I found an Old Town canoe in my grandparents basement. I'm looking to restore it the Serial Number is: 42991 18. Any info on the canoe would be great so I can keep the project authentic. Thanks!! - Steve
Oh no! I had my wife look at the serial number and it is actually "42901" NOT "42991" (why is she always right?!) As before any info would be great!!!!
The Old Town canoe with serial number 42901 is 18 feet long, CS (common sense) grade, Charles River model with western cedar planking, spruce open gunwales, birch decks, thwarts and seats, and a keel. It was finished on June 20, 1916. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on June 28, 1916, to Bristol, New Hampshire. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the thumbnail image attached below.
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 will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html 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.