Chestnut fort?

[Chris Montgomery]

I've recently purchased a Chestnut canoe and am curious about her origin... She is 16' and the previous owner says she is a "fort" model from the early 1970's. Her serial # is 45426. Anybody know something about her? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Dan Miller]

"Fort" was the telegraph code for Chestnut's 16' Prospector model canoe. You can confirm that it is a Prospector by comparing it's dimensions - should be close to 36" beam and 14" deep. We no longer have any Chestnut records available, so it is not possible to determine anything from the serial number. It may be possible to narrow down its vintage by construction features and types (and quality) of wood used.

Cheers,
Dan

 

[Chris Montgomery]

The canoe is a prospector model and 16ft in lengh. She has 14" gunwhales and is completly original with decals and a few scratches on her belly..only the most superficial of scratches on the canvas due to ordinary use are noicable. She will be a regular use canoe on my weekly adventure to a fly fishing/motorless lake near here. I hope that her lifelong expectations are exceeded and that I can learn to be a canoeist worthy of her design.
Learning still...
Chris

 

[Chris Montgomery]

My canoe is damn near identical to the canoe posted on your website (dragonfly) but without the faded and peeling gunwhales and with a faded red original paint job....Can I get the original luster of a new paintjob without the cost of recanvassing??No significant damage observed...just lke the look of fresh paint.

 

[Chris Montgomery]

This is my new canoe...

This is my new canoe...