Blue hole canoe

I just bought a blue hole canoe the plate were canoe size and kind is gone can anybody tell me the details of canoe from the Serial number TBH15996H586
Thank you

Take pictures. Post them here. Measure the maximum length of the canoe overall and maximum width at center. The boat was made in March of 1985.

@pblanc , I’m not sure how you came up with that date. H, should be august and the year should be 1986 , a boat of the series introduced in 1985.

You are correct about the month. The month code format actually changed in August of 1984, just before this hull was certified. Prior to that the month code began with “A” in August. After that the month codes began with “A” in January. Since many Blue Holes were made prior to August 1984, I had the old month code on my mind.

You are wrong about when the boat was made. The “H5” refers to the month and year that the boat was certified by the US Coast Guard which would be the date of manufacture, in this case August 1985. The “86” refers to the model year in which the boat was to be sold. Very commonly you will see the certification (manufacture) year to be one year before the model year, as in this case.


A little over 16’ measured on top end to end Thank you for the info so far.

My guess is that it is a Starburst. If so, consider yourself lucky. The Blue Hole Starburst was the best tandem canoe that company made, IMO. It has been considered one of the best whitewater tripping tandems ever made.

The Starburst is 16’ 6" in length overall, 34" wide at center, 15" deep at center, and 26" high at both stems. Other tandem canoes made by Blue Hole in that time frame were the very popular OCA/OCV which was 15’ 9" in length and which had markedly recurved stems,. and the model 17-A which was 17" 3" in LOA. There was also the rarer Mike Galt-designed MGA tandem, which was 17’ 5" in length.

If you know the canoe is more than 16’ and less than 17’ in length overall, you can be pretty confident it is a Starburst. Nova Craft Canoe thought enough of the Starburst design to resurrect it as the Moisie, which they now offer in composite:

http://www.novacraft.com/canoes/moisie-16-6/

You probably already know that the canoe is heavy (75-80 lbs). Beware: it will turn your hands black when you paddle it from aluminum oxide from the bare aluminum gunwales. But it washes off.