Old boat.

Jim mccain

New Member
11682-16 is the serial #.
I was given an old canoe that had been sitting in the rafters at a lumber yard. The owners said its been up there for over twenty years. They knew I build woodstrips, and wondered if I wanted it. The stern is rotten, big hole! I think it's an old town. Can someone ID it for me? Has green canvas,and all the ribs like an old town. I'm on
 
The last two digits imply that you have a 16 foot long canoe but the Old Town, Carleton, and Kennebec build records for that number show 17 foot long ones. Can you take some pictures of the numbers and surrounding area from each end and post them here to see if there may be any hidden digits? The tips at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may help. Many other builders used a similar numbering scheme. Some pictures of the decks, interior, and the rest of the canoe may also help identify it. It would also be good to confirm the extreme overall length of your canoe in a straight line as well. Thanks,

Benson
 

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What Dan said.

Very distinctive deck shape, and note the clunky cross sections/build. Much cruder built than a T.

Dan
 
Hi Jim,

I don't know how old your canoe may be, but see the photo here (one of yours) - the circle shows the recurved edge of the deck that to my knowledge is characteristic of Shell Lake. You can see the same thing in the attached Shell Lake catalog page if you zoom in. Thompson canoes look much like yours, but this deck shape seems to be diagnostic of Shell Lake vs. Thompson. If there are other Shell Lake deck styles, perhaps someone can post images here, but this is the only one I know.

Search these forums and you'll find some other examples of Shell Lake canoes. The seats can be caned frames or wooden slats, but the decks should all be like to yours.

Michael
 

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Hi Jim,

It's rare that records exist for any of the old canoe companies, so I suggest you look into getting the information on yours. I've been told that not everyone at the museum in Washburn County knows how to do this, so you may have to be persistent. If things in life were logical, those records would be donated to the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner, where they'd be more accessible for research.

Shell Lake canoes were popular with children's camps and the like, in Wisconsin and surrounding states. You don't indicate where you live, but since you're already into woodstrips and paddling, I'd like to alert you to the WCHA Chapters (listed on the main page of this website) if you aren't already aware of them. Most have paddling and camping opportunities-- group projects-- lots of helpful information and a chance to be with great people.

Kathy
 
A picture of Jim's serial number tag is attached below. Dave Wermuth's research of a similar canoe is shown at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?8017 from 2009. I have recently traded messages with Tim Brabec of the Washburn County Historical Society to see about getting their Shell Lake records scanned.

Benson
 

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The tag definitively identifies it as a DeLuxe Model (No. 116). More details can be seen on the catalog page posted by Michael Grace (post No. 7).

Dan
 
The Shell Lake canoe with serial number 116 82 is shown in the first volume of the Shell Lake ledgers. This was assigned to a 16 foot long Deluxe model. It shipped to Northbrook, Illinois. on February 18th, 1943.

The scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below. These original Shell Lake records are reproduced through the courtesy of the Washburn County Historical Society Museum.

s-166-82.jpg

The pictures of these records were created with substantial efforts from Barry Christenson and the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA). A description of a project to preserve other records like these can be found 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 the canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson
 
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