Old Town 182847 16

[DaveKunz]

Looking for build record and any additional info on OT #182847 16. Will be doing repair & restoration of this canoe.

Also, I have an OT catalog titled "There's A New Indian In The Old Town This Year" -- no indication of the year however. I judge it to be from the mid-60's. Any interest in or value to the catalog?

Thanks!

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hello Dave--

Old Town 182847 is a 16 foot Otca model canoe, built between March and May of 1969. It has a keel and was painted design 37, then shipped to Worchester, Massachusetts on August 18, 1969.

A copy of the scan for this record is attached below. It tried to upload a copy of design 37, but my new picture program won't convert the image to something this board accepts, and maybe someone else can provide it. The canoe was orange with a stripe that had Greek ends.

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/ot_records/ if you want more details. Please join WCHA or make a tax deductible contribution so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA, http://www.wcha.org/wcha_video.php to watch a 10 minute video about WCHA and our programs and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join. If you are already a WCHA member, THANK YOU!

Your catalog probably has more value if it stays with the canoe. It's the 1969 Old Town catalog. I'd attach a copy of that, but my picture program won't let me... it's a cool cover.

Kathy

 

[Kathryn Klos]

OT Catalog Cover

Here's the 1969 OT catalog cover...

 

[Kathryn Klos]

the design-- perhaps

Not sure this will work... it will maybe be design 37, or maybe not.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Well, that worked out okay, but I should add that those catalog images came from The Historic Wood Canoe and Boat Catalog Collection, version 2, edited by Dan Miller and Benson Gray, published by Dragonfly Canoe Works and available at www.dragonflycanoe.com.

Any sign of that original design, Dave? Do you plan to reproduce it?

 

[DaveKunz]

Thanks a lot, Kathryn.

Yup - that looks like the right build record, although I think the color was actually Bright Red, and there are traces of that color remaining on the canoe. The previous owner, R.A. Fournier's daughter, gave me a can of Old Town Bright Red High Gloss Enamel she said her dad received with the canoe, for touchups. Don't think I'll be using 40-year old paint, however! She also gave me the original Double Width Back Rest and a folding chair backrest as well, and hopes to be able to locate the original paddles.

The catalog cover was the right one, and again matches the date of the canoe. Pages 2-3 of the catalog shows a psychodelic paisley "Breakout Design" available for fiberglass models for a $75 surcharge. I wonder how many of THOSE they sold! -- I'd have been a little embarassed to be seen in one!

She told me the canoe had the greek ends illustrated in your picture. Unfortunately she tore most of the old canvas off the canoe, so I don't have the original design to go by, but I'll probably try to reproduce it. I wonder if OT has any specs for the width or placement of the lines.

Interestingly, I restored a 1922 Kennebec 15' that was painted with that same greek ends design, although I think the design was added by the original owner, not by Kennebec.

Thanks again, Kathryn.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

The psychedelic canoe is waay groovy. Benson should post a picture of the canoe he took to Assembly 07. I remember he explained that sunlight can fade the design over time, so one with good color may be rare.

How cool that you're getting all those original accessories with the canoe! Nice to get the history from the family, too... they'll probably enjoy seeing the canoe brought back to what it once was.

 

[Benson Gray]

There is a bad picture at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4616&d=1209335424 which shows my breakout canoe stored in an area that gets little direct sunlight. Many of the Old Town catalog covers are shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/covers/thumbnal.html and the designs are at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/thumbnal.html in order. Yours is at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/design37.gif and the stripe was about half an inch wide and usually about three inches from the rail. This was a popular design that was commonly applied to many canoes from various manufacturers. Good luck with your restoration,

Benson

 

[Fitz]

Breakout

Sorry for the thread wander, but while I was growing up in Maine, my next door neighbors had an Old Town Breakout design. They would tote it down to the beach every few days all summer long.

I went over to say "Hi" one day this summer and the Grand Kids are now the ones toting the Breakout down to the beach. I tried to explain how special it is, but to them it is just the family canoe. The "groovy" pattern fits the family persona well too. I'm trying to brainwash the grand kids into canoe sailing, but no bites yet. The family is also known to sail and iceboat, but they haven't seen my sail rig yet, and I suspect I can set the hook then.

Their canoe is well stored out of the sun too. Thanks for the preservation tip. I will pass it along.

Fitz.