Old Town 16' Guide Canoe

[crooker1929@hotmail.com]

Looking for information and an image of the original build/delivery sheet for serial number 128951 16. I believe the original factory sale was actually for two blemished/damaged canoes in around 1942. The original purchaser of both was probably Donald Cooper of Auburn, Maine. The unit that I have was originally lettered with the nickname 'LIBBY', and was my mother's 16th birthday present. The other unit went to the Cooper family who had property next to my grandfather's camp on Thompson Lake in Oxford, Maine. Our canoe has perimeter pockets filled with kapok running along the gunwales.

We had the canoe restored a few years ago by a company in Concord, Mass. It is in supreme condition. Unfortunately it is time to part with it.

Ron Crooker
781-249-5639

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 128951 is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, HW (Heavy Water) model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, a keel, and sponsons. It was built between January and April, 1940. The original exterior paint color was dark green with "Libby" painted on the right bow and left stern. It shipped on June 8th, 1940 to Auburn, Maine. The "second" notation in the top right corner indicates that it was discounted due to some blemish. A scan of 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 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.

You may have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The messages at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57 are the best information about the worth of a canoe like yours. The classifieds at http://classifieds.wcha.org/ are often one of the fastest ways to find a good new home for a canoe like this if you plan to sell it. I searched the 1289xx records and didn't find the other one. Please feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson