Old Town 180710-18

wsmolloy

New Member
Hi all,
I'm new here but I have an Old Town serial # 180710-18 and would love to know the history and model. It's 18 ft long and had a sail at one point I believe.

Thanks

Bill
 
Hi Bill--

Old Town 180710 is an 18 foot Otca model canoe that was completed May-June of 1968. It has a keel and was originally painted dark green, then repainted red before being shipped to Norwich, VT, on 7-17-1972. There's no mention made of the boat being fitted with a sail rig... perhaps that was added later. The scan of this record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image.

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 and anyone else reading this will join or renew membership in 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 renew.

Does this description match your canoe? It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Kathy
 

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Thanks, Kathy

I guess I bought it from the original owner.
It was red painted over green. I'm surprised that the red paint was done at the factory. I restored it to dark green.
I'm confused though, don't all canoes have keels? Why would they specifically mention a keel on my canoe?

Thanks

Bill
 
The build record is a record of the completion of various components of the canoe... so, the dates your canoe was canvassed and filled, etc., are on the record too. However, a canoe doesn't need a keel and not all canoes have one. Some paddlers prefer a smaller canoe without a keel, because you can poke around in interesting little ponds and rivers a bit more easily. Back when the majority of wood/canvas were constructed by the major builders, a keel was usually added as part of the package-- and if a buyer didn't want one they sometimes had to pay extra.

Kathy
 
Keels

How many Native American birch bark canoe builders added keels to their boats? I'd guess it's more of a European addition to the craft?
 
Yes, the bark canoes don't have keels... and they turn on a dime.

The first wood/canvas builders incorporated European ship-building techniques, and the keel was one of them.
 
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