what is it (besides "a green one"?

Kathryn Klos

squirrel whisperer
I'll get some better pictures tomorrow because we'll be taking this baby off the car and paddling it in a river. Found it on Craigslist in Traverse City. The owner inherited it from her dad, who rescued it in the early 1950s. It had been part of a fleet that was being destroyed, and the men who were ordered to chop and burn each kept a canoe. The seller said her dad thought it was Canadian.

The canoe was in storage for the last 30-plus years and is in dandy shape. 15 feet long and nicely-crafted. Heart-shaped decks with a slight convex upper face and undercutting. Slightly-tapered ribs with keel attached at each. Trim appears to be birch. Hand-caned seats that have nice detail (not "clunky").

Any ideas? Attached pictures are the ones the seller sent me. More pictures to come...

Kathy
 

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Hello Kathy,
That sure looks like a Chestnut Bobs Special. Probably 20's or 30's. How wide is the planking?
 
I'll also vote for a 50lb Special. Nice early one. Keels were standard on them. Looks quite original. Very nice!
 
Yay, I am excited about this canoe! Took some pictures-- it's still on top of a very tall car so I didn't measure the planking. It's 36 inches at its fattest, measuring outside the gunwales. Cant ribs are the same width as full ribs, and measure 2 1/4 inches, tapering to 1 3/4.
 

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Maybe a Canadian Canoe Co boat. Tapered ribs like the one I have, same deck and stem. Any serial numbers in it? Some CCC did come off Chestnut moulds. Very nice find.
 
I think you'll find if you look closely the cants, while being far up in the bow, are in fact the longer thinner variety consistent with Post-fire boats, including Peterborough. Though this certainly appears to be an early Bobs, down to the gunwale ends matching the crown of the deck. Kathy, on Canadian boats, cant ribs usually refer to the long, thin rib put if after the boat is off the form, rather than the regular ribs behind - although lots of people mean different things when discussing them. It doesnt look as though the outwales are original, and although the front seat is attached directly to the gunwales, on the rear what is the spacer on the back seat bolts made of?
Are you enjoying the maple syrup?;);)
cheers.
 
Had the boat out today and LOVE it! Will check those seat spacers tomorrow, Andre. The canoe seems 1930s to me, so learning it isn't pre-fire seems right.

The attached picture is of me celebrating with one of the ginger ales that Fred won at the auction (with two of Wendy's baskets)... and we had maple syrup on Cream-o-Wheat this morning!
 

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OMG not cream of wheat... bad childhood memories. That Ginger Ale is the best, i always bring a few cases up - hope you enjoy it. Nice boat!
 
Hi Kathryn,

You've almost certainly got a rather early Bob's special, in really excellent condition. Love'em or hate'em, they're boats that people feel strongly about. While they're a bit dead-seal for tandem, I love mine for solo paddling because of the tremendous secondary stability. Enjoy!

- Nick.
 
Hi Kathy:

I have a Bob's, Bob, Bobs', Bobber of similar vintage. I would like to compare notes. It has oval head slotted brass screws holding on the outwales. I think your canoe does too. The story with mine says it was used at a fishing lodge in Canada in the 1930's. I have considered it to be post-fire.

Fitz
 
All of you really know your canoes. Could the builder possibly "borrowed" some BN Morris features in the design? Of course the heart shaped decks yet in particular was the keel screwed in every rib. Was this a common method for some Canadian canoes?
Bill
 
The story is that Chestnut dissected a Morris and got some building-clues from them, which are apparently more evident in the earlier Chestnuts.
 
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