Old Town Canoe Serial Number

[head4obx]

Hi,

I recently bought an old town canoe that has serial number 33835 18. I know the 18 is 18 feet (because it just fit in my basement ). Any information that can be provided on the canoe? I'm excited to work on it, needs a new canvas and some repair but overall in great shape for over 100 years. The previous owner said she researched and it was 1914 build, and I checked the serial numbers and that seems about right. I'm sure I'll have a lot of follow up questions, love this site.

Bill

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 33835 is an 18 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Ideal model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, half ribs, and a keel. It was built between August, 1914 and May, 1915. The original exterior paint color was New Haven railroad green. It was shipped on August 12th, 1915 to New Hampshire. 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 as you probably know well. 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 with your other questions.

Benson

 

[head4obx]

Hi Benson,

Thank you very much for the quick response, that sounds exactly like my canoe and aligns with where I purchased it as well. I do have some follow up questions if appropriate to post them here. My plan is to repair it so that I can use it and do it as correctly as I can, knowing this is my first attempt at this type of canoe repair. I also attached some photos of the canoe taken when I first got it home.

- I see the thwarts are mahogany and glad to know since one was rotted at the end and I have to make one. The canoe came with two thwarts, one at each end with one of the two un-attached due to the rot. However there are screws in the middle for a third. Do you know if this canoe had three thwarts originally, or did someone just add one over the years. Most of the pictures I see have only two thwarts, but I wasn't sure if that was only because they were shorter than 18 feet.
- I'm going to try to sand and salvage the inner and outer gunwales. In my other canoes that often have fiberglass and wood trim or kevlar and wood trim, I was under the impression that I should oil the gunwales rather than varnish for those canoes, and varnish the inside wood if there is some. But I notice from the sites that often people varnish the deck plates and gunwales. Should I be sanding and varnishing them rather than use oil? If I varnish, is the wood typically lightly stained first?
- You can see from the pictures that I am expecting some rot on the stems once I remove some of the rotted pieces. What type of wood should I typically use to replace the rotted end of the stems if I need to scarf a piece into the original?
- Lastly (sorry I often ask way too many questions), the inside was redone as I understand a few years ago and then left outside unfortunately. So the outside has some rot, but the inside actually held up fairly well. I was thinking of lightly sanding and then varnishing the inside. Any thoughts there on the best approach?







Thanks! Bill

 

[Benson Gray]

Do you know if this canoe had three thwarts originally ... Should I be sanding and varnishing them rather than use oil? If I varnish, is the wood typically lightly stained first? ... What type of wood should I typically use to replace the rotted end of the stems if I need to scarf a piece into the original?
... I was thinking of lightly sanding and then varnishing the inside.

Your canoe had three thwarts originally. The middle thwart was typically held in with wing nuts so it could be easily removed for courting. This frequently leads to the middle thwart being lost over the years so it is not unusual to find an 18 foot canoe with only the bolts left in the center. The canoe originally had a marine spar varnish on the interior. Some people prefer an oil finish but I do not. Old Town would occasionally stain the mahogany if the colors were dramatically different but it does tend to make things look more muddy. I prefer the natural wood colors so generally avoid stains (except when hiding obvious repairs). The stems were typically ash as described at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/specific.gif from a period catalog. I would encourage you to lightly sand and then varnish the inside. Feel free to reply here if you have other questions. Most topics have come up before so feel free to use the search function to see how other people have responded over the years. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson

 

[head4obx]

Hi Benson, sorry I forgot to say thanks again.