Hello Jim,
Regarding getting to the number on the stem of your well painted square stern - go cautiously. Start with soap & water. Try a rubbing over the area, if that does not reveal the number, a little thinner may do the trick or a judicious application of a paint stripper. If you have to sand, used very fine paper, a hard sanding block and a very light touch.
131309 is a 16' Square Stearn in CS grade with Spruce gunwales and ash trim. It was shipped to Maine in May, 1941 and returned for repairs in 1948. The build record says that it was originally painted Dark Green, but there is also a notation about trappers green. A copy of the build record and the repair notes are attached.
Scans of approximately 210,000 records were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. Additional information about the project to preserve these records is available at
http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. Please join WCHA or make a tax deductable contribution 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. If you are already a WCHA member, THANK YOU!
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.
