Is This An Old Town Canoe & Viable For Restoration?

JnKfloaters

New Member
I found this at a lawn sale. There's a number in the canoe 166560. Is this an Old Town canoe? Any help would be helpful.
 
 
Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 166560 is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Otca model with a keel. It was built between September and December, 1957. The original exterior paint color was bright red. It shipped on March 25th, 1958 to Utica, New York. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

166560.jpg

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 possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Almost any wood canoe is viable for restoration, it really just depends on how much time, money, and effort you want to put into it. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson
 
Thank you Benson. I'd like to get a pro's opinion of the condition and any suggestions and tips. I tried posting a pic on this thread. Doesn't appear I've uploaded that correctly.
 
I'm not a pro but, that looks typical of old W/C canoes, at a quick glance, the ribs/planking look good, needs new outer rails, and canoe tips rebuilt.
It's common for the tips to rot away, (canoe is put on the rack after use and the water drains down to the tip, keeping the tip wet longer.)

Dan
 
Damage of the kind shown in your pics is regularly repaired/restored, by professionals and by do-it-yourself owners.

When considering any repair/restoration work, whether you plan to do it yourself or to hire a professional, there are three good sources of information about canoe restoration that you would do well to get, or at least look at, before making any decision about how to repair or restore your canoe:

The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration, and Maintenance by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok

Building the Maine Guide Canoe by Jerry Stelmok

This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe, by Mike Elliott

The first is often called the "bible" of canoe repair, restoration, and maintenance; the second is an excellent study of the wooden/canvas canoe and its construction. The third is the most recently published and has been well received.

Of course, you can always ask questions here on the forums.
 
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