what's the story on my canoe

[Johntee]

The serial number on my old canoe is: XTC93701M73H
What can you tell me about it.
Thanks, John

 

[Kathryn Klos]

That's probably one of those Coast Guard numbers or another type of boat-id thingy, and not a serial number. Is your canoe an Old Town canoe? Please post pictures and we can help identify it. I'll give you a link to where to look for serial numbers--- this works for Old Town in particular, but some of the other companies too. Be aware that if your canoe isn't among a handful where the serial number actually can be connected to a record, we may only be able to say what you have and when it possibly was made, and not much else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYwVSJhejFA

Kathy

 

[Benson Gray]

This is a Coast Guard hull identification number (HIN) as Kathy mentioned. See http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm for more information about the formats of these HINs over the years. The XTC at the beginning indicates that it was built by the Old Town Canoe Company and the 73 at the end shows that it shipped in 1973. The actual serial number is 193701 which is a build record that has been scanned as shown in the attachment below. This shows that your canoe is a blue fiberglass Carleton model with no keel that shipped to Leominster, Mass. on March 19th, 1973 and weighed 76 pounds. What more do you want to know about it?

Benson

 

[Johntee]

As it turns out the original owner is from Leominster and said he bought the boat in the 70's.
The Canoe is now back within 50 miles of its origination. I guess now the only thing I would like to know is what are the main features of the Carleton.
Thank you for your info.
Jaytee

 

[Kathryn Klos]

I'll attach a page from the 1973 Old Town catalog which describes the Carleton model, courtesy of "The Complete Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection, 1901- 1993", available on CD from http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web.

Enjoy paddling!

Kathy

 

[Johntee]

not seriaL number

That's probably one of those Coast Guard numbers or another type of boat-id thingy, and not a serial number. Is your canoe an Old Town canoe? Please post pictures and we can help identify it. I'll give you a link to where to look for serial numbers--- this works for Old Town in particular, but some of the other companies too. Be aware that if your canoe isn't among a handful where the serial number actually can be connected to a record, we may only be able to say what you have and when it possibly was made, and not much else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYwVSJhejFA

Kathy

Thank you Kathy, Benson got me on the right track for the number.
John

 

[Johntee]

Thanks again Kathy,
I do appreciate the info on the Carleton.
John