OT says "not our canoe" but....?

[Roger Kugler]

Posted by webmaster for John:

Attached are boat photos, obviously mislabeled as “Bennett”, of an antique square stern sponson boat which I have been storing for years. Although I was under the impression that it was an Old Town model, I am advised by Old Town personnel that the boat’s dimensions don’t match up with those of any of their production models. The boat is approximately 16 feet long. Its beam, at the widest point (including the sponsons) is approximately 48 to 50 inches. The stern or transom width is approximately 27 to 28 inches at the gunwale. I have been unable to locate a serial number anywhere on the boat. There are remnants of a small oval sticker (long gone and unreadable) on the top corner piece at the bow. Any help you or others may be able to provide in identifying the manufacturer and/or age of this vessel will be much appreciated. Thank you.

John in Michigan

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hey John,

I'd look for a serial number on the transom edge or transom bracket... carefully removing surface grime/paint/varnish... looks like an Old Town boat. I recall Dan Miller's post about taking catalog dimensions with a grain of salt, so the fact that the boat doesn't match anything may not mean as much as what it actually looks like.

I did check through the Thompson catalogs (on the Thompson Boats Catalog Collection CD available from http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web), because one of Thompson's short decks is similar to Old Town's (and this boat has an Old Town type deck). Nothing remotely close there, from what I can see.

If you find numbers, we'll look 'em up!

Kathy