De Pan

Excited to pick up another wood canvas canoe this weekend.  She was advertised as a 14' Chestnut. Not too many of those tend to pop up in the classifieds so it peaked my interest.

Over the years I've read many positive things about the 14 foot pleasure models by Chestnut & Peterborough Canoe companies. Sometime after 1954-1955, Chestnut began marketing a 14 footer named the Playmate which featured a narrow ribs only 1-1/2" wide with 1 1/2" spacing. Back and forth with the seller revealed the dimensions of his boat were consistent with this model.




 These boats seemed quite narrow, the outwale to outwale width is just 30 inches with a depth of 13" at centre thwart. In comparison, the width of my other 14' canoe is 32" with an 11" depth.  I was also happy to see that there was no visible restoration work on the ribs or stems. The previous owner stored it properly because the ends look pretty good too. Normally this area is the first to rot heavily and need replacement.




The outwales look like oak and have scarfed joints that are just coming apart where the glue has failed over time. Oak rails were apparently common on 14' pleasure canoes.




A chunk of the outwale has been broken off or maybe chewed by a curious critter? Same for a small piece of the inwale although this taste test looks more recent.





It sort of reminded me of this bit of canoe art...





Not sure if the seats are original. They do look quite aged. Certainly the steel hanger bolts are a recent addition. The seats will need to be re-done but not sure if I'll bother re-caning. Might go with something more utilitarian since the intention is to use this as a solo tripper.



The paint on the canvas is heavily cracked and it looks like it's only been one colour for the life of the canvas - red. Took off a few paint chips and the filler is still pretty decent. I might just gently scrape, sand and slap on some primer and paint just to get a season out of her before attempting to recanvas.

The Chestnut decal in the seller's original advertisement looked pretty authentic so I went in thinking this was a narrow-ribbed Chestnut Playmate. When I got there, however, I notice a non-Chestnut serial number stamped on the stem: 1814 5453. The first number looked like a Peterborough model code - 1814 is the model number for their 14foot Mermaid model.





I've posted on the Wooden Canoe and Canoetripping.net forums to get some feedback from the experts there. Given the overlap in production history between Peterborough and Chestnut, it doesn't seem that odd that it was built as a Peterborough and then slapped with a Chestnut decal - making it a hybrid of sorts...a Peternut.

The other advantage of the Peterborough code is that it offers a rough date range that a Chestnut serial number cannot provide.

Since Peterborough officially went out of business in 1962 (some sources state production ended in 1961), the presence of this code would mean it would date to before that period.

More updates to follow...


July 2016 Update: The superficial restoration has been started...read Part 1 post.

Got a few hours to dip the 14foot Chestnut Playmate / Peterborough Mermaid into some water after finishing the basic refurbish (read part 1 post here and part 2 here). We're lucky enough to live a quick 10 minute drive to Cherry Beach in Toronto, where one can access some protected waters and paddle around. The real point of the trip was to see if the re-sealing job on the canvas held up and if the boat had any leaking issues.



This was also the first water test for the latest Sassafras paddle I've been  working on since last year. Also brought along the Birch Cree paddle as a backup.



First impressions of the canoe were great. She is certainly deeper and narrower than the 14' built with Pam Wedd back in '08. The playmate / mermaid feels like it rides lower in the water and the shoe keel makes the canoe feel stiffer. Thought it handled very well heeled over too. The sassafras paddle worked really well. Feels lightweight but has a nice bit of flex, like ash. I've got 2 more paddles in the works from Sassafras that should be fun to paddle with too.

After confirming that no water was gushing into the boat, I proceeded to do a little tour of the bay. Instead of going over to the channels in the Toronto Islands, this time I just paddled the shoreline of Tommy Thompson Park. It's actually an urban dump for concrete construction waste and dredged sediment that has become a naturalized bird sanctuary. There is a healthy popluation of urban coyotes taking up residence here too.





Loads of ducks and waterfowl abound, but I was drawn to follow a pair of mute swans in the distance...





Around one bend, I started to smell a strong fishy odour only to see this beast dead on shore. For size reference, there is a washed up can at the upper left. Some type of carp I suppose?



Right after I took the shot, I noticed two large bluish fish quickly shoot under the canoe. They looked to be the size of the paddle blade (27") and could be some of the Salmon being stocked into the lake for the sport fishery.

Anyway, more paddling and one quickly realizes that Tommy Thompson Park has become a huge nesting ground for Cormorants. Their guttural croaks silhouetted outlines make the whole area look pretty eerie.



Always reminding you that you are in an urban centre, started to hear an aggressive motor roaring. It was a Police Boat zooming off to an emergency call...



Eventually turned around and took a last look at the city skyline before heading back in...



Turns out there is a little bit of water seepage from the stern stem which can be easily dealt with some more sealant. Might have to remove the stem band to seal properly afterall, but I've confident I can get at least 2-3 seasons more usage out of her before the need to recanvas..