Recent content by Benson Gray

There were a broad variety of Chestnut Prospectors so the answer varies. The most obvious element is that they tended to be deeper than the similar pleasure models. The 1934 catalog page below may help. Benson

You may also want to poke around the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association forum at https://forums.wcha.org/ to see if you get the same behavior. This is also running Xenforo on a server in Virginia. Good Luck, Benson

I would encourage you to try a few other internet connections (neighbor, work, library, coffee shop, airport, etc.) to see if you get the same behavior. If it is only happening at your home then it may be worth calling your internet provider to see if they can help. Good luck, Benson

Someone has listed a 1981 Ranger model (i.e. a Tripper with wood trim) in similar condition on Facebook marketplace for $3950 in West Sand Lake, New York for a while. They haven't found a buyer yet either. There are lots of optimists around. Benson

Be careful with it, that is quite a bit less than the original. Benson

Chipewyan was Old Town's name for their ABS/Royalex/Oltonar series of canoes which came in various lengths. This was similar to their Carleton group of fiberglass canoes. I believe that Old Town built the second facility in the world to make canoes from flat ABS sheets in the 1970s. The first...

Most people would probably have considered an aluminum Grumman to be a 'state of the art' canoe in the mid-1950s. These were priced in the $100 to $300 range as shown in the first image below. The ABS plastic canoes in the 1970s were priced in $300 to $400 range as shown in the second image...

This story was quoted in the 1975 Old Town catalog as shown below. Benson

The first advertisement below is probably the one you are seeking. They spent all afternoon throwing it off the roof because it is not easy to get a canoe to land on end from four stories up. Most of the time it just bounced without buckling. There were lots of pictures available so they...

They are considering this decision now. It seems likely to remain at Paul Smiths. Benson

My experience is that once you have a hitch then it will get used for many other things too. I selected a canoe trailer that could have a plywood deck added so it has helped me move: a lawnmower, a snowblower, furniture, bark mulch, firewood, brush, and a variety of other items that would not be...

I suspect that a lightweight trailer like yours with a canoe can be towed by almost any car. I would encourage you to contact your local trailer hitch dealer for more details about the options. Benson

You may want to consider a trailer. I have become a big fan of them as I get older. Benson

We have a 'wedding cake' of snow on top of the deck table. Benson

This seems to be a recurring winter question. The first link below has a similar discussion here from early February of 2024. Dan Miller was the curator at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York many years ago and assembled an assortment of canoes that had been described as the 'perfect...