Ot 15918 16
- Thread starter thirsty
- Start date
Ric Altfather
WCHA #4035
Not sure if Teddy had anything to do with this one...
OT #15918 appears to be a boat weighing in at 115#, the build record is very faint. Anyway, it is 17', in CS grade, spruce gunwales and finish rails, ash seats, decks and thwarts. The original color was dark green. It shipped to Philadelphia, PA on 2/16/1911.
So, I checked the Carleton records and came up with #15918 as a 19' Guide in CS grade with spruce gunwales and birch decks, seats and thwarts and dark green in color. It was shipped to Maine on Luly 6, 1922 and resold on August 18, 1922. Stay tuned, I will send the build records soon.
Double check the SN again and let us know if there are any changes.
Good luck!
Ric Altfather
OT #15918 appears to be a boat weighing in at 115#, the build record is very faint. Anyway, it is 17', in CS grade, spruce gunwales and finish rails, ash seats, decks and thwarts. The original color was dark green. It shipped to Philadelphia, PA on 2/16/1911.
So, I checked the Carleton records and came up with #15918 as a 19' Guide in CS grade with spruce gunwales and birch decks, seats and thwarts and dark green in color. It was shipped to Maine on Luly 6, 1922 and resold on August 18, 1922. Stay tuned, I will send the build records soon.
Double check the SN again and let us know if there are any changes.
Good luck!
Ric Altfather
Ric Altfather
WCHA #4035
OP
OP
thirsty
#8111
Length in question
Ric,
Thanks for the quick response. We are in NEPA, so the Strawbridge in Philly makes sense. The serial # on the stem is clear at both ends including the 16' length, which on the shipping bill is listed as 17'. We also own a 1912 OT HW and the serial # on both stems is also clear, 19271 17, but again on the shipping bill the length again mistakenly listed at 15'. My questions; 1) Was this mistake typical during that period? Or; 2) Do I have the only two earlier boats which were misdocumented? ( in that case they are for sale as a pair, at a price that reflects this statisical phenom) Or; 3) Like so many other requests in this forum, should I have taken a better look before submitting my request? Again, thanks for taking the time.
Dave & Peggy
Ric,
Thanks for the quick response. We are in NEPA, so the Strawbridge in Philly makes sense. The serial # on the stem is clear at both ends including the 16' length, which on the shipping bill is listed as 17'. We also own a 1912 OT HW and the serial # on both stems is also clear, 19271 17, but again on the shipping bill the length again mistakenly listed at 15'. My questions; 1) Was this mistake typical during that period? Or; 2) Do I have the only two earlier boats which were misdocumented? ( in that case they are for sale as a pair, at a price that reflects this statisical phenom) Or; 3) Like so many other requests in this forum, should I have taken a better look before submitting my request? Again, thanks for taking the time.
Dave & Peggy
I may be able to solve the mystery of your other canoe. The Carleton canoe with serial number 19271 is a 17 foot long, CS grade, Carleton model with Western red cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch trim, half ribs, a keel, outside stems, sponsons, and a bang plate on the full length of the keel. It was built between October, 1925 and April, 1926. The original exterior paint color was orange with a 5/8"(?) black stripe. This may have looked similar to the one at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design20.gif that was known as the Old Town design number 20. It shipped on May 8th, 1966 to Scranton, Penna. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link under the thumbnail image attached below.
The 15918 is a more difficult puzzle. Kennebec shipped an 18 foot canoe with this serial number in 1922. The Carleton and Old Town records for this number don't show a 16 foot canoe either as Ric mentioned previously. I would encourage you to review the information at http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/id/ to see if you can identify your canoe's manufacturer from any other characteristics. It might also be helpful if you could post some pictures and confirm the dimensions. The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=791 may also help. There is always a possibility that the length was recorded improperly on the card but this is not likely since several people would have reviewed this through the process of construction and shipping.
This scan was created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. Additional information about 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 join or renew your membership to 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.html to 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
The 15918 is a more difficult puzzle. Kennebec shipped an 18 foot canoe with this serial number in 1922. The Carleton and Old Town records for this number don't show a 16 foot canoe either as Ric mentioned previously. I would encourage you to review the information at http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/id/ to see if you can identify your canoe's manufacturer from any other characteristics. It might also be helpful if you could post some pictures and confirm the dimensions. The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=791 may also help. There is always a possibility that the length was recorded improperly on the card but this is not likely since several people would have reviewed this through the process of construction and shipping.
This scan was created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. Additional information about 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 join or renew your membership to 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.html to 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
Attachments
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OP
thirsty
#8111
Benson,
Thanks, the Carlton shipped to Scranton works. The sponsons are gone, I'll look for tell tale signs of their presence. I'll need more then a little advise during restoration having to fabricate the sponsons from scratch. The 15918 16 has diamond seat and thwart bolts as well as the the classic OT deck, I'll probably post photos after I clean my glasses and recheck it for the only too common missing number. Thank you for providing this service. Being able to document these canoes has played a major role in our interest in preserving them, we now have 8 "pre-war" awaiting my retirement.
Dave & Peggy
Thanks, the Carlton shipped to Scranton works. The sponsons are gone, I'll look for tell tale signs of their presence. I'll need more then a little advise during restoration having to fabricate the sponsons from scratch. The 15918 16 has diamond seat and thwart bolts as well as the the classic OT deck, I'll probably post photos after I clean my glasses and recheck it for the only too common missing number. Thank you for providing this service. Being able to document these canoes has played a major role in our interest in preserving them, we now have 8 "pre-war" awaiting my retirement.
Dave & Peggy
