14 foot Prospector?

[samb]

Today I picked up what I think is a 14’ Prospector - a Chestnut “Fire” or a Peterborough “Pond”. Those are the nearest match to the dimensions in the Wooden Canoe Museum catalogues. I’ve looked hard but can’t work out whether there is the ghost of a decal on the bow or some varnished over scratches and bumps which look like that; I’ll need to investigate more. There are no numbers on the stems.

It has aluminium stem bands which I presume means it’s of later date towards the end of the Chestnut production in the seventies.

It has a couple of areas of damage so two areas of planking will need to be sorted and I think one rib may need replacing. The canvas looks to be original, blue at present but previously chestnut grey. There are a few patches on the outside.

The decks and gunnels have had some repairs at the tips and there is a piece scarfed into the outwale also.

Has anyone got opinions on my identification or give a more accurate approximation of date?

Sam

 

[patrick corry]

Nice find! As a Chestnut fan, I look forward to your restoration. I am curious as to what you will find under the stem repairs. I noticed that the outwale repairs were fastened with slotted screws, while the original fasteners appear to be Robertson square drive. I wonder if the aluminum stem band is not a replacement, done at the same time as the stem repairs as it is also fastened with slotted screws?

It is interesting that the person who made the repairs added a canvas patch which resembles the deck flap of a birch bark canoe, prior to the installation of the outwale repair. Perhaps that person was aware of birch bark canoe construction and attempted to mimic that feature.

If you find a patch of the original Chestnut Gray paint, please preserve it. Those of us who admire Chestnut canoes have been attempting to match that original color; myself included.

As to date?... I would venture to guess 1950's-60's. While the ribs are tapered approaching the gunwales, the rib corners are simply beveled rather than radiused as my early Bobs Special are. My mid-century Chestnut Chum ribs are much like those in this canoe.

 

[Todd F]

If you find a patch of the original Chestnut Gray paint, please preserve it. Those of us who admire Chestnut canoes have been attempting to match that original color; myself included.

Good call!

 

[Nick Dennis]

Do you wish to borrow my Chestnut book again? I assume the one in, one out policy is not being applied. You are gonna need a bigger shed!

 

[samb]

Do you wish to borrow my Chestnut book again? I assume the one in, one out policy is not being applied. You are gonna need a bigger shed!

Yes please, correct and a rearrangement is in order!

The Chestnut Grey colour and their red and green, are detailed in Mike Elliots 'This old Canoe' Book; if you are at the assembly this year you could maybe get an autographed copy!
The stem bands look original. My guess is that the canvas was rotting as well as the stems needing repair. The stem bands were unscrewed for the first 3" then bent back while the repairs were done.
Disassembly will need to wait till after a number of domestic jobs around the house are finished.
Sam

 

[MGC]

Here we go again, again, again and again. Follow this thread for more Chestnut Grey Green discussion as well as a recipe that will get you very close to original using paints that are available outside of Canada. I was recently the second owner of an original Prospector that had not been repainted. I used it as a guide to mix what turned out to be a very strong match to the original paint.
As is noted in the attached thread, many of the "recipes" for the Chestnut color are dead ends.

Chestnut Grey Green Paint ....again, again, again

So.....how did I do? I ended up custom mixing Epiphanes paint to get to what I thought was a reasonable color. I'm not sure if I got it right or not? It looks pretty good to my eye. Depending upon the lighting, it appears to be a greyish/bluish green color. Paint aside, what a nice canoe to...

forums.wcha.org

 

[samb]

Managed to find time to give it a wash this morning (while waiting for paint to dry). It has had a fairly hard life: one outwale is made up of 7 scarfed pieces and the other is 4.

There are 22 patches, some are patches on existing patches and some patches need patching. The keel is not original - it’s screwed from the outside (put on to prevent the need for more patches?).

3 bits of planking will need replacing and I think a back side repair on one rib.

Sam

 

[Murat V]

Hi Sam. Another great find for you. Congratulations!

Tough call for dating. I concur the aluminium stem bands point to the 1970s, especially if you feel they are original to the boat. I might have another explanation for the lack of a ghost decal that ties into the 1970s time frame. Around 1970, Chestnut seems to have switched from water-slide decals to a printed vinyl style with a square transparent backing which they used all they way until they shut down. There were three versions...

1st version:

2nd Version (roughly 1972 - 1974) - note the black lettering has been squeezed from three lines to two

3. Oromocto Version (post 1974)

The older water-slide decals were usually laid on bare wood and then protected under layers of varnish. As such, they tended to leave a ghost outline of bare wood when they wore off. However, these vinyl printed decals were more of a peel and stick type and could be directly applied to the surface of an already varnished deck. The vinyl backing was supposed to make the decal entirely waterproof, but they were known to degrade with UV exposure and simply peel off the surface, leaving very little or no trace they were ever there.

Here are some examples of damaged vinyl stickers peeling off..

 

[samb]

Thanks for that Murat. I shall probably get a decal from the WCHA, it may or may not be the right date but it will be near enough.

A bit more digging and poking shows all the screws apart from the repairs on the outwales are steel - or in some cases were steel as there isn’t much metal left. I imagine I’ll have to split the outwales to remove them, then get the screws out with mole grips - but I planned on replacing them anyway. I'll need to decide whether I should splash the cash on bronze robertson screws or use brass. The steel seat bolts will probably need cutting. It also looks like the tacks holding the canvas are steel too.

Lots to look forward to

Sam

 

[Nick Dennis]

Make a shopping list and I will see how much room there is in my suitcase!

 

[samb]

Having had time for some disassembly, I find many of the tacks are affected by salt corrosion; Heads are popping off on trying to remove damaged plank areas.
A couple of questions:
Should I remove old tacks or just add extra?
If I remove, should I try to use the same holes?
How many tacks will (pounds) will I need for a 14' canoe?

In the mean time I'll rebuild the stem tops, inwale ends and decks.

Thanks
Sam