Oldtown 53 runabout look up

[Doug Stevens]

Dad's oldtown ive taken over and am trying to get all the information I can.
Numbers are hard to read. These are the possible #s he gave me.

161514
Or 160514

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town with serial number 160514 is a 16 foot long Oceanboat that shipped to Rhode Island in 1953. My guess is that you may have the one with number 161514. This is a 13.5 foot long lapstrake model boat in AA (or top) grade with a 48 inch deck, a keel, an outside stem, and a floor rack. It was built in January, 1954. The original exterior was white. It shipped on March 25th, 1954 to Waldoboro, Maine. 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 also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the boat. Page 35 of the 1954 catalog at the link below has more details. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

Old Town Canoes and Boats, 1954 | Adirondack Experience

 

[asjadkhan]

Wow, thank you Benson — that’s incredibly helpful! The details on the 161514 model line up really well with what I’m seeing on the boat, so I think that must be it. I’ll check again to confirm the number, but this gives me a great starting point. Appreciate the history and the links!