Old Town 174936 18

ventus

Curious about Wooden Canoes
Hello, I just joined the WCHA today, and I would like to see if the build record for my canoe, a 1964 18' Guide Special, #174936 18 is available. I look forward to being a part of this organization,
Bill Hoadley
Boulder, CO
 
Welcome to the WCHA! The Old Town canoe with serial number 174936 is an 18 foot long Guide's model with narrow two and 3/4 inch planking, a keel, and the stern seat was moved two inches forward of the usual location. It was built on the Otca form between May and June, 1965. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It was shipped on June 23rd, 1965 to Brookfield, Conn. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

These scans 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/catalogs/old-town/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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.html to renew.

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
 

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18' OT Guide

Thank you Benson, for supplying the build record
I can report a few things about this canoe, though I was only 5 when it arrived. Nevertheless it was a big family event. My father ordered it with the shoe keel, to aid maneuvering in white water use. We also had a 16' Chestnut canoe, and I remember that the Old Town was a better built canoe. A few years after purchasing the Old Town, we bought a factory sailing kit, with the 55 sq. foot lateen sail. We had some good times sailing with the thwart in the water, probably going at about 3 kts, but seeming like 10kts! My father is still using the sailing rig on a Mad River canoe in North Carolina. I am surprised that sail rigs are not more popular, or available, today. The Old Town served well over the years, surviving years of whitewater use on the Housatonic River in Connecticut, and later on various rivers in North Carolina, as well as Schoodic Lake in Maine. The canoe is now in Colorado, but it will be restored in MN before serving many more years under sail and paddle in mountain lakes.
In this age of plastic boats, instant messaging, and disposable technology, the wood canvas canoe is a real treat. Out on a lake, paddling along under a blue sky and huge pines, one can retreat back to simpler times.
Bill H.
Boulder, CO
 
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