We think this is an Old Town Canoe.

[Julie]

Hi, After hanging in our garage for over 8 years, we finally got to the point we had time to check out the canoe that has been in our garage since we acquired our property.

We think it is an Old Town Canoe. Is it? We found this serial number: 56534.

Uggg I can’t load a picture. How can I get the serial number traced?

 

[Julie]

 

[mccloud]

Certainly seems to have a deck shape typical for Old Town. Can't see from the photo whether it has diamond head bolts. It is an open-gunwale canoe. If the serial number is ~56,000 that puts it around 1920, but look closely at both inside stems on the floor. Old Town stamped the same serial number into the stems on both ends. The format should be 12345 16, where the final two are the length, measured extreme tip to tip. Make sure you are seeing all the numbers. Someone will be along here soon to find the build sheet.

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 56534 is a 16 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, Charles River model with red western planking, open spruce gunwales, birch decks, birch thwarts, birch seats, a keel, and a middle thwart. It was built between October and November, 1919. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on June 2nd, 1920 to Bowling Green, Kentucky. 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 this description doesn't match the canoe. Feel free to reply if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[JClearwater]

Call me a "Doubting Thomas" but the profile of this canoe looks more like an Old Town Guide model rather than a Charles River. Seems to me that a Charles River had a greater up sweep at the ends. Julie, are you sure about the serial number? However, I've been wrong before.....

Jim

 

[Benson Gray]

I agree with Jim. The record below for serial number 56584 shows a I. F. or Guide model but it is 18 feet long. Some of the suggestions at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/791/ may help you determine the correct serial number. The comments at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/469/ may help you post some pictures. Please let us know the extreme overall length in a straight line along with sharing some pictures of the numbers and other interior details. Thanks,

Benson