Canoe identification + general questions (muskrat Peterborough from Chestnut Company ?)

[Julien.P]

Good afternoon.

I just acquire a cedar canoe that I plan to restore this upcoming winter, and I would have some questions.

I want to apologize first for my English, this is not my first language.

It begins when I was looking for a 16-foot chestnut prospector for a long time, and leaving in Montreal area it was quite difficult to found one, or it was around 400-500 kilometre away.

However, one day I end up finding one at 20 min away from where I live at a good price (180 CADollars) only downside it was a 14-foot-long, but I realized with time than when it comes to old cedar canoe you have to compromise or be really, really patient (or lucky).

On the announcement it was marked as a 14-foot-long chestnut prospector, and on the picture (in attachement) of the announcement I could see the slate seat and no quill which for me is a sign of prospectors canoe.

When I met the owner, we start talking, and I ask him If he knows the story of the canoe (I like when object come with history, it makes them more interesting),

He told me his parents bought it as a wedding gift in 1950 and the canoe came from the chestnut factory in Fredericton, but he didn’t recall if it was bought over there or if it came from there, the owner knew a bit about cedar canoe.

About the canoe itself it was left outside a few years because the owner didn’t have the space anymore to keep it inside, both canoe ends rot lightly plus some of the outside gunwales and some planking ,so far I found one broken ribs, not bad for my point of views for a first restoration.

After bringing back the canoe home I remove the canvas who was already half gone and start to take a look at his condition, It’s at this time that I notice two four-digit number on the stem : 1447 5600.

I was a bit of surprise knowing the 4-digit number specially beginning 14 was usually use on Peterborough canoe and after looking 1447 correspond to the muskrat Peterborough which is a 14 foots long trapper canoe. After checking dimension it looks like it could be a muskrat Peterborough.

Sorry about the long introduction, but here are my questions :

-It is possible that this canoe is a Peterborough muskrat from 1950 made in chestnut factory in Fredericton ?

-I know 14 foot canoe is not the best size for two or more people. I know this canoe might be not suitable for 4 (two adult and 2 kids under 10) but could it be a good canoe for example two people going fishing or even cruising on lake in family, or this is too optimist to ask for a 14 foot ?

We already have a 16-foot canoe in fibreglass for week end trip with load. The original plan was to restore a 16-foot canvas canoe prospector to replace the fibreglass canoe with. I imagine this will not feasible with this 14-foot canoe.

Thank you very much.

 

[Murat V]

Welcome to the forums.

To answer your question about Peterborough / Chestnut:

"-It is possible that this canoe is a Peterborough muskrat from 1950 made in chestnut factory in Fredericton ?"

Yes. Peterborough and Chestnut had actually merged into a larger company (Canadian Watercraft Limited) in 1923, but the two companies kept their branding. Very likely Peterborough's cedar canvas canoes were built in the Fredericton factory by Chestnut but marked with the Peterborough serial number system and decals. In 1954, the last surviving family member of Chestnut sold her shares to Peterborough after which time Peterborough actually controlled and operated Chestnut until Peterborough went bankrupt in 1961.

There's no way to date just based on the serial number. However, the 14' foot Muskrat (1447), one of their Trapper canoes, was in the catalogs until it was dropped in 1956 so the timeline that yours is from 1950 does work. It was a heavy built boat at 85 pounds and came with standard ribs, heavy-duty number 6 canvas and wood slat seats because it was expected to see hard usage. After 1956, the form for the Muskrat was used to create a lighter weight version called the Mermaid (1814) which Chestnut also produced as the Playmate. This had lighter number 10 canvas, narrow ribs and caned seats which and dropped the weight down so these canoes were now marketed as "Pleasure Canoes" rather than "Trappers"

I happen to have one of these boats stamped with a Peterborough Mermaid code but with an original late 50s era Chestnut decal so there is definitely some overlap between the companies.

Size wise, it is a smaller and narrow boat which is best suited to solo or two very balanced paddlers. I've gone solo tripping with mine and carried a fair load. Also managed to get my teenage son in the front for fishing day trips but it is pretty tight space wise we found it not ideal.

Hope that helps

 

[Julien.P]

Good morning

Thank you very much for your help and feedback, in that case that would make sense that the previous owner never mention Peterborough, maybe it was identify as a chestnut because it came from chestnut, Fredericton.

About the load and handling capacity I was pretty sure it might not fit our family needs but it’s always best to ear it from somebody who experience with it.