Old Town Canoe serial number search

[Tom--Cat]

Hi,
I just bought a 16' Old Town canoe that I believe was built in the mid '30's by looking at the serial number (127310 16). I was hoping that someone could give me a more definitive answer about what year it was built as well as more about the model.
It has about 4 cracked ribs and someone in the past fiberglassed the outer hull. It looks like an older fiberglass job because some of the epoxy is beginning to peel off. I can take some photos and send them if that would be helpful.
Thanks for your help.

Tom

 

[Greg Nolan]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 127310 is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or standard) grade Yankee model with open spruce gunwales, equipped with a keel. It was built in 1939, being finished in August 1939. The original exterior paint color was dark green . It was shipped to Des Moines, Iowa on February 8, 1940. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the thumbnail image attached below.



This scan and several hundred thousand others 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. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Photos would help us to comment on the work needed to restore your canoe, and in any event, we enjoy seeing photos of canoes, especially before/after and in-progress photos of restoration projects.

Greg Nolan

 

[Tom--Cat]

Greg,

Thanks for your help. When I get a chance, I'll take some photos.

I built a cedar-strip canoe in the early 80's that gave our family many, many years of excellent service, but eventually the years of wear and tear indicated that it was time for a new bottom. I used a heat gun and a helper (one of my sons) to remove the outer layer of fiberglass and epoxy from our cedar-strip canoe and it worked pretty well. As I carefully heated areas of the hull, my son pulled on the fiberglass and we were able to pretty much remove the full sheet of fiberglass that way. I'm hoping that I can remove this fiberglass/epoxy the same way. Does anyone else have any other options?

Tom Smidt

 

[Greg Nolan]

Using a heat gun as you describe is the generally accepted method for removing fiberglass.

It is possible that instead of epoxy, a polyester compound was used to glass your canoe -- polyester was used for a few years before epoxy came into general use as a far superior material. But glass/polyester is easier to remove, though the heat gun method is still what is generally used. But some folks have found that sinking the canoe and soaking it for a few days will make heat removal even easier, especially with polyester-bonded glass. I have no personal experience with this -- just pass the idea on for what it might be worth.

When recovering the canoe, most people here would favor using canvas and a traditional filler, the sort of covering that your canoe was originally built with.

There is lots of discussion on fiberglass removal on these forums, as well as on recovering with canvas. Using the search function will get you to them.

I have been trying to post links to some of them, without success. Check your private messages -- I’ll try to send them that way.

Of course, feel free to ask your own questions here, or offer your own thoughts, if you wish.

Good luck

Greg

 

[Tom--Cat]

Greg,
Thanks again for the help. I only meant to mention my experience removing fiberglass/epoxy from my cedar-strip canoe--I certainly don't intend to reglass this one after removing the old layer. I'll need to do some studying to get up to speed on canvassing.
I am also involved in wooden power boats and most in that field also cringe when coming across older wooden boats that have had their bottoms fiberglassed. Water usually finds a way to get behind the fiberglass and then the mold spores start to do their work. For boats that were originally intended to be fiberglassed, with a layer of wood sandwiched between an inner and an outer layer of fiberglass/epoxy, it can work quite well. For boat owners who try to fix a leaky bottom by fiberglassing the bottom, the results are okay for a while, but a poor solution in the long run.
Thanks again for your help.
Tom Smidt