Country Woodworker
New Member
Old Town canoe has no information for this canoe other than they believe it is an Old Town canoe produced in 1921. Any aditional information would be appreciated. Thank you.
Old Town canoe information Serial No. 62868
- Thread starter Country Woodworker
- Start date
Welcome, there is some information but it is just very badly scanned. I requested a new scan from the factory yesterday but they haven't responded yet. A negative of the badly scanned image is shown below and I have made some wild guesses based on this.
It appears that the Old Town canoe with serial number 62868 may be a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, twenty inch mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, and a keel. It was probably built between September, 1920 and 1921. The original exterior paint color might have been yellow with a stripe. It may have shipped in June, 1921.
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.
I will correct this information and post a better scan if they get back to me. Their retail store is currently closed due to the pandemic so I can't get in to see this information myself. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
It appears that the Old Town canoe with serial number 62868 may be a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, twenty inch mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, and a keel. It was probably built between September, 1920 and 1921. The original exterior paint color might have been yellow with a stripe. It may have shipped in June, 1921.
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.
I will correct this information and post a better scan if they get back to me. Their retail store is currently closed due to the pandemic so I can't get in to see this information myself. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
Country Woodworker
New Member
Hello Benson. Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it. I am considering purchasing the canoe from a local owner. He has had the canoe for a long long time. It is presently stored inside a garage hanging upside down from the rafters. It is a wonderful candidate for repair and restoration. It is 17 feet long and is shaped like an Otca model. The inside has at least two coats of two different green colors. The outside has patches of green canvas and fiberglass cloth here and there. All four gunwhales are broken in several places. I can not tell the condition of the ribs due to the paint covering but there are at least six different holes in the planking all in different planks. The decks look to be in good condition. There is rot at both ends of the sheer. The stems look good except for the very top ends. I am up for the repair restoration myself. I told the owner that I wanted to do some research on the canoe, but I thought it was worth a few hundred dollars as it sits. What do you think? I could get photos if you are interested. Thank you once again for all your help so far, Mark.
The information at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/57/ may help you value this canoe. Your suggestion of "a few hundred dollars" may be generous. Photos always help but rarely tell the whole story. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
It appears that you are in for a HEEP of restoration work with this canoe. Paint removal will be a pain - you will never get all the color out from underneath the ribs. You need new inwales & outwales, repair to stem tip, and how many rib tips need work. You say there are 6 holes in the planking, so figure at least one cracked rib with each of those, plus the planking. I'd agree that a couple hundred would be very generous. TM..
I was at the factory recently and able to get a better image showing this build record as shown below. My prior guess missed the floor rack, bang plate along the full length of the keel, ebony border stripe, and half inch orange stripe with turned down ends. This may have looked like the one shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design35.gif with different colors. Let me know if you have any other questions,
Benson
Benson
