Old Town Canoe S/n 60176-17

[Randal Sassi]

My son was given an Old Town OTCA canoe that appears to be a 1921 vintage based on the Old Town Canoe Serial Number (60176-1) by Year Shipped document that I found online. We would very much appreciate any information from the build card that might be available.

Yes he knows how lucky he is to be given such a Jem even if it needs work. The previous owner is too old to use it and he wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it.

I have attached some photos (at least I hope I have)

thanks for any help that you might be able to provide.

Randy Sassi

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations to you both, the Old Town canoe with serial number 60176 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with western red cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, twenty inch mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, outside stems, and a floor rack. It was built between April and August, 1920. The original exterior paint color was medium red. It shipped on August 16th, 1920 to Springfield, Massachusetts. 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 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 join 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. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Greg Nolan]

. . . even if it needs work.

Welcome to the WCHA.

When considering any restoration/repair work, whether you plan to do it yourself or to hire a professional, there are three good sources of information about canoe restoration that you would do well to get, or at least look at, before making any decision about how to repair or restore your canoe:

The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration, and Maintenance by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok

Building the Maine Guide Canoe by Jerry Stelmok

This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe, by Mike Elliott

The first is often called the "bible" of canoe repair, restoration, and maintenance; the second is an excellent study of the wooden/canvas canoe and its construction. The third is the most recently published and has been well received.

Of course, you can always ask questions here on the forums. There is a good deal of information here, and we are more than happy to share and pass on what we have learned.

You might also want to look at The Old Town Canoe Company by Susan Audette and David Baker, a great history of the Old Town company and its canoes.

These books are all available from the WCHA store, are often on eBay, or from Amazon.

Greg

 

[Randal Sassi]

Thank you so much for this information, and so quickly. I will be surprising my son with this information today. Yes I will be making a donation to support WCHA.
Randy Sassi

 

[Michael Grace]

Hi Randy,

You might consider giving your son a membership in the WCHA. It is inexpensive and provides a great connection to this organization and a beautiful full-color magazine, Wooden Canoe, that provides even more inspiration, restoration and construction information, canoe trip stories, and much more. If he is excited about this canoe, he'd surely enjoy membership in the WCHA.

See here for more information:
http://wcha.org/membership

Glad you and you son are enjoying the excitement of this worthy project.

Michael