Help Needed - Chestnut Pal?

[Kaysen Chestnut]

Hi everyone, this is my first post and I was encouraged to join the community after chatting with a lovely lady on the phone from WCHA. I have recently purchased what I believe to be a Chestnut Pal from a lady in Vancouver BC. It was her fathers and barley used. I purchased it sight unseen and she mentioned that she had it verified by "someone" that it is indeed a Pal.

Once I picked it up I have noted 2 ribs look to have been replaced as they are clean with no patina, but the rest of them look to be in very good shape. The canvas is reddish / orange so not sure the paint is original or not and there is a nice Chestnut sticker on it as well. The seats look to be from a different wood and I have also noted the stern seat is angled down on the rearward facing side which I find odd.

Does anyone know where to find the serial number on this boat or if any exists at all? I will try and grab some photos in a few hours and post here.

Looking for any help / information to properly ID and document this canoe.

Thank you!

 

[MGC]

Hi Kaysen,
It will definitely be helpful for you to post images. It is entirely possible that several ribs have been replaced, that it has been recanvased, that the seats may have been out etc. It is equally possible that there are build defects that originated from the factory. I've been finding a few interesting things on the Chestnut I am currently working on.
Whatever the case, as long as yours has a good canvas on it, you should not need to worry too much about repairs that have been done, presuming they were done properly. These boats are very easily restored/repaired so sorting out issues (such as broken ribs) is ll part of the charm.
If ribs were replaced, its generally not too hard to spot, even done expertly. Varnish lines on the planking, differences in the clinching, wood color and shape are always easy to spot.
And yes, the seats, thwarts and decks (and rails) are made of different materials.
Finally, Chestnut serial numbers are meaningless. There is no magic way to decode them. You will need to rely on your tape measure to confirm the model canoe you own.

 

[John Sand]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Kaysen Chestnut]

Thanks for the quick reply. I’ve measured the canoe and it’s roughly 14’8” long and 37” wide. Her e are some photos. Any ideas what I have? Gunwales look to have been replaced as well.

 

[Benson Gray]

The information and catalog at the links below may help you identify your canoe from the dimensions. The Oromocto tag indicates that it was built between 1974 and 1979.

Benson

Chestnut Canoe Company | Wooden Canoe Museum

woodencanoemuseum.org

Chestnut Canoe Company 1978 | Wooden Canoe Museum

woodencanoemuseum.org

 

[Kaysen Chestnut]

Benson,

Thank you for this information. If I'm reading this correctly, I may have a Bob's Special....this model and the PAL are what I've always been after so if it turns out to be a Bob, I'm ok with it. Does anyone have an idea on value for this canoe?

Does the replacement of those 2 ribs and the gunwales affect the value at all?

 

[Benson Gray]

The comments at the link below should help you value this canoe. The repairs will probably not have a big impact on the value depending on who wants to buy it. Some collectors are only interested in pristine original examples and this clearly isn't one. The list at https://www.woodencanoe.org/classifieds has some similar canoes. Good luck,

Benson

How much is my old wooden canoe worth?

How much is my old canoe worth? One of the most common questions that gets sent to the WCHA webmasters is "how much is my old canoe worth?" Tim Hewitt's responses over the years have included the following comments: Any wooden or wood/canvas canoe in usable condition is worth $1000 - $1500. A...

www.wcha.org

 

[Dan Lindberg]

I once bought a canoe that had been ID'ed as a Pal by a reputable builder, once I got it home and sent pics to a Chestnut expert, it was correctly ID'ed as a 16 ft Peterborough Champlain low end.

In fairness to the 1st guy, he may not have seen the number 1492 2828 stamped in front stem.

Dan

that she had it verified by "someone" that it is indeed a Pal.