Old Town Pathfinder, Can't decipher Serial Stamp.

[hguffman]

Hello Friendly Forum Folks,

I am wondering if any of you could help me with this? It's stamped on an old Pathfinder I rescued. It had a bunch of old repairs done to it, I ground them out and putting new fiberglass on it. I can't seem to find any canoes like it, had foam core seats that are plastic. Seems like it was used on a pretty rough river for years and was so beat up someone decided to let it rot on a remote lake. It had about 4 inches of moss growing on it.

 

[Benson Gray]

Well, I think that it is probably in the XTC4033x range which were all green Pathfinders. Number six shipped to Newbury, Massachusetts and number three shipped to East Hebron, New Hampshire. All of the others went outside of New England. Can you be more specific about the location of the "remote lake" where you found it?

Benson

 

[hguffman]

Well it's a super secret fishing spot. So id like to keep it to myself, but it's VERY remote. But the plaque says Newbury.

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 240336 and hull identification number XTC40336M82E is an 15 foot long Chipewyan Pathfinder model that weighed 59 pounds. It was built between December 1981 and May, 1982. The original exterior color was green. It shipped on May 7th, 1982 to Newbury, Massachusetts. A scan showing this build record can be found 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/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 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. Good luck with the project,

Benson

 

[hguffman]

This is absolutely amazing! Thank you! Any idea about these seats? I ordered a regular style old town replacement, but these are thick and filled with a foam core center. I'll post pictures when I get home. Unfortunately, water got into one and pretty much destroyed it during freeze thaw cycles.

 

[Benson Gray]

Any idea about these seats?

The page describing this canoe from the 1981 catalog is attached below. It mentions that the "new seats have flotation" so the ones that failed were probably original. Wooden canoe seats with cane or straps would probably be more comfortable. These are available from a variety of sources. Let me know if this doesn't answer your question.

Benson

 

[hguffman]

For sure original. This thing looks like it has seen some serious action, lots of gouges, pokes and a few very large bush repairs. I hope to breath some new life to it and return it back to the Maine North woods for those daring to make the trip they'll have a boat they can use by the alpine pond. Thanks again for all your help!