Old Town canoe Serial number 135212 information

[Mz Johnson]

My father in law has this canoe originally owned by his father Circa 1942. Also stamped next to the serial number is BABB'S
He refinished it many years ago because he hated green. How much did this diminish the value?

He is unable to use it, it has not been in water for over 40 years but he will not allow for selling it.
I need to figure out how to store/display it until he is ready to part with it?

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 135212 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, HW (Heavy Water) model with open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, outside stems, a floor rack, and sponsons. It was built between April and July, 1942. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on April 1st, 1943 to Springfield, Mass. 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/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. New paint is a typical maintenance task and it is easy to change the color so that has probably not changed the value much. The key to good long term storage is keeping it dry. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson