Old Town Canoe Serial Number

[Loonlakejack]

Hello, I have an old town canoe and would like to know what the serial number tells me. The canoe is from the early 1950's (I think) and it is 18 foot long. Made of wood/canvas. The serial number was very hard to read, but I believe it is 85488, with a lone number 8 about 1 foot down the stem of the canoe away from the serial number. Thanks a bunch!

- Jack

 

[Benson Gray]

It may take more than a serial number to identify this canoe since the one with number 85488 is 16 feet long from 1926 and yours is probably 18 feet long. You may want to check all of the digits in the serial number again and confirm the overall length in a straight line. The usual format is a four to six digit serial number followed by space then a two digit number that is the length of the canoe in feet. If this canoe was built in the 1950s then the chart at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html indicates that it should have a serial number in the 150000 to 170000 range. Some pictures of the serial numbers from each end could also help along with some showing the decks and interior. Thanks,

Benson

 

[Loonlakejack]

Edited. I am doing lots of this in the dark here with a flashlight, so i will take some pictures in the morning to confirm. I was mistaken on the first two digits earlier. From what I can tell right now the serial number is 165488 with the length being 18 feet. My step grandfather (born in 1940) claims to have bought this canoe when he was 14. I will take some pictures early tomorrow morning and post them here. Thanks so much,

Jack

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 165488 is an 18 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Guide model with a keel. It was built between September and October, 1956. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It was shipped on April 15th, 1957 to Rochester, 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 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 don't match the canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Loonlakejack]

This makes perfect sense - the family member was living in Rochester New York when he purchased the canoe. Thanks for your help Benson.

Jack