Old Town 161477

[Matt Marek]

I just purchased an Old Town 17 foot sailing canoe that needs a lot of work

How can I find out more information about this canoe? It's serial number is 161477

Thanks,

Axehandle Matt

 

[Benson Gray]

Congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 161477 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with a keel and a floor rack. It was built between January and June, 1954. The original exterior paint color was blue to match a sample provided by the customer. It shipped on June 14th, 1954 to Lansing, Michigan. A scan showing 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 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. The sail rig was not mentioned on the build record so that may have been added after it originally left the factory. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson

 

[Matt Marek]

Benson,

Thank you so much for the information. Just joined the WCHA today and am excited to get started on my project. I am in Michigan and purchased it just east of Lansing. Super cool. All the best.

Axehandle Matt

 

[Greg Nolan]

Hi Matt --

Welcome to the WCHA. There are a number of sailing canoe enthusiasts (including Benson) here, and many people knowledgeable about canoe restoration. If you have questions or run into problems with restoration, please feel free to ask here (and of course, several good books are around on canoe repair/restoration). And we always love to see pictures of our members' canoes, in any state of repair -- before, during, and when restoration is complete.

Again, welcome!

Greg Nolan
WCHA President