Unreadable Serial Number

[James Carr]

Hello,

The serial number is unreadable. Assume it is an Otca, but is there any other way to approximate the age?

James

 

[Benson Gray]

It certainly looks like someone went to considerable effort to remove the serial numbers. The exterior paint pattern is the design number 10 which first appeared in the 1924 catalog. Are the seats hand caned (i.e. with holes around the outside) or manufactured cane (i.e. with a slot around the outside)? Are the bolts diamond headed? Does the paddle have an Old Town decal? Is there any sign of a decal on the bow deck? Are there any obvious iron fastenings? This deck was replaced with a standard deck in 1957 so my guess would be between the early 1920s and late 1950s without more details.

Benson

 

[James Carr]

Thanks Benson,

The seats are hand caned and it has diamond head bolts. Will need to find out about signs of a logo on the deck or paddle.

James

 

[Benson Gray]

The seats are hand caned

This narrows the likely end of the date range to the late 1930s. You might be able to narrow this range further by guessing if the original serial number was five or six digits long but this seems unlikely. The deck logo would have looked like the one at https://www.woodencanoe.org/product-page/old-town-deck-decal-1906-1954 for example. Good luck,

Benson

 

[James Carr]

Thank you, I will see if I can find out more.

James

 

[James Carr]

No luck on finding a logo but here are a couple more pictures.