1950 18' chestnut prospector

[jwartman59]

i am restoring a 1950 18' Chestnut prospector. this canoe was used at a canoe base outside of ely, minnesota. it has seen A LOT of use. many repairs have been done over the years. along the line i believe that the thwarts and yoke had been replaced with stock parts that were shorter than this canoe required. my question, does anyone know the dimensions for these thwarts?

 

[MGC]

i am restoring a 1950 18' Chestnut prospector.
i believe that the thwarts and yoke had been replaced with stock parts that were shorter than this canoe required. my question, does anyone know the dimensions for these thwarts?

The beam on an 18 foot Prospector should be around 38 inches. Measure at the hulls widest point.

If you can true up the beam you should be able to gauge the lengths of the other thwarts by moving things around until the lines look right. I use cinch straps at the thwart locations to pull the hull in and hold it in place while I try to get the correct lines eyeballed in.

Hopefully someone that owns an 18 foor Prospector can measure their thwarts for you but even with those dimensions you will probably need to align the hull by eye if it has been distorted for a long time.

Good luck