Chestnut Canoe info & help request

[CzY_Horse]

A close friend pulled his chestnut down from where he had it stored (dry unheated garage) for several years only to find that the hull finish has cracked in several places. These cracks can been seen in attached photos.

How it is best to repair, if it can be, without a complete canvas job? Feather the cracks back and repaint?

This canoe has no thwart behind the front seat, the seat now sitting about an inch from both sides . . ie the boat is openning up. Would it be advisable to intall a thwart, should we force the boat closed again?

Any info on Chestnut serial # 74093

Thanks for your help

CzY Horse

 

[Andy Hutyera]

I'm sure others will jump in with more wisdom than I, but since no one else has here goes:

1. Just ignore the serial number. Chestnut did not keep records and the serial numbers don't really reveal anything very useful.

2. If you want to find out what model your canoe is, measure the beam at the center thwart, it's length and depth at center. Also measure the rib width and spacing. Then go to: http://www.picturetrail.com/jockogilvy where you will find copies of many old Chestnut catalogues posted along with charts showing the various models that you can compare to yours.

3. Your canoe probably never had a front thwart. I'm guessing it's a 16 footer which can be paddled solo by sitting backward in the bow seat. I wouldn't be too concerned about the distortion of the hull unless it gets much worse. If you want you certainly can put in a front thwart and pull the gunwales together to restore the hull shape.

4. The photos make it appear that the filler underneath the paint is failing. This calls for a recanvas job. It's not all that difficult to do and there are resources on this site that can help you with that job. In the meantime if you just want to get the canoe in the water, perhaps the quick and dirty way to do a temporary fix is to seal those cracks with Ambroid glue.

Hope this helps. Good luck and welcome to this forum!

 

[CzY_Horse]

Thanks for the reply

Thanks for the reply, never heard of that Ambroid glue before lol. . so had to do a quick search. Buddy is going to go the cheap and dirty method until he's back at work, then it's in for a canvas job.

Thanks

CzY Horse

 

[davelanthier]

One of the reasons the hull is spreading is that someone has lowered the seat.

 

[CzY_Horse]

Ahhh

Thanks for you observations . . that should be a relativly an easy fix. I will pass the info along so it can get done before he get the boat recanvesed.

Thanks again

CzY Horse