The OLD TOWN serial # can be found in the bow and stern of the canoe on the stem. The numbers are stamped into the wood in 5/8'characters. The first set of numbers will be followed by a space, then another number, which is the length. Old town canoe company serial numbers keyword after analyzing the system lists the list of keywords related and the list of websites with related content, in addition you can see which keywords most interested customers on the this website.
I recently visited my father for Thanksgiving out in the back country of your typical middle American landscape. As we were talking and walking around his place I noticed he had a new canoe. Apparently, his old Grumman aluminum canoe was stolen and he picked up the new one at a junk shop for $75.
What caught my eye was the typical red color you find with Old Town canoes. I know the color well. I have a Old Town Pathfinder I use frequently in the rivers and estuaries around me. So, I interrupted our walk to look at his new canoe. Yep, it was an Old Town, a Canadienne. It was in good condition, no deep scratches on the hull though the seats needed to be recovered, their old wicker had worn through. Unlike my Royalex built Pathfinder this canoe had a hard shell. I easily picked up the 17' canoe with one hand. That's when the questions started swirling around in my head about what this canoe was made of. I asked my father and he said it was fiberglass. I was thinking to myself it's a little lite for fiberglass. I snapped a picture of the serial for later.
When we got back to his cabin I jumped on the internet to do some research. Nothing definitive came up, but there were some indications that the build material was fiberglass or kevlar or fiberglass with kevlar skids. Several online posts indicated that Old Town would likely be able to ID the canoe if they were provided a serial.
So, I emailed Old Town and received a reply in just a few days, yesterday:
Thank you for the email and congrats on the purchase of your Old Town Canadienne canoe. Looking at the serial number we can tell it was made in 1991 but it does not tell us which Canadienne model you have so I have attached some 91’ catalog pages that feature this boat. This model was made in either fiberglass or Kevlar. If it is made of Kevlar, the interior of the canoe will have more of a goldish tint/hue to it like in the image below.
Wood Canoe Identification
And the interior is golden. It's a nice find for $75. As equally nice is Old Town's commitment to their canoes. I say to their canoes because both neither my father nor I are direct customers of Old Town and yet here they are promptly replying to a request for information about a canoe that is 25 years old. I'm sure they're equally as committed to their customers. It says a lot about the company's culture.