Old Town serial #?
- Thread starter Neil QCS
- Start date
Welcome, the serial numbers in Old Town canoes don't generally begin with a leading zero so there is probably at least one hidden digit. The build records for both the Old Town and Carleton canoes with serial number 10855 show 16 foot long canoes. The Kennebec with that number is 17 feet long. None of these are a good match for the number you provided which appears to be for an 18 foot long canoe. Can you provide pictures of the serial numbers and surrounding areas from each end of this canoe, a picture of the entire bow deck, and the extreme overall length of the canoe in feet? The suggestions at the link below may help if the numbers are hard to read. Thanks,
Benson
forums.wcha.org
Benson
How do I find a serial number on an old wooden canoe or boat?
Many old wooden canoes and boats have a serial number on both inside stems and a decal or tag with the manufacturer's logo on the bow deck. The number is usually stamped on the top of the lower part of the stems. The inside stems are the long curved pieces of wood that form the ends of the...
Thanks Benson! Photos attached. With the benefit of sunlight and time, I know believe the number is 9855 18. I've also included the original deck in the photos. The overall length is 16'. Thanks again for your help!
Attachments
The Old Town canoe with serial number 9855 is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, XX (early Otca) model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, oak decks, spruce thwarts, spruce seats, a keel, a slat chair, a five foot and three inch spruce paddle, and a five foot maple paddle. It was built between November, 1908 and January, 1909. The original exterior paint color was N. H. (New Haven Railroad) green. It shipped on January 11th, 1909 to New York City. A scan of 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 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
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 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
Benson,
Outstanding! Thanks for this digging. The Northern Lakes Chapter of WCHA, will be attending the 2024 Rideau Paddlefest in Smiths Falls, Ontario on 24 June 2024. I'll be taking this canoe, along with an enlarged print out of this post, to display at our booth as an advertisement for the benefit of WCHA membership. Thanks again!
Neil
Outstanding! Thanks for this digging. The Northern Lakes Chapter of WCHA, will be attending the 2024 Rideau Paddlefest in Smiths Falls, Ontario on 24 June 2024. I'll be taking this canoe, along with an enlarged print out of this post, to display at our booth as an advertisement for the benefit of WCHA membership. Thanks again!
Neil
