Just bought a Wood & Canvas Canoe and looking for details - Serial # enclosed

Jack McGeehan

Curious about Wooden Canoes
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The image didn't come through so you will need to try again or include the number in the text. Thanks,

Benson
 
The Old Town canoe with serial number 12879 is 18 feet long so that isn't a good match. The Carleton with this number is 17 feet long with birch trim from 1918. The Kennebec with this number is 17 feet long with maple trim and torpedo ends from 1919. Which one do you have? I would be great if you could try attaching some pictures again showing the numbers from each end, the bow deck area, and the stem profile. Thanks,

Benson
 
Well, these pictures show up fine. However, it appears that someone sanded off the original serial numbers and replaced them with 12879 in a completely different font. The font of the two digit length appears to be original. Your pictures show an Old Town style short deck and outside stems. Neither the Old Town or the Carleton build records for serial number 12879 show a canoe with outside stems. The 112879 and 12879x Old Town records don't show a 17 foot long canoe with outside stems either. The two images below show confirmed original Old Town and Carleton serial numbers from the 12000 range for comparison. There isn't much more that I can offer, unfortunately.

Benson



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Wow, that's amazing. I wondered what the reason for the numbers to be reversed in orientation in the stern location. is there any other way to identify the maker of this? Seats, caning, deck plates?
 
The deck and stem profiles look old-town-ish to me, but better educated eyes may think otherwise.

Since the original serial numbers were removed, and secondary ones were applied, it could be that the person who did this couldn't quite read the original numbers, and made a best guess?
 
is there any other way to identify the maker of this?

It appears to be an Old Town from before 1940 based on the old style deck cutout. The shape of the thwarts, seats, and the type of gunwale bolts may narrow it down more but the lack of a serial number means that a complete confirmation is not possible. Better pictures of these areas will help. I agree with Paul that someone probably made a best guess for the serial number and appears to have gotten it wrong. The 12379, 112379 and 12379x Old Town records don't show a 17 foot long canoe with outside stems either.

Benson
 
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Thank you both. I will take better pictures of it when I pull it into the shop. I am just excited to have possession of it and try to get it back on the water. The guy who sold it does whole house clean outs and said the granddaughter of the guy who owned it said it had been sitting in the barn for "decades" and hasn't been touched.
 
My guess is that you have an Old Town canoe that was made before 1923 due to the lack of diamond headed bolts and the thin thwarts. Congratulations,

Benson
 
Another vote for an early Old Town. The thwarts and decks have the proper shape for early 20s and before. And some early Old Towns had un-tapered ribs. Bolts are countersunk and bunged. It’s hard to tell but it also appears that it may have chamfers on the edges of the gunwales. All features of nicer early Old Towns. Again, it’s hard to tell from photos but the trim’s grain looks like mahogany. All of these features plus it’s half ribs and outside stems suggest a nicer (AA-grade or Ideal model) OT from the earlier days. Flag sockets are a nice accessory. You’re missing the center thwart and have a little damage but it’s really a very good canoe and a great candidate for restoration.

Michael
 
Thank you all for the very insightful information. I am a bit of a wood worker and just love the Wood and Canvas style canoes and have been looking for one to restore. This one really did look like a gem and I noticed right away that the trim was mahogany.
 
Jack,

Keep us posted on your progress. It will be fun to see how this canoe develops. In particular, when you get into it look very carefully at each stem using a light at a low angle, and coming in from different angles. You may find a faint ghost of the original serial number, perhaps visible enough to get the data on this canoe.

Michael
 
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