Old Town Canoe 131655 17

[Corinthian]

Thank you in advance for the help you provide.

serial number 131655 17

I finally have a bee in my bonnet to restore my grandfather’s Old Town Canoe before I get too long in the tooth to enjoy it. I would appreciate any details available. I know very little about models and grades. It is likely that he purchased it in Michigan or Ontario in the 1930s. And he made great use of it fishing Algonquin in his early adulthood.

It has sat in my barn for 30 years and sat in his for 30 before that. The canvas is shot and the varnish is brittle but not a trace of rot or damage.

I’m looking forward to it seeing water again.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 131655 is a 17 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Otca model with open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch thwarts, birch seats, and a keel. It was built between February and May, 1941. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on May 9th, 1941 to Detroit, Michigan. A scan of this build record can be found 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/catalogs/old-town/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 http://www.wcha.org/about-wcha to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/store/membership to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The books at http://www.wcha.org/store/wood-canv...tory-construction-restoration-and-maintenance and http://www.wcha.org/content/old-canoe-how-restore-your-wood-canvas-canoe may help.
Canoes with a family connection are always extra special. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson