Restoration of 1950's Peterborough Champlain

[Andy Hutyera]

My Spring through Fall project was the restoration of an early 50's low end Peterborough Champlain. This has turned out to be a really sweet paddler. I was attracted to this particular canoe because of a fond memory of paddling one many years ago on the Muskoka Lakes when I was still a teenager. It was a red beauty of the type everyone with a cottage had sitting in front of their getaway. It was the first wood canvas canoe I ever paddled and to me it was a very memorable canoe. Caught lots of bass from that beauty. It was many many years later that I finally owned my first wood canvas canoe, a 1970 17' Chestnut Prospector.

Photos of the job are posted at: http://gallery.me.com/ahutyera#100539

 

[MackyM]

Andy,
Beautiful canoe. Turned out really nice. Looks similar to a Chestnut cruiser I paddle a lot. It just glides on the water. Will this one be at the Assembly next June?

 

[davelanthier]

Great job Andy. FYI: I just listed one for sale on the WCHA classified site.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

One of my favorite solo paddling boats - you really spiffed it up, looks great! Much fancier than my gray paintjob.

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Thanks for all the kind words. I will be bringing it to Paul Smiths next year. I'll be eager to get it out on those Adirondack lakes!

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Dave,

Wow, that Champlain is a real beauty! You did a great job on it. I didn't put the shoe keel back on mine.

 

[Douglas Ingram]

Good job. The Champlain is a nice paddling canoe, and a great Style paddling canoe, too. Enjoy!

I don't suppose you were being too picky about historical authenticity, but there are a few deviations that you made. I don't mention this to be picky, but if you want the info I can describe it to you. Someone along the way will be sure to pick on you for it and you'd probably prefer to be prepared.

 

[davelanthier]

So Doug, who are you addressing? Myself or Andy? We both made some changes but since neither canoe has historical value why not do them to our own personal tastes? The changes I made are VERY easily reversed but just what are you wanting too point out? If it is me you are addressing are you making me an offer to purchase with a subject to?

 

[Andy Hutyera]

I made several changes along the way, but I'm always willing to learn and never discourage helpful advice. So fire away Doug!! The changes that were deliberate were replacing the doweled spruce seats with mortise and tenon mahogany seats. The outwales and decks are mahogany instead of spruce. Seat weaving was by guess as the originals were long gone. The color scheme was decidedly and intentionally non traditional.

 

[davelanthier]

Something worth noting. A Peterborough canoe could be ordered and built to your own personal specifications. If you wanted a different color or color scheme, rather than red or green, no problem. If you wanted different wood trim, no problem. All you had to do was ask. They would give you a quote and then build it the way YOU wanted it........... And I'm still looking forward to Doug"s response.

 

[fred capenos]

And Jackie did a great job selecting the colors! Fred

 

[Douglas Ingram]

I made the comments regarding Andy's canoe. Sorry Dave, I never looked at yours.

I wasn't trying to be picky. I know just how much work it takes for someone to get a restoration completed! In the end you have a perfectly serviceable canoe that looks pretty good, and that is what counts in the end. I wasn't all that accurate back on my first Peterborough restoration, either. I didn't know any different and there was nobody to tell me. It was with that in mind that I made my comments.

I've seen a lot of this model canoe and there are certain details that are particular to it. None are the end of the world!

The gunnel end/stem joint is as seen in the photo. This is particular to all Peterboroughs and Chestnuts. Nobody will ever see this in Andy's canoe, but that is how its done. The gunnel ends are not tapered. The planking is not cut out to accommodate the gunnels because the gunnels terminate to a finer point. The gunnel/stem joint is only as wide as the stem band. The planking runs along the gunnel line to the stem and the outer gunnel rebate is not tapered at all, but comes to touch the inwale at the end. The merge is is achieved by tapering the inside faces of the ribs in this region. This photo is of a Champlain.

The seat weave on all Peterboroughs and Chestnuts are this other weave pattern, as seen on one of my seats.

The stem band on Peterboroughs and Chestnuts comes much further onto the deck. I didn't have a Peterborough deck photo to show that was easy to find so I am showing it in a photo of a deck on one of my canoes. You can see here how the rib shaping allows the outwale meets at the stem

Decks were typically Maple, though I have seen Ash used, and seat frames were usually Maple. I've never seen decks in Spruce, except for much older models and some of the cedarstrips like the Lake Queen. I've never seen seat frames of Spruce. Thwarts are often maple, sometimes Ash. I've never seen a Champlain model trimmed with Mahogany, though I imagine its possible. The Otonabee was the mahogany trimmed model.

Older models had a slight crown to the deck which was carried over to the outwales as a smooth continuous arch. Newer canoes had it all flat across. There is an undercut to the deck which arches across the inside face from full thickness deck along the gunnel to thinner at the center.

Again, I'm not being critical of the choices that Andy made in his restoration. We all do the best that we can with what we know and are able to do at any given time. Go enjoy paddling that canoe, Andy. Make some memories!

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Doug,

Thanks for your comments. Please be sure there was no offense taken. In the past I have been a from scratch builder. This was the first time I attacked an old timer. I was not really trying to be historically accurate- just wanted to spruce up the old girl and get her back in the water.

That said I really appreciate your observations as for my next project I would like to get my hands on an older canoe and try for a restoration.

Thanks again for your comments!

 

[Douglas Ingram]

Andy,

In my photos supplied, I am referring to the one on the far left, the one showing the stem/gunnel join. That is an original Champlain. It is one of the fleet of wood canoes belonging to Manitoba Pioneer Camp, the camp that my kids attend. I pay their camper fees by taking on the basket cases and doing full restorations on them. On this canoe I took a few liberties with historical accuracy, too. I used Fir inwales, Cherry decks, and Birch thwarts. Oh the horror!

Fir makes a good replacement for Spruce as its similar, and available in long, clear lengths. And affordable!!! Good spruce here is very expensive. I had some cherry cuts for decks and they were the correct shape for this canoes, and they were sitting around looking for a project, so I decided to be expedient. Similar story for the thwarts. Birch has a similar look to maple so they don't look out of place.

In the photo of the Champlain restoration, you may notice that the decks are installed sitting a little proud of the gunnel. This is to allow enough material to do the crown shaping that I referred to in the earlier post. The center of the deck is left higher, there is a radius to the entire top of the deck which rolls right across the inwale and fairs across the surface of the outer gunnels. Its not extreme, but you need to be aware of it and anticipate it when you install the parts so as to have enough material for shaping.

You're not likely to encounter many people in Ohio who are up on their Peterborough canoe details enough to challenge you, but on the odd chance that you do, you now are well armed to defend yourself!

A couple of other details which just occurred to me. The gunnels are screwed on every third rib, except in the deck area where there is a bit of a gunnel curve. Only the very oldest of canoes will ever use slot head screws, Robertson head screws are the thing to use.

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Now I'm getting curious. In your photos, the seat hanger is quite elaborate. Mine were hung by dowels with a hole bored in them. I still have the original decks, and they are definitely flat, not rounded. The construction of the stem to inwale joint is new to me. I suppose there are a ton of ways that joint can be made. Since the original joint was long gone, I used the tenon method that Rollin and Jerry describe in their book. The stem has a tenon on the backside that mortises into the the very end of the joined inwales.

Thanks again Doug. You've added to my learning experience.

 

[Douglas Ingram]

Andy, that's the seat hanger that I use on my own canoes. The Peterborough's used dowels.

I use the same gunnel/stem joint myself. It works very well for keeping everything lined up. Once established at the mold, referenced from the stem mold during building, it can't be anything but lined up properly once the decks are being fitted.

 

[jefflechef]

Andy, that's the seat hanger that I use on my own canoes. The Peterborough's used dowels.

I use the same gunnel/stem joint myself. It works very well for keeping everything lined up. Once established at the mold, referenced from the stem mold during building, it can't be anything but lined up properly once the decks are being fitted.

As much as I love Peterborough canoes, my current project (a Champlain from 1941) will not be getting dowels for seat hangers, or cane seats. I have my own system for hanging seats (similar to yours Doug) which is much more structurally sound and stable. Simple webbing is good enough for me. Cane looks great but doesn't last very long-I will make webbing seats-this boat is going to be used a lot.