Another canoe needs identifying...

[knehdn]

Hi. I've a 17' canvas on cedar. One deck has a Chestnut label, but there are no other means of idenitification. There are three thwarts, the beam at the gunwales is 34", has a depth of 14", and the bow and stern are 22 1/4" high. The ribs, bevelled both fore and aft, are 3/8" thick, some a tad more, and their widths are 2 1/4 to 2 3/8" at the keel, and are tapered to 1 5/8" at the sheer. The planks are 3' wide. Three ribs have been replaced at some time in the past. Whoever it was, only used 1/4" thick replacements.
So with the label on the one deck, I'm assuming it is a Chestnut, but would like to know which model. I've attached a couple of photos. Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Gabe

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Check out this site. It may help you figure out what you've got. The depth and heavy ribs suggest a 17 foot Prospector, but the beam is too narrow.

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5725889

 

[WoodNCanvas]

I'm just a rookie here but looking over the info from Dragonfly list, could it be a pre-fire Chestnut with heart shaped deck????....my first thought was could be Prospector except for beam....but now wondering if could be 17 ft. Cruiser (Cronje model)....dimensions also seem right for 17 ft Crockett Guide Special but I don't think ribs are close enough....well that's my 2 cents worth any way

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Not a pre-fire boat, more likely mid sixties to 70s from the look of it. Keel shows the same lack of finesse and blending my '64 chum had, right Steve?
Probably a Cronje or Boone if i had to guess.
For alumni or anyone that wants one, Swift canoe is getting the entire fleet of Keewaydin Chestnuts being taken out of circulation. PM me if you want to be put in touch or inquire about a particlular boat, some grown up campers have sourced and bought the boat they tripped in, kinda kool.

 

[davelanthier]

Suspect that it is a 17' Chestnut Cruiser Cronje that has been modified. Need more pictures but Chestnut decal, seats and decks don't appear to be factory originals. Note also that deck is missing the hole where the factory would have installed a painters ring. The ribs on a Chesnut Cruiser Guide Special are closer together. A Chestnut Prospector is much wider. See the attached pictures of a 16' Chectnut Guide.

 

[knehdn]

Thanks for all the input. After going over all the spec sheets, it doesn't seem to be any one canoe. Too narrow here, too deep there, not enough height somewhere else; weird. Maybe it's a one-of... maybe it's not even a Chestnut, and someone just put the decal on it????
Mind you, it has been worked on before. Ribs replaced, some planks near the ends reworked, and I'm sure someone's messed around with the keel. (which will be history by the time I'm through with it)
Anyway, it's a wood-canvas canoe, just like the one I first learned in back in the early 60's, and I'm gonna luv paddling it.
I'll start the restoration in the spring.
Will need to save all my pennies till then.
Thanks again.

 

[WoodNCanvas]

Enjoy your canoe....whatever it may be....it could very well be a Chestnut that has been worked on or even modified....but whatever it is it is wood and canvas....and as you said you will enjoy it for that fact alone....good luck on the restoration....that's my plan for this winter too

 

[Steve Lapey]

Chestnut?

Are we sure that this is a 17 foot canoe? I'm only seeing two thwarts and Chestnut always used three in the 17 footers.

From the profile and the beveled ribs (not rounded) it looks like a 16 foot Prospector with caned seats.

I agree with Andre - it looks like a late model.

Steve Lapey

 

[knehdn]

Yup. It's 17'.
And yup. There are three thwarts. The one just aft of the bow seat was out. The attached picture has it in place with a couple of clamps. Checked the rib spacing ... 2".
Gabe

 

[davelanthier]

Here's a few pictures that might help of an 18' Chestnut Cruiser that I just restored. Note that the painters ring and decal are not original.

 

[Dick Persson]

After going over all the spec sheets, it doesn't seem to be any one canoe. Too narrow........

As other posts already are indicating, this is most likely a late 1960’s or early 1970’s Chestnut cruiser canoe that already have had a number of repairs done to it.

The canoe’s rounded bottom hull profile, its sharper ends and placement of seats and thwarts and the posted measurements fit well with what I am used to see in a Chestnut cruiser from this time period.

Best for now,

Dick Persson
Headwater Wooden Boat Shop

 

[knehdn]

Thanks for the info Dick. Much appreciated. As mentioned earlier, I won't start on it till spring. I noticed your decks are concave, whereas mine are kinda heart shaped. Different strokes I guess.
In the meantime, I'll keep it covered and hope for an early thaw.
Take care.
Gabe

 

[knehdn]

I Googled 'chestnut canoes'. One site ...

www.dragonflycanoe.com/id/chestnut.html

had an I.D. section on a lot of manufacturers.
According to the notes I found there, my canoe apparently is a pre-fire model considering the heart shaped decks. Post-fire models had the semi-cricular cut out decks. So methinks mine came from that earlier era, between 1904 to 1921. But the numbers still don't add up. Maybe I'm measuring wrong.
Gabe

 

[Dan Miller]

I Googled 'chestnut canoes'. One site ...

www.dragonflycanoe.com/id/chestnut.html

had an I.D. section on a lot of manufacturers.
According to the notes I found there, my canoe apparently is a pre-fire model considering the heart shaped decks. Post-fire models had the semi-cricular cut out decks. So methinks mine came from that earlier era, between 1904 to 1921. But the numbers still don't add up. Maybe I'm measuring wrong.
Gabe

One diagnostic characteristic of pre-fire Chestnuts is that the stem bevel is discontinued a couple inches below where the stem joins the gunwales. The planking is notched to fit around this. Without this feature your canoe is not pre-fire. The overall look and sheerline of pre-fire boats also tend to be different than yours.

One thing to be aware of is that Peterborough canoes, despite mostly having been built in the Chestnut factory, had some different features, including heart-shaped decks and cane seats (where Chestnut often used slat seats). Could very well be a canoe built for Peterborough that got a Chestnut decal - not an uncommon occurrence by any means.

Regarding dimensions, the ones listed on my site (from catalogs) are more like guidelines, to paraphrase Jack Sparrow. In real life there are variations, and some are plain wrong, though as listed in catalogs.

Lastly, it is highly unlikely that any canvas canoe manufacturer built one-off canoes. The nature of the construction and use of building molds is the reason. One can change a canoes shape subtly and not so subtly by changing the position and length of the thwarts, for example.

 

[Dick Persson]

...Post-fire models had the semi-cricular cut out decks....

The heart shaped deck was used pre-fire as well as post-fire, although the shape was different with no crown and a cruder undercut or none at all after the fire.

The semi circular cutout decks can also be found pre-fire as in, for example, the freight, guide and the No 3 model canoes.

Dick Persson
Headwater Wooden Boat Shop

 

[knehdn]

Thank you, ... and thank you.
Bottom line - it's a canvas over cedar, I love it, and it'll get restored as best as I can.
Gabe