How old do you think this old Peterborough is?

[Douglas Ingram]

This old Peterborough came into the shop yesterday. It has the definite look of a High End Champlain. It has the old style decks, the metal Peterborough tag, and slot head screws (ugh!) not the (good) Robertson head ones. It has cant ribs that look like regular ribs all the way forward, instead of the one wide cant rib that you see on later canoes.

There are a few broken ribs, the varnish is shot, the caning is intact, and the planking is in amazing condition (looks like WRC, but hard to tell at this point).

 

[Dick Persson]

Hi Doug,

I agree it looks like a High End Champlain, but I think it is earlier than that, a model # 604 or maybe an Otonabee. The 604 was made until ca 1923 and was replaced by the Otonabee. The slot screws point to an early one. Are there any traces of screw holes that would indicate that it has had an outside stem? Any model number stamped in to the stem face?

Cheers
Dick Persson
Headwater Canoe Company

 

[Douglas Ingram]

Thanks for getting back on this one, Dick. I have a later Otonabee, and the hull shape looks nearly identical. That's as much as I can say without a more precise comparison.

I haven't looked for the stamped serial number yet, or outside stem screw holes. I doubt that there was an outer stem as the owned kept most everything when he opened it up, and there are no pieces of outer stem. Mind you, they could be with the keel and outer gunnels that he still is bringing over.

I knew that this one was old, but wasn't sure just how old.