Old Town Bellingham
Curious about Wooden Canoes
I'd very much appreciate info on my Old Town 18-foot Guide Canoe, serial number 140826.
Many thanks,
Scott
Many thanks,
Scott
Old Town 140826 18 Build Record Search
- Thread starter Old Town Bellingham
- Start date
The Old Town canoe with serial number 140826 is an 18 foot long, GS (Guide's Special or low) grade, Guide's model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash trim, and a keel. It was built between September and December, 1944. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It shipped on May 24, 1945 to Roscommon, Michigan. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the attached thumbnail image below.
This scan was created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. Additional information about 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 join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description don't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
This scan was created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. Additional information about 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 join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.
It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description don't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
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Old Town Bellingham
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Many thanks, Benson. Looks like Camp Westminster was the original owner of my canoe - Camp Westminster is a summer church camp located on Higgins Lake in the upper lower penninsula of Michigan associated with Westminster Presbyterian Church of Detroit. I was a camper at Camp Westminster from 1975 to 1981 and then served on staff from 1981 to 1986. I learned to canoe in one of their Old Town Guide canoes and spent many camp "out trips" canoeing the Au Sable, Boardman, Pere Marquette and other various Michigan rivers, making some of the best friends of my life. During my last summer there - before my senior year of college and subsequent military service - Camp Westminster decided to sell all their Old Town canoes (they'd long before "replaced" them with more "bumper canoe"-friendly Grumman aluminum models) and I bought the pick of the litter for $50. Benign neglect over the years has, unfortunately, taken its toll so I'm starting in a couple weeks working with Eric Harman of Harman Canoes in Arlington, WA - one of WCHA's recommended restorers - to bring her back to life. I really appreciate having the build record to help guide the restoration - it will be a wonderful roadmap forward.
As for some of the particulars you note above - the GS grade, etc. - where can I get more information on what the different grades were and how they differ, etc. I'd like to understand how the Open Spruce gunwales differ from the other options, etc. Also, is there info available on matching the original colors, etc?
Again, thanks for the assistance. I look forward to becoming a WCHA member and helping to support providing this research service to others.
Best,
Scott
As for some of the particulars you note above - the GS grade, etc. - where can I get more information on what the different grades were and how they differ, etc. I'd like to understand how the Open Spruce gunwales differ from the other options, etc. Also, is there info available on matching the original colors, etc?
Again, thanks for the assistance. I look forward to becoming a WCHA member and helping to support providing this research service to others.
Best,
Scott
Old Town Bellingham said:
The catalog pages below and at http://www.wcha.org/guide_cpi/ describe the Old Town AA, CS, and GS grades. The page at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/specific.gif has some information and a diagram of closed and open gunwales. More information like this can be found on the Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection CD-ROM which is available from http://woodencanoe.org/catalog/prod...d=404&osCsid=39f7e6f54228bc26faca437d11ded5cb and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/orderform.html on the web. I don't know of any definitive source for information about the exact shade of G. S. green. You may want to try some paint archeology to see if there are any signs of original paint under the rails or some other place that was never exposed to the sun. I would encourage you to paint it with a color that you like since no one will probably ever know exactly what it really looked like originally. Good luck with your restoration,
Benson
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