Serial number search

[ericang]

Hello,
We have an Old Town sailing canoe that was purchased by my grandfather. Its number is 132866 18
Thank you for any info on this. It's a wonderful craft, we used it a lot when I was growing up. It fit 2 adults, a child & a baby, the dog & a Coleman ice chest! We paddled on Lake Nubanusit in New Hampshire.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 132866 is an 18 foot long, GS (guide special or utility) grade Guide model with white Maine cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash seats, ash thwarts, and a keel. It was built between June and August, 1941. The original exterior paint color was G. S. (Guide's special) gray. It shipped to West Springfield, Massachusetts on September 20th, 1941. A scan of this build record can be found 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/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will donate, join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or join.

It is possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Canoes with a family connection are always extra special. Page nine of the 1941 Old Town catalog at https://www.woodencanoe.org/_files/ugd/537308_4799826f1d234440801bc3589fd08232.pdf has more details. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[ericang]

Thank you, much appreciated! It also has sailing capability--was that an add-on? There is a mast, sail, leeboards and rudder.
And my brother & I are perplexed about your mention of a keel--what comprises a keel on a canoe?
Thank you again.

 

[Benson Gray]

what comprises a keel on a canoe?

It was not unusual to have a sailing rig added to a canoe after it left the factory. A canoe keel is a roughly 7/8 inch strip of wood that runs along the bottom of the center on the hull. The cross section images at https://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/hull-x-s.gif shows keels on all of the canoes. Let me know if this doesn't answer your question,

Benson

 

[ericang]

Thank you, again, much appreciated. I'll share this information with my brother. We are currently getting ready for an estate sale of our late parents' items so we needed--and wanted--details of the canoe.
Our grandfather was the founder of a lumberyard in West Springfield, MA: I see by the build record that he had the canoe delivered to that business. What a day that must have been!