Old Town Canoe serial number 187139

[Rodsthencones]

I just bought my first canoe. I have never used a canoe before, so I have a lot to learn.

I am curious about what the canoe is called and when it was built. It has an old town sticker on the sides and a number 187139 on the stern.
It has some broken plastic, but only a little 3" crack on the hull. 14' long and 36" wide.
I am not sure on how much it of a problem the broken plastic is for now. I figure that I can deal with it when I figure out how to steer it.
I'm guessing from the looks it is from the early 70's, maybe its as old as me.
Thanks for any info you might have.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 187139 is a 14 foot long fiberglass Carleton model with a keel that weighed 69 pounds. It was built in July, 1971. The original exterior gelcoat color was sandalwood. It shipped first on July 13th, 1971 to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The back side of the record indicates that there were some patches on the keel. Scans showing both sides of this build record can be found by below.

These scans 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 https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The decks and rails will probably need to be replaced. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the project,

Benson

 

[MGC]

I just bought my first canoe. I have never used a canoe before, so I have a lot to learn.

It has some broken plastic, but only a little 3" crack on the hull. 14' long and 36" wide.
I am not sure on how much it of a problem the broken plastic is for now. I figure that I can deal with it when I figure out how to steer it.

Congratulations. Canoes are wonderful. They offer the owner a freedom to explore.
You do need to sort out the damaged gunwales/rails. The seats hang from them, so they are structural. It used to be that you could get direct replacements for the rails, decks, seats from almost any Old Town dealer, but not anymore. The company no longer sells these parts, at least not that I am aware of. With some luck, you might find original parts that some OT dealer still has in stock, but it's been over 15 years since I was that fortunate.
There are options. It is easy to make outside rails from ash or spruce. This is a short canoe so finding wood will not be very hard. The decks, as bad as they are, can be repaired by someone who is decent with fiberglass work. The seats from that vintage are prone to cracking in the corners so if they are still good, fixing the rails is important to avoid that damage. If the seats are bad, they are also easily replaced. Many of us use parts from Essex Industries. Essex has a website, but a quick phone call may be the quickest way to get information.

High Quality Handcrafted Canoe Accessories Manufacturing - Essex Industries

essexindustries.org

https://forums.wcha.org/threads/essex-industries.19082/

Another option for you to explore might be Northwest Canoe. They offer a variety or rail repair and deck cap options. I have not used their vinyl rails, but they look like a good option.

Gunwales and Decks

Whether you like to Do It Yourself or prefer professionals do the work, WE ARE HERE TO HELP?

northwestcanoe.com

Make a few calls before you buy anything. With the selection of parts they offer, someone there has a good bit of repair experience that they might share with you.

Fiberglass cracks are not difficult to deal with. If you post an image of the crack, we might offer some advice for how to fix it.

 

[Rodsthencones]

Thanks for all the wonderful information.
Turns out the boat was built when I was one month old.

I looked at the broken gunwale and the seat is really unstable. Looks like the repair was to wedge a scrap of wood in then gunwale and screw the seat to it.
I removed the seat and now I am thinking that I would like to just have no seats in the canoe. If I solo, it will be kneeling in the center.
So that leads me to wonder, the catalog says that the seats are placed so that there are not thwarts, so if I remove the seats, do I need to install thwarts?
So many questions now that I have a canoe. I am excited and want to get it on a lake to learn.

 

[pklonowski]

A few thoughts:

Thwarts will help the canoe keep its shape; cut them to length before removing the seat, so you know how wide the canoe should be at each thwart location.

If you'll be kneeling in the center, you might consider installing a kneeling thwart about 6" behind the center line, to support your backside; it makes kneeling much easier. Don't forget a good quality kneeling pad, for which your knees will thank you.

Wear a well-fitted PFD (life jacket); putting it on after capsizing can be quite the challenge!

Another thing I'll suggest (strongly) would be to get instruction from a certified canoe instructor. Your local paddling club, or a paddlesports shop, would be a good place to start looking. It'll shorten your learning curve by a lot.