Peterborough Model 1492

[KAT]

This is the latest found boat for us, which at the time of purchase it was unknown what it was for certain as there was only a ghost of a deck decal. With a bit of spit and elbow grease the model number was carefully raised on the bow stem to reveal it to be a Champlain. Unsure of how old it may be, what appeared to be the original canvas under the outwales and stem bands was tacked on, brass tacks on the ends, steel tacks along the sides. Hardware is a mix of brass and steel, all original for thwarts and seats, all being slotted, not Robertson head.

Stem bands are brass. Thwarts were just chunks of wood, seats were kitbashed over the years so we doubt much of it was original to the boat. Inwales are cracked in a couple of places and have the usual end rot and stems will need a few inches of new wood. It has lost shape in the middle where 9 ribs are broken but this should be a relatively easy and quick rebuild. Only 4 rib tips need to be done which is amazing considering the boat was stored outside for many years.

The seller had numerous calls from people wanting to cut the boat up into shelving units but dropped the price significantly to send it literally down the road to us where it will be restored. It was found 8km north of Warren, in the town of Woodlands, Manitoba.

A couple of hours on a Friday afternoon messing about with boats got it stripped down to a workable stage, now it just needs to dry out.

Karin

 

[MackyM]

Nice find.

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Really nice canoe. Paddles, beautifully tandem or solo. One of my favorites. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[KAT]

After getting some sanding done yesterday it is apparent we need to replace the inwales completely. Horizontal cracking along the grain could be remedied by epoxy, but someone in the past drove nails through the top of one rail the length of it, likely to fasten a tarp or plastic over the hull for protection. The opposite outwale had the same row of nails. The non nailed one would need scarfing in two places due to cracking at bolt holes, and both need scarfed ends, so it may just be more practical to replace them entirely. Cannot tell what the original wood was, but spruce is too light in comparison.

Also, one rail is higher than the other. The hull could be twisted but it looks more like they built it funny, as if on one side the ribs were longer than the other, the difference side to side is close to 3/4". If we re-do the inwales we may be able to drop the high side a bit to even it out somewhat just by trimming the ribs off lower.