13' Chestnut Model ID

[Chuck Cossaboom]

Recently gifted a 13' Chestnut Canoe
Went through the catalogues on the WCHA members site and could not find a match so I decided to post the dimensions and see if anyone had any ideas:
Length 13', Width 29" (from outside outwale), Depth 11 to top of thwart 12 to top of inwale,
Ribs are 2 1/2 tapered to 1 1/2, 1/4 thick and not rounded.
Rib spacing is 1 1/2
Decks are very small 3" wide X 6" long, the decal continues off the deck on to the inwale.
All hardware is slotted brass
Standard Keel (not the chestnut shoe keel)
Tried to clean the decal but stopped, don't thing I can do anymore without damaging
The SN for what its worth is 6873 13 then scratched in is OMAO
Over all in nice shape, I removed the original canvas - 1 broken rib - stem tip on stern needs work and outwales will need to be replaced.
Yes I will keep the original decal.

 

[Dan Miller]

The only 13' canoe Chestnut listed was the Solitaire model One Man Canoe, which was offered ca 1928 - ca 1955.

For more about Chestnut model identification, see https://woodencanoemuseum.org/builder-history/chestnut-canoe-company

 

[Chuck Cossaboom]

Thanks Dan I did see that but it was my understanding was that the Solitaire did not come with seats and that center thwart was set a bit forward of center. The inwale of this one does not appear to have been altered.
The seats are set very low and this looks to be a very tender.
The width is also off unless I'm measuring it incorrectly.
Wondering if we know of any other documented 13' Solitaire's out there and if so do they have the tiny decks?

 

[Dan Miller]

Chestnut managed to provide us with more enigmas than perhaps any other canoe manufacturer.

Regarding measurements:

• Chestnut played a little fast and loose with catalog specs, so don't hold the published dimensions as gospel
• Beam should be measured at the widest part of the canoe (below any tumblehome). For Chestnuts, measuring outside-outside of the outwales is usually a good approximation.

Regarding tiny decks - yes, I've seen a few where the decal overlaps the inwales.

Could Chestnut have built an uncatalogued 13' canoe? Certainly. Old Town did so with the early Molitor model.

Someone on the forums had a one-man Chestnut some time ago. I thought it might have been Fitz, but a search didn't yield anything. Perhaps Benson with his superhuman search skills can shed light. My recollection was that it was very tender canoe.

All that to say, I really can't answer all your questions with any confidence.
Dan

 

[MGC]

It seems hard to imagine pulling that beam in another 3 inches. The lines look right. Fast and loose must account for a some of the difference.
The thwarts and seats look right at home where they are so it was set up (or so it seems) to dump a pair of paddlers in harmony, as were the 14s' With that nicely rounded hull, it will be a canoe for skilled paddlers and even then......

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Looks like an early 14'er, if you measure to the outside of the stems its probaly 13'6 or 13'8, its older with a regular keel not a shoe, and without the characteristic flat run along the gunwale some many suffer with a too-short thwart. nice boat! doubtful its as old as that catalogue, take a picture of the stem head and gunwale joint

 

[Chuck Cossaboom]

Looks like an early 14'er, if you measure to the outside of the stems its probaly 13'6 or 13'8, its older with a regular keel not a shoe, and without the characteristic flat run along the gunwale some many suffer with a too-short thwart. nice boat! doubtful its as old as that catalogue, take a picture of the stem head and gunwale joint

Ball park on when Chestnut go from slotted hardware to Robertson square drive ?
I'll pull it down tomorrow and shoot the photos and check the mesurement.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

No ballpark, its anybodys guess when they were first used however lots of earlier canadian boats demonstrate a mix, like the 30’s-40s peterborough im working on now.

 

[Chuck Cossaboom]

I dropped a plumb line and it measures 12' 11 3/4" exact so the Stamped 13 on the stem is correct.
Poking around to get a good photo of stem tip that I thought was salvageable and the mortise joint dropped out, looks like stem tips on both ends will need to be replaced.
Have a couple of project infront of this one so im not going to open it up for a couple of months.

 

[Benson Gray]

Someone on the forums had a one-man Chestnut some time ago. I thought it might have been Fitz, but a search didn't yield anything.

Fitz had a 12 foot Peterborough. The link below has more details.

Benson

Thread 'Peterborough Shorty Trapper - for Andre'

Sep 23, 2006

Andre:

My trapper is a Peterborough Shorty. It has a 75th anniversary decal on it, so I think it dates from the 50's. It is a 12 footer. It is responsible for my severe case of canoe bug. We inherited it from my mother-in-law.

The boat, however, is cursed. My mother-in-law was quite the prankster. I think she is still pulling off some tricks every so often that end up throwing me in the drink. I've been swimming with this canoe more than any other combined.

It's a fine little canoe, but tender. Pretty much the only way I will paddle it is solo and kneeling in the center...

• Fitz
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Wood and Canvas

 

[Andre Cloutier]

the Trapper model is vastly different, and as tender as noted. Interesting boat for sure, probably 30s or 40s. Best of luck with it

 

[cwf]

When you say a canoe is tender, does that mean it tips easily? I've taken my Strickland (built c1900) out three times, always two-up and, although it's not quite as bad as contemporary reports that 'if you part your hair on the wrong side, you'll be in for a soaking', it's certainly not very stable.

I felt it would help to sit as low as possible but that makes it harder to paddle effectively. Also, the thwart in the front (one of two) seems not to be in the right place to allow a passenger to sit comfortably, which makes me think the canoe was intended for a single user, particularly as there appear to be fittings for lee boards and a mast.

If a single paddler kneels on one side of the canoe, I think I'll wait until I'm a bit more confident. The UK rivers are suffering from sewage pollution problems at the moment and the less I swallow, the better.

Charlie.

 

[MGC]

Tender, yes, code for in you go in the blink.of an eye. They paddle nicely solo once you figure that out. Paddling tandem is dicey and requires good communication and concentration to get underway and in and out.
One of my Chestnuts (a 14) was only paddled 5 times before I acquired it. The original owners used it twice and dumped it each time. It went into storage. Twenty years later they sold it. The second owners used it 3 times dumping it each time. It went into storage. 30 years later, they sold it to me. My wife and I put it in the Erie Canal for a paddle. It was tense. Lots of solid husband and wife dialogue followed as we communicated tersely about getting under way. It was a bit like standing on a bongo.board. Twitchy. We've paddled together for a real long time and many, many miles. We were never been on the edge quite like that...not even running tidal pools in the ocean. But we did get it figured out. We've used it several times since. I found it was really not bad solo.
Tender....don't wear good clothes or street shoes. Plan on getting wet, at least until you get the hang of it.

 

[cwf]

Mmm, 3rd time out was with my wife. I got her to sit still and not paddle for the first twenty minutes, until we had both relaxed a little. It went OK after that. I'll try solo next time and wait till next year before taking my 6 year-old grandson out. Canoedling maybe the year after.