Wondering What Year My Canoe Was Made?

[Sue Gervais]

Hi,
I have an Old Town canoe, serial number 115459, then there are two numbers a few inches away: 15. Can you tell me what year it was made?
Thanks very much,
Sue Gervais

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 115459 is a 15 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, fifty pound model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, oak decks, oak thwarts, a keel, and thwarts in place of seats. It was built between January and July, 1935. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on July 19th, 1935 to Wareham, Mass. A scan showing this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image 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 http://www.wcha.org/about-wcha to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/store/membership to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Sue Gervais]

Thank you very much, Benson! It is positively remarkable to me that you were able to find the building record and the record of the buyer!

Sometime circa 50 years ago, my uncle in Duxbury, MA got two canoes from Camp Squanto in Plymouth, MA (so now we know this camp, located in the Miles Standish State Forest in Plymouth, was likely the original buyer from Old Town). Their canvas was in ruins, but the bones of the boats were in good condition. My uncle, father and brother re-canvassed the canoes. One canoe went to my family and the other was my uncle's and his family's. My cousin told me her father sold their canoe to a kid for $100 soon after it was repaired, and the kid wrecked it in no time. My brother thinks one or both canoes were the subject of a canoe repair article by our uncle (boat and airplane devotee and professional writer), possibly in Popular Mechanics. Our canoe was painted red, and we enjoyed it for many years in North Weymouth, MA, primarily. We recently gave it to a friend in ME, so feel that it is "going home" now. It is in excellent condition, just needs some new paint and varnish.

Thanks so much again!
Sue Gervais