You see a quality difference? How so? I don't mean to say I doubt you, I just haven't seen it. Within the past year or so I've restored 1936 & 1939 Yankees, as well as this Otca (Otca's are essentially a Yankee... right?). I can't say I noticed any significant differences. Well... the newer Old Towns tended to use white cedar planking, right? And newer ones tend to have machine made seat caning. And this one came with aluminum stem bands - yuck. But the wood surfaces inside & out look the same, the hardware is the same, the tacks seem to hold just as well. The newer ones may weigh a bit more, so maybe the wood is a bit thicker...