Old Town info please

Twotracker

Curious about Wooden Canoes
I'm the second generation owner of a beautiful green Old Town, Serial Number 8175554 17 recently restored by Dave Osborn at Little Lakes Canoe Restoration in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. I'd like to track down more information about it. Thanks.
 
Two tracker...
There are no Old Town canoes with that high of number or that many digits. If I did the work, I may have the build record saved.
What canoe was it??
Dave
 
Dave, the customer was me, Phil Burnside. You worked on the green Old Town and the red 1915 (but really, I think, 1917) B.N. Morris. You finished them up in September of 2014, I think.

Phil
 
The Old Town canoe with serial number 175554 is 17 foot long Otca model with a keel and two painter rings. It was built between December, 1965 and March, 1966. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on May 25th, 1966 to Downers Grove, Illinois. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the thumbnail image attached 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/ot_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-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson
 

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I notice that no grade is listed on this build record, yet I see many posts that refer to a grade. Is its absence here significant? I'll search for a key to the Old Town grading system, but would appreciate your comment.

Phil
 
Hey Phil!!!
Guess you got your answer!

If you post your BN Morris serial number in another post, someone will get back to you with the latest serial number info that has been developed. It will get you into the Morris history registry, too.
Dave
 
I notice that no grade is listed on this build record, yet I see many posts that refer to a grade. Is its absence here significant?

No, Old Town simply stopped using the grades around 1957. The later ones had mahogany outside gunwales with spruce inside gunwales since the grades had been eliminated. The specifications for your canoe are shown at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=20973&d=1335710915 from the 1960 catalog. The 1914 catalog pages at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14991&d=1302910895 describes the AA grade and the one at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14990&d=1302910894 has the CS. More information like this is available from http://store.wcha.org/The-Complete-Old-Town-Canoe-Company-Catalog-Collection-CD-ROM.html in the Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection. Let me know if this doesn't answer your question.

Benson
 
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