So Now That I HAVE it.........

[Wadena]

So I got this canoe at the auction (it was a rough auction, I had to push one elderly lady to the floor and step on her hand until the canoe bidding was over) and now I probably should (I think she thought she was the root beer lady or something) do something to it.

I washed the exterior with a mild solution of dish soap to get the fairly abundant dust off (the interior is immaculate) but it's been stored for some years, I think, and I feel like I should treat the exterior hull with some kind of wax or something.

What do I do first? It has some light scratches on the paint, but no real damage. Pictures are on the other thread (Prospector Nineties) if you need them.

Also, can I hang it upside down (with a slight tilt to expose the interior) on three tie-down straps that will make contact on the gunwales?

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Congrats on your find...

Denis took Todd Bradshaw's recommendation and used Zymol cleaner wax on the surface of the canoe we took to the assembly, which has an older but useable canvas. Found Zymol at Target, in the automotive section, just as Todd said, and the canoe looks a whole lot better.

We had a canoe hanging on the front porch, suspended from two ropes-- one looped just past the bow and one just past the stern-- and the canoe was tilted so we could see the interior from inside the house. Canoe didn't complain at all.

 

[Wadena]

Front porch with canoe......I LOVE that image.

Oh sure......now I gotta build a front porch!!

Sigh.....I just keep getting in deeper and deeper.

No, I think it will be in the garage.

Thanks on the Zymol, I'll check target.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Deeper and Deeper...

... a frequently-discussed "problem"...

Our cars will never see the inside of a garage.

 

[Wadena]

Our current garage is a car and a half (the half really gets packed).

It is wide enough to house a 16 foot hung canoe across the back.

We've been discussing how nice it would be to have a four-car garage.

Absolutely logical, when you really think about it.

We used to laugh at such people.

Progress.

 

[Larry Meyer]

Congrats on prospector. I have had one about ten years now. Wrote a piece about rebuilding it that got published in Boundary Waters Journal. The depth is pretty much unique to the prospector and it sure looks like one to me. A great starter canoe because you find it’s the one you end up with, too.

I was a bit skeptical about all the hooplah about prospectors, but I’m sold on them now. I had the first one in the Norumbega chapter. Now Fitz has one or two, and Steve Lapey even built a prospector form and I think has built his second one off the form. I found one for another chapter member, a 90s one, that he got for a price even lower than yours. Sigurd Olsen liked them, as did Bill Mason so they must have something going for them.

A great tripping canoe. You can really load them up and they still go fast.

Why all this worry about where to store it, though? Just leave it on the car for the next 3-4 months, and start getting the hull wet.

 

[Fitz]

Forget the Wax Job

It ain't a piano!!

Get out and paddle it. Better yet paddle it across Canada if time permits.



Fitz

 

[Wadena]

Sorry guys.......I guess I'm in the protective new daddy stage.

I'm not even going to let it cross the street.

I suppose I'll get over it.

 

[Larry Meyer]

Ditto Fitz.

It aint a courting canoe. Sounds like it’s been too long in storage already. A prospector unused is like a thoroughbred that’s never been saddled or raced. Put more scratches on it!

Your next post should be in “Places to Paddle.”

 

[Fitz]

They make great Hats!

No need to apologize Wadena - just a little friendly ribbing.

Do you canoe trip? If so, I think you will enjoy your canoe.

If not, Prospectors make great Hats.

 

[Wadena]

Thanks to all for the responses.....check the other thread and contribute your ideas to the questions there.

Do I canoe trip? Well, only day trips. I like real beds, so I stay at resorts and come back each night......at least I have thus far in my life, and at the age of 61 I'm not likely to change a lot.

As far as putting the red canoe in the water......well, I live so far south in MN that it would be painful for me to plop that beautiful canoe in the ugly farm muck they call water here.

If this canoe hits water it will happen the first chance I can get to Ely.......that just feels right to me. A beautiful canoe like this deserves that much respect.

If it turns out to be too heavy I'll either take it to Piragis and trade it for Kevlar or bring it home and hang it in my family room (I have a 12-foot ceiling there and the decor is pure cabin).

My first order of business is to figure out what it is and if it was made on an original Chestnut mould as the logo states (that's the discussion on the other thread).

 

[Larry Meyer]

I think you’re getting hung up on the pedigree. Really the whole story if that, when Chestnut folded, a number of folks—Cedarwood and Ken Solway among them—kept building Chestnut models, some on molds they got from Chestnut, maybe some on molds they built from scratch. The quality of the canoe you’ve got is evident from the pix. Why worry any more? Chestnuts built at the factory from the late 60s and early 70s were not too hot in quality. But we’re not talking rocket engine tolerances here. Old mold or new mold? What the difference? So long as there’s no mold on the canvas.

There’s nothing all that esoteric about prospectors, per se. They’re not a Rushton or Morris or an early model Gerrish. It’s a production model canoe, with exceptional performance, qualities, but that’s about all.

 

[Wadena]

The main thing I'd like to know is whether or not the logo is correct....

If it was not built on original Chestnut moulds as stated.....somebody was false in their representation of the canoe.

And someone on the other thread certainly seemed to throw that into doubt.

I know it's a great canoe, I just want to know the truth about it for sure.

 

[Wadena]

I think you’re getting hung up on the pedigree. Really the whole story if that, when Chestnut folded, a number of folks—Cedarwood and Ken Solway among them—kept building Chestnut models, some on molds they got from Chestnut, maybe some on molds they built from scratch.

Really, that's not the whole story, because according to some information posted here.....my Prospector could not have been made on original moulds as Cedarwood claimed. So, part of the story is still missing.

However, the folks at Great Spirit (who got the moulds from Cedarwood) say that the Prospector moulds they use are the original Chestnut moulds.

I notice that they are offering a far greater selection of models than Headwaters offers, too.

I'm going to speak with Steve Jones next week to try to get a little more history on the canoe. Great Spirit seems to be an excellent and well-run operation and they make a Prospector identical to mine in every way.

Mine is now carefully hung in the garage......waiting for that trip to Ely.