Old Town Runabout

[Dave Trayers]

I inherited an Old Town Runabout purchased in 1953 by my grandparents. It spent most of it's time on the water on Thompson Lake in Oxford, ME at the family camp. For the past 30 years, it's been in my parents' backyard on saw horses under a tarp. I'm planning on restoring the boat, and was hoping to find some more detail on when it was built and the materials used. Perhaps a copy of the build sheet and a catalog reference.

The serial number on the center transom knee somewhat hard to make out. It is either 25300X or 26300X. The second digit is either a "5" or "6" and the last digit is very faint... it may be a zero but really could be any digit. That makes 20 different combinations.

Here are some more details that may help: it's 14' - 15' long, varnished lapstrake with a fore deck and two rows of seats. The front seat back doesn't fold down, it has a split back that creates two consoles for the second row with a small hinged door to close off the opening. It may be an "amidship deck" option? The helm is on the starboard console on the second row with a steering wheel and cable and pulley to the engine. The second row seatback folds down. It has a dealer sticker of "Fernald's Boat Livery, Newbury, MA" on the coming of the foredeck. My mother was in college when the boat was purchased and she recalls it was purchased new from Fernald's (long since closed) in 1953. I can also provide some photos if that helps.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the charts at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html indicate that an Old Town from 1953 should have a serial number closer to 160,000. My guess is that you may have the Old Town with serial number 163006. This build record shows a 15 foot long lapstrake outboard model boat in AA (or top) grade with a 54 inch deck, a split middle deck, a keel, outside stems, and a floor rack. It was built between February and March, 1955. The original exterior was natural with clear varnish. It shipped on March 17th, 1955 to Fernald's in Newbury, Mass. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the thumbnail image attached below along with some pages describing this boat from the 1955 catalog.



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 boat. The serial number should also be stamped in the bow stem under the deck. Please attach some pictures if you are still not sure about the numbers. The Fernalds have retired but Newbury Kayak and Canoe at https://www.newburykayak.com/ is in the same location now. The collection at http://www.wcha.org/store/complete-old-town-canoe-company-catalog-collection has more catalog information if you want it. Boats with a family connection are always extra special. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Dave Trayers]

Thanks, Benson! Exactly what I needed.