Old Town HW? with sponsons SN 154288 Lake Tahoe California area.
- Thread starter snapclamp
- Start date
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
The Old Town canoe with serial number 154288 is a 17 foot long, AA (top or premium ) grade HW (heavy water) model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales; while not specified on build record, seats, decks and thwarts on an AA grade canoe should be mahogany; it was equiped with a keel, floor rack, and sponsons. It was built between May and Novebmer 1950. The original exterior paint color was fire red enamel. It was shipped to Reno, Nevada (not far from California) on January 31, 1951. A scan of this build recordcan 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.
Greg Nolan
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.
Greg Nolan
Thank you
Thank you Mr. Nolan,
That is it. It is still red and most likely spent much of it's life in Lake Tahoe (right between us and Reno, NV). It needs restoration but has good bones. No broken ribs. Thank you again for the record.
Thank you Mr. Nolan,
That is it. It is still red and most likely spent much of it's life in Lake Tahoe (right between us and Reno, NV). It needs restoration but has good bones. No broken ribs. Thank you again for the record.
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
Welcome to the WCHA. If you have any questions about restoring your canoe, feel free to ask questions here, and if you do, posting photos is often very useful (and we do like seeing pictures of old canes, particularly ones with "good bones."
Further, when considering any restoration work, whether you plan to do it youself or to hire a professional, there are three good sources of information about canoe restoration that you would do well to get, or at least look at, before making any decision about how to repair or restore your canoe:
The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration, and Maintenance by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok
Building the Maine Guide Canoe by Jerry Stelmok
This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe, by Mike Elliott
The first is often called the "bible" of canoe repair, restoration, and maintenance; the second is an excellent study of the wooden/canvas canoe and its construction. The third was just recently published and has gotten some good reviews.
Of course, you can always ask questions here on the forums.
You might also want to look at The Old Town Canoe Company by Susan Audette and David Baker, a great history of the Old Town company and its canoes.
These books are all available from the WCHA store, are often on eBay, or from Amazon.
I hope you get many hours of use and enjoyment from your new/old canoe.
Greg
