Old Town s/n 129073
- Thread starter Narwal
- Start date
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Old Town serial numbers do not contain letters-- they are 5-6 digits followed by a space and the canoe's length. I can give you information on the Old Town canoe with serial number 129073 16, but if this doesn't match your canoe this would be the wrong information. If you post a picture, then we can be more certain that the information is correct for this canoe.
Old Town 129073 is a 16' AA (top) grade Otca model canoe that was completed January-July of 1940. The Otca has a one-piece 20" deck with coaming rather than the standard Old Town short deck. The deck on this canoe is mahogany, and the thwarts and seat frames are also mahogany.
This canoe also had a keel and a floor rack, was originally dark green, and was shipped to Marion, North Carolina, on August 5, 1940. Since canoes don't often travel very far from their original destination, if this destination fits (as well as the details regarding the canoe), this may be the right record. The scan of this record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image.
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 and anyone else reading this will join or renew membership in the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php 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.
Kathy
Old Town 129073 is a 16' AA (top) grade Otca model canoe that was completed January-July of 1940. The Otca has a one-piece 20" deck with coaming rather than the standard Old Town short deck. The deck on this canoe is mahogany, and the thwarts and seat frames are also mahogany.
This canoe also had a keel and a floor rack, was originally dark green, and was shipped to Marion, North Carolina, on August 5, 1940. Since canoes don't often travel very far from their original destination, if this destination fits (as well as the details regarding the canoe), this may be the right record. The scan of this record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image.
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 and anyone else reading this will join or renew membership in the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php 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.
Kathy
Attachments
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Hi Bill,
The Otca has been one of Old Town's most popular models for about 100 years. The design changed in 1957, but prior to that time the Otca had the longer deck that is seen on your canoe. I'll attach the page describing the Otca from the 1940 Old Town catalog, courtesy "The Complete Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection, 1901- 1993", available on CD from http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web.
You can use the "search" function at the top of this page to find old discussions of the Otca... just type "otca" into the little box. I know you want floor rack information too, but typing "floor rack" in the search box will bring up every build record mentioning a floor rack and not necessarily a picture of one.
If there is a wooden thing that looks like a garden trellis on the floor of your canoe, and you can twist a couple turn-buckles and remove it, that's your floor rack. If it's gone, your canoe is like most canoes its age... I think it must be pretty rare to have an intact floor rack in an old canoe. They get stepped on and cracked and used for the campfire... they get removed and left behind on the beach.
You may still see a couple pieces of metal on the floor of the canoe that were used to hold the floor rack in place. Often, these turnbuckles were made from pieces of stem band. Or even kitchen cabinet hardware. Canoe builders were imaginative folks.
The purpose of the floor rack was to keep stuff off the floor of the canoe, which might be damp. Maybe to even-out the floor too. They aren't as hard to replicate as other canoe-related stuff... but each builder had their own design and some people here can say, "that's an Old Town floor rack!".
Maybe someone will post a picture of an Old Town floor rack... meanwhile, I'll look through my pictures!
Welcome!
Kathy
The Otca has been one of Old Town's most popular models for about 100 years. The design changed in 1957, but prior to that time the Otca had the longer deck that is seen on your canoe. I'll attach the page describing the Otca from the 1940 Old Town catalog, courtesy "The Complete Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection, 1901- 1993", available on CD from http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web.
You can use the "search" function at the top of this page to find old discussions of the Otca... just type "otca" into the little box. I know you want floor rack information too, but typing "floor rack" in the search box will bring up every build record mentioning a floor rack and not necessarily a picture of one.
If there is a wooden thing that looks like a garden trellis on the floor of your canoe, and you can twist a couple turn-buckles and remove it, that's your floor rack. If it's gone, your canoe is like most canoes its age... I think it must be pretty rare to have an intact floor rack in an old canoe. They get stepped on and cracked and used for the campfire... they get removed and left behind on the beach.
You may still see a couple pieces of metal on the floor of the canoe that were used to hold the floor rack in place. Often, these turnbuckles were made from pieces of stem band. Or even kitchen cabinet hardware. Canoe builders were imaginative folks.
The purpose of the floor rack was to keep stuff off the floor of the canoe, which might be damp. Maybe to even-out the floor too. They aren't as hard to replicate as other canoe-related stuff... but each builder had their own design and some people here can say, "that's an Old Town floor rack!".
Maybe someone will post a picture of an Old Town floor rack... meanwhile, I'll look through my pictures!
Welcome!
Kathy
Attachments
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
I believe it says in the catalog that the floor rack is free with an AA grade canoe but is $2.00 extra in CS grade canoes. Nice that yours is still there!
The Old Town catalog collection provides lots of interesting information, and more information on the Old Town Company can be found in Sue Audette's book, "Old Town, Our First Hundred Years", which is available from Sue herself at http://www.waterworkscanoe.com/book.html, on eBay, Amazon, and at public libraries.
There's also information in back issues of the WCHA journal, "Wooden Canoe". Journals are available individually and in a collection on CD.
I've learned a lot by reading what folks post here in Forums.
Kathy
The Old Town catalog collection provides lots of interesting information, and more information on the Old Town Company can be found in Sue Audette's book, "Old Town, Our First Hundred Years", which is available from Sue herself at http://www.waterworkscanoe.com/book.html, on eBay, Amazon, and at public libraries.
There's also information in back issues of the WCHA journal, "Wooden Canoe". Journals are available individually and in a collection on CD.
I've learned a lot by reading what folks post here in Forums.
Kathy
