Old Town #6501

I recently purchased this canoe. Can you please send me a copy of the build record? The canoe will require some minor repairs and new canvas but it has been very well maintained and cared for. Thank you.

Welcome and congratulations, the Old Town canoe with serial number 6501 is a 16 foot long, AA (or top) grade, Charles River model with red western cedar planking, a keel, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, open mahogany gunwales, and half ribs. It was built between March and May, 1907. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on May 11th, 1907 to Rome(?), New York. A scan of this build record can be found below.

This scan 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/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will donate, join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See https://www.woodencanoe.org/about to learn more about the WCHA and https://www.woodencanoe.org/shop to donate or renew.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

Hi Tim - It would be helpful if you could post details about your canoe, especially in photos. There were many makers of wooden canoes and a variety of them used 4-digit serial numbers. Also, sometimes one or more digits of a serial number can be obscured and the canoe's details can help point not only to its make but also the era in which it was made. Yours may be an Old Town, or it may have Old Town parts added during previous work. Anyway, photos will help.

Thank you! I just re-joined after a long lapse in membership. The project to digitize records like this is just incredible. Thank you!
I’m looking forward to bringing this beautiful canoe back into shape. I must say, I was not expecting such an old boat when I bought it - the serial numbers were well protected under the passage of 117 years. The spiral seat post spacers and the absence of diamond headed bolts had me hopeful though. I am just astonished at how well preserved this boat is (original color, no sign of ever having been re canvased, no broken ribs or sheeting, minor repair done to one outwale, stems and decks in great shape). And the canoes shape has not been compromised in any way. What a find!

I was also surprised the serial number was not followed by the length. What year did Old Town start adding length after the build number? Also, the bang plate is of very thin brass; is this normal for this era? Thanks again for the information.

Tim Woods said:

What year did Old Town start adding length after the build number?

Click to expand...

The length digits may be on the left before your serial number as shown in the examples below. The thin brass bang plate may not be original. See the link below for a similar canoe with the same "spiral seat post spacers." Nice find,

Benson

Thanks again. I was expecting the length numbers to be in closer proximity to the serial number.

Tim - this is a nice one! Love those spiral seat spacers. These early AA-grade Old Towns are fine canoes. Please keep us posted on the restoration. And welcome back to the WCHA after a long absence! Perhaps you can join us for Assembly this year at Paul Smith's College, not too far from home for you.

Michael