Two 26 foot long Old Town Canoes

Xbnew

New Member
Hi all,
I am looking for some information on two 26 foot long Old Town canoes. (I might be off on the length)
The first one has a serial number of: 170852 and the number 25 separate from the longer number(maybe worker 25 made it)
The second boat is identical to the first I just can't find the serial number on the canoe. Any suggestions? I will give the links for the high resolution pictures of the bow's stem:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B94tfSuR4J9DWDBibzlTcXh3WTQ/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B94tfSuR4J9Damt6WUp0d2lhdlU/view?usp=drivesdk

Also about how much are boats like these worth, sold as a pair?
Thanks,
Xbnew
 
Hello Xb,
Your canoes are 25 feet long. The 25 that follows the serial number stamped in the stem is the boat length. If it were 18, the boat would be an 18 footer and so on.
The serial number 170852 suggest a build date around 1961/62ish. Someone with the build records will be able to give you the exact details. The attached link will help you to approximate.http://wcha.org/legacypages/ot_records/serial-n.jpg
The boat that does not seem to have a serial number may have had it's stems replaced at some point? Did you check both ends as the number is on both stems. It seems unlikely that both stems have been replaced, possible, but unlikely.

With respect to valuation, attached is a link to a discussion topic that will help you develop a better feel for the possible value.
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57-How-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth

From my perspective I would suggest that there is really not any particular benefit from trying to to sell these together. It's hard enough to sell one 25 footer, never mind two of them. Most folks want smaller canoes because they are easier to handle and store. 18 footers are harder to sell than 16's, 20 than 18's etc. The charm of a 25 is that they are unique and for some canoe buffs they might be a bit of a "bucket list" item. That said, I have felt the urge to buy far too often but a 25 has never tempted me...not even a little bit. I suppose that will be the case for most canoe hoarders.
You do not mention the condition or where they are located. Both will influence sale-ability.
Finally, you should attach your photos through this sites tools. they work perfectly. Only one of your gdrive links works
 
Number 170852 is a 25' War Canoe equipped with a keel, outside stems and a floor rack. It was painted dark green and sold to the Boy Scouts in 1961.

The scan of this record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image. This scan 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 and anyone else reading this will join or renew membership in the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to renew.

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. Providing photographs would help with identification, as would an accurate measurement of the boat's
length.

Dan

Daniel Eaton
smallboat shop
Denmark, Maine
www.smallboat-shop.com
 

Attachments

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Your photo of the stem end above appears to be lit from a light source directly above -- near the camera. Raking light from a source 90 degrees away from the camera, such as from a flashlight placed on the bottom of the canoe a short distance from the stem end, pointing into the end of the canoe, is often (but not always) more successful in revealing a serial number.
 
Smallboatshop,
Was the boat with-+ 1 serial number also sold to the Evanston Area council?
 
Was the boat with-+ 1 serial number also sold to the Evanston Area council?

No, 170851 is an 18 foot long Otca that went to Iowa and 170853 is an 17 foot long Otca that went to Illinois. The one with 170857 is a 25 foot War canoe that went to Brighton, Michigan and 170858 is a 25 foot War canoe that went to the Evanston Council in Whitehall, Michigan as shown below. Let me know if this doesn't answer your question.

Benson
 

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