Old Town Canoe Restoration

[T od Browning]

I recently purchased an Old Town Canoe serial number 151278 17
I would like to restore her back to original color and patterns if possible
Any info in this reguard would be very helpful
Thanks

Tod

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 151278 is a 17 foot long, CS (Common Sense) grade, Otca model with western red cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, half ribs, a keel, and outside stems. It was built between June, 1948 and July, 1950. The original exterior paint color was fire red. It was shipped on August 23rd, 1951 to Islip, Long Island, New York. 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 others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. 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/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.

It is also possible that they could have another number or manufacturer if this description don't match the canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[T od Browning]

Thank you Sir

Really interesting info. Evidently the canoe is in its original color.

I noticed that some procedures were done in 1948, nothing done in 1949, finished up in 1950 and shipped 1951. Anything happen to the Old Town Canoe Co. in 1949?

Thanks for your quick response

Tod

 

[Benson Gray]

I noticed that some procedures were done in 1948, nothing done in 1949, finished up in 1950 and shipped 1951. Anything happen to the Old Town Canoe Co. in 1949?

You are most welcome. This type of a delay between filling and finishing is not unusual. The canoes were typically built, canvased, filled, and then stacked floor to ceiling, wall to wall, in a storage area while they dried. Then they would be slowly be taken out on a last in, first out basis to be painted, finished, and shipped. It was common for a canoe to sit for a few years if it was the first one into a storage area and placed on the bottom of the pile. You can see the horizontal spread on the chart at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html which shows that many canoes had several years between the date when they came off the form and had the serial number stamped in the stems and the date when they shipped out of the factory. Some sat for nearly a decade during the depression and the Second World War. Let me know if this is not clear or if you have other questions. Good luck with your restoration,

Benson