Can you identify OT 129097-13?

[Old_Paddler]

My guess is a late 30's 13' 50 lb canoe.

Picked it up today and just started cleaning it up.

As with all the 50# canoes it has a bunch of cracked ribs, outwales are shot and inwales will either need pieces scarfed in or replacement, but it's basically solid.

Thanks,
Russ

 

[Benson Gray]

Congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 129097 is a 13 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, fifty pound model with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, and a keel. It was built between January and March, 1940. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It was shipped on April 1st, 1940 to Detroit, Michigan. The back side of the card shows that there was a previous request for a copy of this build record in May of 1977 from Albany, New York. Scans showing both sides of this build record can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below.



These scans and several hundred thousand more were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. 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 renew.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the restoration,

Benson

 

[Old_Paddler]

Thank you - that's it.
It was a rescue, I bought it to save it and have no intentions of restoring another canoe.
I love my 15' 50# and don't need two wood canoes (I also have a Hornbeck and 5 Royalex canoes).

I'm going to clean it up some more and hopefully find someone who wants to restore it.
There aren't a lot of the 13' 50# canoes out there.

When I have it cleaned up I will post it in the classifieds.

 

[Benson Gray]

There aren't a lot of the 13' 50# canoes out there.

Good save, the estimates at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/models.html indicates that around 1587 of these were built between 1928 and 1966 which makes it the 17th most popular model/length. Good luck with the sale,

Benson

 

[Old_Paddler]

Have cleaned it up some.
Stern seat and yoke were too short and front seat should be replaced too - so I removed them.
Canoe needs: inwales, outwales, seats, yoke or thwart, 10 ribs, keel, one stem band and TLC - but is in pretty decent shape overall.

I replaced at least that many ribs on my 1934 15' 50lb - and most of the planking on the bottom.
The planking on this one is in much better shape.

 

[Old_Paddler]

I posted it in classifieds today at a lower price than I would have posted it on Craigslist.
This canoe deserves to be restored by someone who will love it as much as I do MY Old Town 50# canoe that Greg transported from Maine for me.