Old Town 212731 18' canoe build history

[Old_Paddler]

Bought 2 canoes in the last 2 days, a 16' Penobscot and this 18' Wood Canoe.
It shows little damage, owner said it's about 10 years old, but I suspect it's older.
Can you provide build history?

Fleet currently consists of:
1951 Old Town Yankee
This 18' Old Town
15' 8" Discovery
16' Camper
16' Penobscot

 

[Benson Gray]

The chart at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html shows that the Old Town canoe with serial number 212731 probably shipped around 1976. The scanned Old Town records stop at 210999 so none of us here have any newer information immediately available. You may be able to contact the customer service department at the Old Town Canoe Company and get a copy from their paper records if they are not too busy. Please reply here if they are not able to satisfy your request. There should also be a number on the starboard stern as required by the Coast Guard for a hull identification number (HIN). The information at http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm may help you decode the date from this number. Their format limits the serial number to five digits so Old Town simply omits the most significant digit to fit. Feel free to post another reply here if you have other questions. Good luck and enjoy your collection,

Benson

 

[Old_Paddler]

Thank you for the information.
This boat is missing the Coast Guard ID number - must have been removed during the restoration.
Do I need to replace it, or it it just something that had to be there when originally sold.

I sent a message to Old Town asking for information on the SN.

Thanks again,
Russ

 

[Benson Gray]

This boat is missing the Coast Guard ID number - must have been removed during the restoration.
Do I need to replace it, or it it just something that had to be there when originally sold.

I don't believe that you are required to replace a missing Coast Guard hull identification number unless you ever need to register it with the state. The manufacturer is required to put it on there when it was sold. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Old_Paddler]

Thanks - Old Town is looking up information for me.

It is likely I will resell the boat, it's too long and heavy for my needs, but I couldn't leave it once I saw it. I am going to "sleep on it" for a week or so before making that decision. She's really pretty... Maybe if I move it a couple of times that will make the decision for me.

Whoever restored it less than 10 years ago did a really nice job, much nicer than the job I am capable of on my 1951 Yankee.

Even the paddles are beastly heavy when compared to the ones I normally use.