query regarding serial number

[judoal]

I recently acquired a 20' Old Town canvas canoe from a neighbor who used it as a guide up in Maine. The S/N is 178469. Anyone have any info about this canoe? Thanks

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 178469 is a 20 foot long Guide model with half ribs and no keel. It was built between June and August, 1967. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It shipped on August 4th, 1967 to Freeport, Maine. A scan showing this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

These scans 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. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[judoal]

Hi, Thanks for this info (quite belatedly). I am having this canoe fully restored and adding a keel and a painter ring. Any ideas about what the value of this canoe would be if fully restored in showroom condition? Thanks.

 

[Greg Nolan]

for a discussion on valuing a canoe, see http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57-How-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth

 

[judoal]

yah, I saw that page, but was hoping for something more specific! Thanks.

 

[pklonowski]

Getting more specific is difficult, for all the reasons detailed in that post. It really boils down to what someone else is willing to pay for it, and whether you're willing to sell it for that amount, or wait for a better offer. As has been said, the best way to get a million dollars in the used canoe market is to start with two million dollars...

 

[Dan Miller]

I am having this canoe fully restored and adding a keel and a painter ring. Any ideas about what the value of this canoe would be if fully restored in showroom condition?

To be perfectly blunt, it will probably bring less than what you will pay to have it restored, if you are planning to sell it.

If you are planning to insure it, have an appraiser establish the replacement value. For a variety of reasons, replacement value can be higher than market value.