Old Town S/N 121635 18

[teroberts1995]

Looking for information about an Old Town S/N 121635 18. JJust bought it from Craigs list and it needs some minor patching on the stem. Maybe repainted, but just starting my research here.

Thank You

Tim Roberts

 

[Benson Gray]

You may want to verify all of the digits in that serial number and the length of this canoe. Some of the tips at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may help if the numbers are not clear. An 18 on the end of the number implies that the canoe is 18 feet long and the build record shows a smaller canoe. The Old Town canoe with serial number 121635 is a 16 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, HW (heavy water) model with open spruce gunwales, oak decks, oak thwarts, oak seats, a keel, and sponsons. It was built between May and June, 1937. The original exterior paint color was dark red. It shipped on June 26th, 1937 to Baltimore, Maryland. A scan showing this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image 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 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 renew.

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,

Benson

 

[teroberts1995]

Sorry, Misread S/N

I misread the serial number. It is 124635 18. I am a little excited about this boat and my kids came unglued when they saw it.

Thank You

Tim Roberts

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 124635 is an 18 foot long Guide's model with white Maine cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, and a keel. It was built between March and July, 1938. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's special) green. It shipped on August 2nd, 1938 to Detroit, Michigan. It was damaged and returned in December, 1938. The repairs required three new ribs, 15 feet of three inch planking, a new stem, a new bang plate, and refinishing with G. S. green paint for a total of $15.30 as shown on the back side of the card. It was then returned to Detroit, Michigan on January 4th, 1939. Scans of both sides of this build record can be found by following the links behind the thumbnail images attached below. The second half of my first message in this thread applies to this one so I won't repeat it. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson