1898: A canoe shop in a logging town
George Gray opened the Old Town Canoe Company in Old Town, Maine — a logging hub on the Penobscot River where Native craftsmen had built birchbark canoes for centuries. Gray's first hires were Native canoe builders; the first 'Old Towns' were wood-and-canvas hybrids that married Indigenous design with industrial production.
1950s: The fiberglass leap
Old Town built America's first fiberglass canoes. Lighter than wood, tougher than rubber, and — critically — cheaper to make. By 1965 Old Town was selling more canoes than the next three brands combined.
1980s: The plastic kayak
Rotomolded polyethylene changed the sport. Old Town's 1985 Otter sit-in kayak retailed for $295 (about $850 today) and put kayaking in reach of anyone who could fit one in a station wagon. Sales tripled in three years.
2010s: The fishing kayak boom
When B.A.S.S. added kayak fishing as a tournament class in 2013, Old Town pivoted hard. The Predator MK (motor-equipped) and Sportsman series followed. The Predator's hull is still the most-rigged tournament platform in California.
2024: ePDL+ pedal drive
The ePDL+ is Old Town's first electric-assisted pedal drive — pedals turn a prop, but you can engage a 36V battery for hands-free cruising up to 5 mph. The Sportsman ePDL+ 120 Pro ($5,999) is the most expensive kayak we sell, and the one we most often see going home in pickup beds.
