Great threads for this uninformed owner. I have an 18' Old Town with serial # F40672 that was purchased second- hand by our family in the late '60's or early 70's. Would love to know its history. It came with a cylinder shaped repair kit, the container appears to be cardboard with a metal lid, and if I remember correctly the screw hole in the back of the canoe held a smaller repair kit. Thank you
Info on Old Town canoe on 18'?
- Thread starter swatson
- Start date
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
Take a closer look at the serial number -- Old Town didn't use letters, so the "F" is probably something else. Look at it on both stems, as sometimes different numbers get gummed up, but you can still put together the complete serial number from the parts.
Pictures will help, too -- we like pictures! Stem profile (side view), decks, thwarts, and ribs all can give good clues, in case it's not an Old Town.
Pictures will help, too -- we like pictures! Stem profile (side view), decks, thwarts, and ribs all can give good clues, in case it's not an Old Town.
Thank you will recheck serial numbers and try to post pictures.
Paul, if we drop the 'F' could the remaining number be the correct serial number? 40672
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
Possibly -- but it would place the boat ca 1916-1917. Think it's that old?
If it's that old, it would have closed gunnels -- a cap on top of the gunnels,running the length of the boat, that covers the rib ends.
Could post pictures of the serial number (both ends) too -- sometimes extra eyes are helpful.
If it's 140672, it would be early to mid 40s-ish, and would have open gunnels, such that the ends of the ribs are easily visible.
If it's that old, it would have closed gunnels -- a cap on top of the gunnels,running the length of the boat, that covers the rib ends.
Could post pictures of the serial number (both ends) too -- sometimes extra eyes are helpful.
If it's 140672, it would be early to mid 40s-ish, and would have open gunnels, such that the ends of the ribs are easily visible.
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I think your second option would be more likely. I don't have immediate access to the canoe
and pictures were taken by another family member, they haven't forwarded them yet. Thank you for your help and I will get back to you.
and pictures were taken by another family member, they haven't forwarded them yet. Thank you for your help and I will get back to you.
The Old Town canoe with serial number 40672 is an 18 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Charles River model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, half ribs, a keel, and outside stems. It was built between December, 1915 and March, 1917. The original exterior paint color was Yale blue. It was shipped on April 5th, 1917 to Wichita, Kansas.
The Old Town canoe with serial number 140672 is an 18 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Guide's model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, half ribs, and a keel. It was built between August and November, 1944. The original exterior paint color was bright red and Guide's Special green. It was shipped on February 28th, 1945 to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please check the numbers again and post some pictures.
Scans of these build records can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below. These scans and several hundred thousand others 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 these descriptions don't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
The Old Town canoe with serial number 140672 is an 18 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Guide's model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, half ribs, and a keel. It was built between August and November, 1944. The original exterior paint color was bright red and Guide's Special green. It was shipped on February 28th, 1945 to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please check the numbers again and post some pictures.
Scans of these build records can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below. These scans and several hundred thousand others 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 these descriptions don't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.
Benson
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pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
There's a great discussion on the value of wooden canoes here: http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57-How-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth
Might not be exactly what you were looking for, but it's a great discussion. A lot of things go into asking price, including condition, location, and rarity of the canoe (amongst many others).
The wooden slat seats peg this as a WWII model, so the 140672 is probably yours. Being a WWII era canoe, it's not really all that old, and thus not all that rare.
By all means, post any & all questions!
Might not be exactly what you were looking for, but it's a great discussion. A lot of things go into asking price, including condition, location, and rarity of the canoe (amongst many others).
The wooden slat seats peg this as a WWII model, so the 140672 is probably yours. Being a WWII era canoe, it's not really all that old, and thus not all that rare.
By all means, post any & all questions!
Info on Old Town canoe on 18'
Thank you, Paul K. for your prompt and helpful response. I have read the information in the link and found it very helpful.
Best regards,
Sue
Thank you, Paul K. for your prompt and helpful response. I have read the information in the link and found it very helpful.
Best regards,
Sue
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Your canoe is the second one Benson posted about-- built during WWII when supplies of cane were unavailable and Old Town made slat-seats for their canoes. Brass and copper were also unavailable, and "war era" canoes were often constructed using steel tacks, which can deteriorate over time-- if so, the canoe might need more work to restore. As far as "value" goes, the following guide is more realistic than some of the eBay listings I've seen these days: http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57-How-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth
Kathy
Kathy
Kathy,
Thank you for your response, the information you provided is very helpful to me. I was not aware of the shortage of cane for the seats and will give the tacks a closer look. I have reviewed the value guide and read the guide information, thank you again for your post.
Sue
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
You're welcome, Sue. I like seeing these war-era canoes with their original slat seats-- some owners replaced the seats with cane-filled ones at a later date, but the history of these canoes is interesting and the seats are attractive. Although as Paul says, it's a "newer" canoe, the war era canoes have a date range of approximately 1943-1947.
If there are any visible tacks, it might work to pass a magnet over them-- I haven't done this, but assume a good magnet would be attracted to any iron or steel. Your canoe appears to be in pretty good shape. If you do choose to sell her, this is the time of year when some folks look for a winter project-- a canoe they can have ready for spring paddling.
I'll attach the image of the guide canoe from the 1945 Old Town catalog, courtesy "The Complete Old Town Company Catalog Collection", which is available from the WCHA online store.
Best of luck re-homing this interesting canoe.
Kathy
If there are any visible tacks, it might work to pass a magnet over them-- I haven't done this, but assume a good magnet would be attracted to any iron or steel. Your canoe appears to be in pretty good shape. If you do choose to sell her, this is the time of year when some folks look for a winter project-- a canoe they can have ready for spring paddling.
I'll attach the image of the guide canoe from the 1945 Old Town catalog, courtesy "The Complete Old Town Company Catalog Collection", which is available from the WCHA online store.
Best of luck re-homing this interesting canoe.
Kathy
