Seeking serial number info for my father's Old Town Canoe

[FloydEQueeb]

Good Afternoon,
We just got my father's Old Town canoe down out of the barn and its in surprisingly good shape. He had the forethought to cover it in plastic to fend off the bat droppings that have infiltrated everything else. This canoe was used in the wilds of northern Canada and on the Allagash according to the stories I remember but I would like to know more about its origin, hence this request for information on Serial Number 150965 18. Thank you in advance for any light you can shed on this canoe's heritage.

Sincerely,
J. Daniel Schell
North Hatfield, MA

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 150965 is an 18 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Guide model with white Maine cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, and a keel. It was built between May and July, 1948. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's Special) green. It was shipped on August 19th, 1949 to Jackman Station, Maine. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image 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/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. Canoes with a family history are always especially good. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson