Old Town 81366 17

[Randy Barlow]

I'm starting to think about restoring my grandfather's Old Town canoe... Serial number 81366 17. Can I get some information on it? This canoe has seen better days, but I am looking forward to learning about how to do this. I've restored cars and motorcycles, but this is my first wooden canoe.

 

[dogbrain]

Looks like you can start with a heat gun and a scraper to get the resin off the planking. Use a metal pick to get everything in between. Looks like the ouwales are shot, so you can remove those and save the bronze screws. How does the inside look?

Mark

 

[Randy Barlow]

Here are a few pics of the inside... I think the inwales are in pretty good shape. I have at least 10 broken/cracked ribs.

Does anyone have any pictures of what the top where the stem, deck, inwale and outwale comes together on this canoe? It's pretty much missing and needs to be rebuilt.

 

[dogbrain]

Looks pretty good. The inwales sit right on top of the stem, all tapering to fit. They are held by a very small brad. It is a flimsy connection, but once you install the decks and planking it will be plenty strong. I don’t have pictures on my phone but there should be an example on this forum if you search.

Mark

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 81366 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 thwarts, birch seats, and a keel. It was built between October, 1923 and January, 1924. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on April 30th, 1924 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 more 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 donate, join, or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Canoes with a family connection are always extra special. The information at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/10440/ should help with the tips. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck,

Benson