Givin' it a shot...

[WoodFloats]

I've been a WCHA member for several years. My current boat quiver is limited to several strippers I've made. Now, I'm going for it! I just purchased a 15' Old Town #1773346 (circa 1963, I think). The add said "good bones" but I'm finding that many of them are indeed BROKEN! Oh well! I'll be cleaning and scraping for some time but would like advice on material suppliers. California is NOT a mecca for white cedar. BTW, I'm using this forum and This Old Canoe as my "bibles"...any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. WF

 

[pklonowski]

This Old Canoe is one option; there are others, and I'm in no place to recommend one over the others. Look here in the WCHA store for Building the Maine Guide Canoe, and The Wood and Canvas Canoe. All three of these books are worth having... There's a fair amount of replicated information, but also some different perspectives, which can be quite good to have handy!

 

[Benson Gray]

My guess is that you actually have the Old Town canoe with serial number 173346. This is a 15 foot long fifty pound model with a keel. It was built between October and December, 1963. The original exterior paint colors were similar to the ones shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design46.gif which was known as the design number 46. It shipped on February 15th, 1965. A scan of 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 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 your canoe. The books that Paul suggested are available from http://www.wcha.org/store/books and should help. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[WoodFloats]

Nicely done! Yep, I added an extra "7" in my original post. The number 173346 is correct. This craft must have been re-canvased somewhere during its life. There is no hint of anything other than red paint...other the scads of mildew.