Peterborough 16 - Need Help To Identify Model And Year

[Debi Burns]

Hi Folks !

I'm writing for Lone Pine Canoe in Bracebridge, Ontario. We're new to the forum and relatively new members of WCHA.

A customer brought in a 16' Peterborough canoe for restoration work this week. We're trying to determine when it might have been built.

Here are the photos he sent us of the original decks and metal identification plaque. It's the first time we've seen a Peterborough with an Old Town-style deck.

The writing on the plaque is:

'This is a Peterborough Craft'
C16 Serial 4223
Canvas Covered



Thanks for your assistance,
Debi

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome, there are no known serial number records for Peterborough canoes so detailed information is probably not available. However, Peterborough did occasionally buy canoes from Old Town as described at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/5165/ and shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/records/peterbro.jpg which may explain the deck shape. Is there any sign of serial numbers on the inside stems? The information at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/791/ may help if you are not sure where to look. Others here know much more about Canadian canoes than I do so one of them may have another way to date this canoe. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Debi Burns]

Thanks for the additional links Benson ! That was a really interesting story about the imports and the possible reasons for them.

The owner had already done some work and replace the stem bands. He didn't recall seeing any model/serial number information on the canoe besides what was on the metal plaque. The overall lines of the canoe (the bottom one in the photo) look more 'Peterborough' than 'Old Town'.

I'm still searching for information to try find out during which years Peterborough used the 'Old Town' type deck style and the metal identification plates. I hadn't found anything yet in the other forums, but there is a lot of information here to look through !




Thanks !

 

[Benson Gray]

It appears that you don't have a lot of original wood to work with. The planking pattern appears to be similar to an Old Town style. I am less familiar with the Peterborough planking patterns.

Benson

 

[Debi Burns]

Hi Benson,

That's very interesting. Paul went out to the shop to measure the planks after I showed him your response and they are almost 4'' wide. All of the Peterborough/Chestnut's that he's worked on so far have been 3'' wide, which seems to be the more common width for Canadian canoes. So between that and the deck style, maybe it is one of the Peterborough/Old Town hybrids. The patina of the wood is very similar to a 1929 Old Town that he restored over the winter.

There's three canoes on the shop schedule to work on ahead of this one, but he's hoping that once he gets going on it and examining it more closely there might be some more clues. I read in one of the other threads about a Peterborough 604 that someone actually found the model number written on the back of one of the exposed ribs. We've got a lot of those to work with on this one ! The owner is supposed to bring us the decks to refinish as well so possible there's the remnant of a decal underneath the paint.

In the meantime, I'm still searching the forums and google for more information on when and for which models Peterborough used this deck style and during when they stopped using the 'This is a Peterborough Craft' plaques.

We appreciate your input - thanks !
Debi