sent. Next time.
Will
Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm on my own for this one. The canoe was restored one other time and it was modified enough that original decks won't fit. The gunwale was cut 3-4 ribs in from either end. I'll have to make a deck with an arrowhead type design make it fit. Also, the stem was cut short during the first restoration so if I used an original deck, it would have too much curvature. I bent new stems, but I did it based on the current shape of the canoe, not on what it would have looked like originally. If I had asked for the build record before tearing it apart I could have kept it more consistent with the catalog picture Benson sent. Next time.
Will
