please help clarify this serial number for an Old Town 18' Canoe...

[cleanairguy]

Hello,

I have an Old Town 18' canoe but I am having trouble reading the serial number.

It is in the photo attached. It looks like 1I0907, but that doesn't make sense. Maybe it is I0907 using an I for a 1.

I think it is a 1908 but I am not sure of the model.

We have had it since the 1960s (when we restored it) and I am planning to sell it soon.

Does anyone know the range of value for this canoe? It needs to be scarped, sealed and repainted.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 110907 is an 18 foot long, GS (guide's special or low) grade, Guide model with open spruce gunwales, oak decks, oak decks, oak seats, and a keel. It was built between 1931 and February, 1933. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (guide's special) light green. It shipped in May 6th, 1933 to Baltimore, Maryland. A scan showing this build record is attached below.

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 will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The suggestions at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may help you locate the serial number on the other end to confirm each digit and the information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57 may help you value it. Some similar canoes are listed at http://www.wcha.org/pp-classifieds/ for comparison. Good luck with the sale,

Benson