Serial Number 1915#7 help please

[agoldstein]

Hello there. I just purchased an older 17' Old Town. The serial number is 1915#7, where the missing digit is probably a 0, 2, 8, or 9 (because all that is left of it is a rounded top). What I know about it:
-Fiberglass hull
-Vinyl gunwales (maybe not original?)
-plastic or fiberglass seats (not molded to hull, but suspended from the gunwale), (again, maybe not original)
-one thwart (There is only one on the boat, and no vacant holes to indicate a missing thwart, but may not mean anything if the gunwale was replaced)

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[agoldstein]

I could be mistaken about the missing digit, btw, but I think that is the right direction. Also, know a lot of model numbers were followed by a hull length, but what I posted is all I could find on the whole boat, and it is enclosed in a recessed rectangle stamped in the fiberglass, so I don't think I am missing anything. Again, I could be wrong....

 

[agoldstein]

I spoke to Old Town this morning. We cross-referenced all four possible numbers (191507, 191527, 191587, and 191597). The first two were 14-footers, so not right. The third was blue and white and shipped to Florida, so not likely as mine is green. Last one seemed to be a success. I have a Carleton Voyager model in green, which shipped to Chelmsford, MA (near where I live now) in early 1972. It has the original white vinyl gunwales and ABS decks and seats. The interesting thing is this: the voyager came in 14', 16', and 18' models with double ends, and a 17' model with a flat transom. Mine seems to be a 17' model with traditional double ends. Maybe I have a rare one-off model?

 

[Greg Nolan]

A one-off fiberglass canoe with a different end shape seems unlikely, but Benson could better speak to that question.

"3" and "6" have rounded tops also.

Have you actually and accurately measured the length of your canoe?

191567 is a 16' Carlton model, dark green, shipped to Newbury, Mass.



191537, a 16’ model fg (fiberglass), color “Dk. Green & D. White", shipped to Concord, Mass.

 

[agoldstein]

Greg, thanks for the update. I feel pretty silly! I did measure, but freely admit I may have have been less than accurate (only had 10 foot tape measure handy. used a rope to get the length and then measure in stages with the short tape. Plenty of room for error!) I measured close to 17 feet, but it could probably be 16' as well.

 

[Benson Gray]

Maybe I have a rare one-off model?

No, the 17 foot, two inch long Carleton Voyager model was introduced in 1972 after the catalog had already been printed. It does appear in the 1973 catalog as shown below. A one-off fiberglass canoe with a different end shape is highly unlikely as Greg mentioned.

Benson

 

[agoldstein]

Benson, thanks for chiming in! When I spoke with OT we probably got sidetracked by the 1972 ship date and never looked at the '73 catalog. It's all coming together now. I'll get a more accurate measurement when I get a longer tape and can maybe put this to rest. 191567, 191537, and 191597 were all green, all within one foot, and all shipped to within reasonable distances to where I bought the Canoe (Newton, MA). Any idea what "D. White" stood for in the color section? Looks almost like it could be O. White. Maybe off-white? The Gunwales are white vinyl....., but why not list the gunwale color in the other listings? In any case, it looks like I missed its 40th birthday by a few weeks.

 

[Benson Gray]

Any idea what "D. White" stood for in the color section? Looks almost like it could be O. White. Maybe off-white? The Gunwales are white vinyl....., but why not list the gunwale color in the other listings?

"D. White" usually stands for Desert White. This was a very popular color which was a very light tan or off-white. Most of the vinyl gunwales on the Carleton models were originally a light brown but these occasionally fade to white over time. The color on yours may be slightly darker on the area that is under the decks and out of the sun. The gunwale color was not listed for the Carleton models since this was not a customer selectable option. The FG model as noted on the build record for serial number 191537 had molded fiberglass seats and rails where the colors were commonly varied for customer requests. Your canoe may also have a hull identification number on the starboard stern. The page at http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm has more details about these numbers. We may be able to offer more information if you post some pictures of your canoe.

Benson