Project

[Ruttrowe]

First for me wood canvas canoe project boat. Picked up in Massachusetts yesterday in the pouring rain. Off the suburban and into my shop to assess the needs. As you can see from the photos not much canvas was left. It’s a 16’ boat, pretty sure Old Town, guessing from the serial number built in the 1920’s. Sent off the serial number to Old Town hopefully they have build card. The boat was salvaged from a former Scout Camp in New Hampshire. Was stored in a barn for a number of years then under a somewhat covered deck for 18 years. It’s actually in pretty decent shape. With any luck I can get her back to a paddle worthy boat.

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

That’s fantastic! Enjoy the process.

Bob

 

[Robin]

Nice looking wc canoe, good luck with the restoration.

 

[Ruttrowe]

That’s fantastic! Enjoy the process.

Bob

Thanks

 

[Ruttrowe]

Nice looking wc canoe, good luck with the restoration.

Thanks.

 

[Benson Gray]

What is the serial number?

 

[Ruttrowe]

What is the serial number?

# 67075

 

[Benson Gray]

Congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 67075 is a 17 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Otca model with red Western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, twenty inch mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, a floor rack, and a painter ring. It was built between August, 1921 and February, 1922. The original exterior paint color was similar to the image shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/covers/large-22.gif which was the 1922 catalog cover. It shipped on March 3rd, 1922 to Albany, New York. 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 also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. This doesn't look like the correct record. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

Quite a find ruttrowe!

Bob

 

[Ruttrowe]

Benson…Thanks for the card and info. Attached are photos of the serial number stern and a 16 (hard to make out the 1 in the 16) stamped in the bow of the boat I have. The boat measures 16’ not 17’, it never had seats installed that I can see and it didn’t have a painter ring. It has 3 thwarts, wondering it was setup just as a kneeling boat. Wondering if it should be 97075 and they flipped the 9. I’m also communicating with Old Town about this.

 

[lowangle al]

Nice find whatever it is. From what I can see of the sheerline it reminds me of the Guide. I was going to ask if it ever had seats because it doesn't look like it did. If it were mine, I'd restore it as is, w/o seats.

I have a Guide that has a similar thwart configuration as yours. It is a lightweight model that supposedly was popular with camps, probably cheaper to buy.

 

[Ruttrowe]

Yes I want to keep it as original as I can. I think it is a guide model as well.

 

[Benson Gray]

My guess is that you may have the Old Town canoe with serial number 167075. This is a 16 foot long Guide model with thwarts in place of the seats. It was built between January and October, 1958. The original exterior paint color was aluminum. It shipped on May 29th, 1959 to Amesbury, Massachusetts. A scan showing this build record can be found below. Are the numbers from the stem any more clear in the other end?

Benson

 

[Ruttrowe]

My guess is that you may have the Old Town canoe with serial number 167075. This is a 16 foot long Guide model with thwarts in place of the seats. It was built between January and October, 1958. The original exterior paint color was aluminum. It shipped on May 29th, 1959 to Amesbury, Massachusetts. A scan showing this build record can be found below. Are the numbers from the stem the other end any more clear?

Benson



View attachment 133476

My guess is that you may have the Old Town canoe with serial number 167075. This is a 16 foot long Guide model with thwarts in place of the seats. It was built between January and October, 1958. The original exterior paint color was aluminum. It shipped on May 29th, 1959 to Amesbury, Massachusetts. A scan showing this build record can be found below. Are the numbers from the stem the other end any more clear?

Benson



View attachment 133476

My guess is that you may have the Old Town canoe with serial number 167075. This is a 16 foot long Guide model with thwarts in place of the seats. It was built between January and October, 1958. The original exterior paint color was aluminum. It shipped on May 29th, 1959 to Amesbury, Massachusetts. A scan showing this build record can be found below. Are the numbers from the stem the other end any more clear?

Benson



View attachment 133476

I did a little sanding now I’m thinking it begins with 1 #167075 this picture is of the bow

 

[Ruttrowe]

Thank you!

 

[Ruttrowe]

I’m happy to find out what I have and I’m very excited to have this boat, I’ve never owned or paddled a wooden canoe. My wife who went to a summer camp says you can’t beat the feel of paddling a wood canvas canoe. Can’t wait to get the repairs and refinishing done so I can get going on the canvas part.
As much as I want to keep it original it won‘t be painted aluminum!

 

[lowangle al]

I'd be real curious to see an aluminum color canoe.

 

[Benson Gray]

I'd be real curious to see an aluminum color canoe.

It isn't a really attractive color but was popular in the 1940s and 1950s (even before aluminum canoes were invented). The image below shows a four foot model that was painted aluminum.

Benson

 

[lowangle al]

Thanks Benson, I guess it was new and different back then and then the appearance of aluminium canoes surely killed it.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

What is the serial number?

Benson, welcome to site membership! Feel free to ask any questions and to post messages, photos and videos in our many forums. Please read Welcome to CanoeTripping and Site Rules! We look forward to your participation in our canoe community.

For those who may not know, Benson is sort of the historian of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association especially as to all the official build records of Old Town canoes. I've never met Benson personally but hope to meet him at the 2023 WCHA Assembly at Paul Smiths, which I'm planning on attending. The Freestyle group is having their summer teaching symposium there at the same time, and this site had tentatively planned a wooden canoe trip around the time of the Assembly last summer, which didn't work out for various reasons.

I've had both 17' OTCA and a 16' Guide, and it looks more like a Guide to me in the pictures.