Chestnut ID

[GAN]

Hi Folks,

I've been on the search for an original Chestnut Prospector or Cruiser to true up and take the lines off for building a new mold. I think I may have found a candidate, but could use a little help with ID. The current owner has no information as to the origins of the boat, but based on the information I have, it seems pretty likely that it's a Chestnut Fort (Prospector), for the reasons listed below.

No serial number present on stem
Depth midships greater than 12" (owner measured approx. 12" from sheer to turn of bilge)
Slat seats (Look to be original)
Post-fire Chestnut semi-circular decks
No keel or evidence of keel

I've done some research on other makes/models I could be misidentifying, but haven't come up with anything yet. She's obviously in pretty rough shape, and may not be the best candidate for getting of the lines, but the price is right, and I'm figuring the canoe will be valuable for taking dimensions of parts at the very least. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Garrett

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Hard to say for sure since the beam will need to determined but it appears to have the lightweight ribs in it rather than the tapered 2"+ ribs? though the rest seems like it could be. Of course you will need to do a ton of correction on the lofting, if it were me I would arrange to borrow a good original to take lines if you aren't satisfied with any currently available sets. I have cruiser lines for a 16' taken from a 50s Kruger if that's what you are after
Andre

I've been on the search for an original Chestnut Prospector or Cruiser to true up and take the lines off for building a new mold. I think I may have found a candidate, but could use a little help with ID. The current owner has no information as to the origins of the boat, but based on the information I have, it seems pretty likely that it's a Chestnut Fort (Prospector), for the reasons listed below.

No serial number present on stem
Depth midships greater than 12" (owner measured approx. 12" from sheer to turn of bilge)
Slat seats (Look to be original)
Post-fire Chestnut semi-circular decks
No keel or evidence of keel

I've done some research on other makes/models I could be misidentifying, but haven't come up with anything yet. She's obviously in pretty rough shape, and may not be the best candidate for getting of the lines, but the price is right, and I'm figuring the canoe will be valuable for taking dimensions of parts at the very least. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Garrett[/QUOTE]

 

[GAN]

Andre,

Thank you for your response. I neglected to include a photo of the rib width and spacing, which appears to be a found 1.5", and not the 2 3/8" as you had pointed out. The owner had a difficult time estimating the beam but guessed around 34-36". I had assumed that the slat seats ruled out a pleasure model, but another look revealed that Chestnut did offer pleasure models with slat seats (such as the Deer model).

Thank you for the offer of lines for the Kruger. I have been searching for lines for a Fort and a Cronje, and haven't been able to locate any without royalties attached. Would you have any suggestions for sources?

Thanks again

G

 

[ian]

slat seats and pleasure models were popular with camps and other institutions

my chum came with them, although i suspect that my chum is really a doe...

no individual canoe is a perfect reflection of its mold. width and depth and to some degree rocker can be affected during the trimming-out. Storage, subsequent repairs can further affect dimensional things to a substantial degree. often over time, subtle things flatten out. i've seen lots of older refinished canoes that lake the subtle recurves in the gunnel-lines that were present originally. might be a fun boat to re-build, but i think that lines taken from this hull are going to be far more representative of that hull than of the factory intentions this point...

ian