14' Transom OT?

[Beth]

I have a 14' transom cedar/canvas canoe. It came with a 'fan' backrest which has an old Old Town decal. The stern seat has been modified and an additional folding seat was included. The stem band runs from the deck to bottom of transom.
The serial number is in the bow stem and is either 63658 (space) 8 or 52658 (space) 8.
Any ideas?
Many Thanks!

 

[Benson Gray]

The build record for the Old Town canoe with serial number 63658 shows a 17 foot long canoe so my guess is that you have the Old Town with serial number 52658 which had one end replaced with a transom at some point. (There is also likely to be a hidden digit one that is after the space and before the eight in your serial number.) This is an 18 foot long, CS grade, HW (Heavy Water) model with red Western Cedar planking, closed spruce gunwales, maple decks, maple trim, and a keel. It was built between November, 1918 and June, 1919. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on June 17th, 1919 to the "City" which was probably Old Town, Maine. A scan of 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 join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.html to join or renew.

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

 

[smallboatshop]

This canoe was sold to Mrs. Gertrude Wickett in Old Town in 1919. Could she have been the wife or mother of the Old Town Canoe manager? Would be sort of a neat historical connection.

 

[Beth]

Hi THere,
I'm still trying to verify that the serial number I see is what it is! (I'm sure you know what I mean). It was brought to my shop by a friend who is trying to get in touch with the person he bought it from to check the previous owners name . He had looked after an estate of a couple from the 'States, who brought the canoe to their place in the Muskokas....stay tuned!

She's a beauty!

Thanks - yes this would be really interesting, but then it usually is!

 

[Benson Gray]

Your pictures show an Otca style deck, open gunwales, outside stems, and half ribs that clearly exclude it from being number 52658. My new guess is that you have the Old Town with serial number 53650. This is an 18 foot long, CS grade, Otca model with red Western Cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, maple decks, maple trim, half ribs, a keel, outside stems, and a bang plate on the full length of the keel. It was built between March and May, 1919. The original exterior paint color was blue with a half inch gold stripe and Greek ends. This may have been similar to the image at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design17.gif which was later known as design number seventeen. It shipped on June 11th, 1919 to the Dayton, Ohio. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

There are many Wicketts in Old Town and it is not likely that Gertrude Wickett was closely related to Alfred Wickett since he was running the Pecaco canoe company across the river in Milford at this time.

Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Benson Gray]

This canoe was sold to Mrs. Gertrude Wickett in Old Town in 1919. Could she have been the wife or mother of the Old Town Canoe manager? Would be sort of a neat historical connection.

Sue Audette reports that Alfred's wife's name was Gertrude and that they lived on on Fourth Street when they were married. They got divorced in April, 1918 and she may not have gotten a canoe in the settlement. She could have decided to buy a canoe from Old Town in June of 1919 rather than get one from Pecaco where her former husband was working at that time.

Benson