Peterborough High End Champlain

[Louis Michaud]

Fellow canuts,
-contraction of canoe nuts, think it'll catch on? Well, I think it sounds great for Canadian canoe nuts...

I've just picked-up a Peterborough High End Champlain (#1434) in great condition. If it were not for the #%?&5#!!!!! holes drilled to bolt the |$%?&&"/ flotation foam to the sides of the canoe, I would have only 2 easy repairs, some sanding, then painting and varnishing! The original varnish is in great condition. The serial number is 4423 and it has the 75 th anniversary decal. Would it be too easy to assume a built date of 1954? Is somebody keeping tabs on known built dates and serial numbers to have aproximate dates. Like: 4423 is the year 1954 so 5561 would 1958?

Even with the $%?&"* holes, considering the condition and price I paid, this is and official paddle-by gloat!

Best,

Louis Michaud
Rimouski, Quebec

 

[MackyM]

Great find!! Holes are easier to deal with when the canoe is in great condition like this!! really nice canoe. MackyM

 

[jefflechef]

I have the same boat, it is a Champlain Cruiser made between 1938 and 1941. The first number is the model number (1434) the second is the serial number. Bonne Canot!!

 

[Easternrivers]

I think I know where there is a similar canoe...I was told it was Chestnut, but I wasn't sure...Painted decks, so could not see any decals. It also seemed to have very fine entry fore and aft.
Did Chestnut ever make a high ender? or was that a Peterborough/Canadian Canoe thing??

 

[yankee2]

Did Chestnut ever make a high ender? or was that a Peterborough/Canadian Canoe thing??

The highest "high-ender" Chestnut ever made was the Indian/Maiden/Indian Maiden (2 grades and a later re-introduction) 16 footer, which had conspicuously high, decorative ends, and which is a very desirable canoe today. I don't think they ever made anything else that compares.

 

[Don Read64]

My understanding is that the Champlain High End was produced from 1939 to 1950. The Champlain low end was still built after high end was discontinued.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

My records are that -
1433 >> Otonabee >> 1929 - 1965 ?
1434 >> Champlain Pleasure High End >> 1938 - 1955 ?
1435 >> Champlain Cruiser Low End >> 1938 - 1941 ?
1492 >> Champlain Pleasure Low End >> 1942 - 1962
I believe this data came from Dan's Dragonfly site and catalogs he has.

 

[johnmetts]

I love the look of high end canots. Can anyone tell me if there is a specific advantage/disadvantage to the high end, or why they are not made anymore? (Or perhaps they are still made that way and I am ignorant.)

Thanks.

John

 

[Don Read64]

Hey John
Some canoes are still made with highends. I have one the has high end and rocker I personally use on rivers.

It is a tougher paddle on laege lakes as it is more susceptable to wind. Maybe someone else can add their opinion as well.

Don

 

[johnmetts]

Thanks, Don.

 

[Rob Stevens]

High ends are traditional and aesthetically pleasing ie. look nice.
Functionally, when tipped upside down, they allow more room to sleep underneath with out getting up close and personal with the centre thwart.
But the wind,... both when paddling and when ashore.

 

[Fitz]

Just to play devil's advocate here, I have a theory on high ends. If you keep them just off the direction the wind is coming from, the high ends negate the need for correction strokes, allowing all the energy to be put into the forward stroke. Think about the Voyageurs. They literally canoed back and forth across North America for a living. WIND must have been a constant enemy!!!! There is no way on god's green earth that they would have put huge bow profiles on the canots du matre if they did not serve a very important purpose, rather than decoration or a liability.

Two other reasons occurred to me. High bows help keep the boat drier in white caps/choppy lakes, and they probably helped increase the volume and carrying capacity of the canoes.

My 2 cents.

 

[Rob Stevens]

And practical; shelter, don't need to pack a tent.

 

[Don Read64]

Fitz you make good points.

I found this article
"The "High-End" Champlain model was produced between 1936 and 1955. In 1939 its model number was changed from 26P to #1434. However, before 1936, this model was actually called 16S or the Special and had been introduced for the 1923 model year as a less expensive model to their top of the line 604 model. (The 604 model changed name to the Otonabee in 1924)."