New Member refinishing barn-salvaged Old Town 17-footer requests assistance IDing Old Town 79047 17. My thanks are extended in advance to anyone who may have the resources to answer this.
The Old Town canoe with serial number 79047 is a 17 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, HW (heavy water) model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch seats, birch thwarts, and a keel. It was built between June and November, 1923. The original exterior paint color was bright red. It shipped on April 30th, 1924 to Philadelphia, Penna. 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 more were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. Additional information about 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 join or 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.php to join.
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. Good luck with the restoration,
Thank you very much, Benson! The old canvas had dark green, superficially, and bright red underneath. You confirmed my suspicions that the original color was indeed red. Thanks again!