Recent content by pathfinder

Roger MacGregor in his book, When the Chestnut was in Flower, covers this subject completely. Apparently the Chestnuts were history buffs and very proud of Fredericton's contribution to the Boer War.

Here at the canoe shop we never, ever use any varnish that has the word Urethane on the label. It will look good for a while, then start to flake off and it will be impossible to sand down to re-finish, the only answer will be a chemical stripping of the varnish - not fun. I shudder when a...

Usually they are Spruce, however we have seen Ash. Here at the canoe shop we have been replacing them with Sitka Spruce, although it is expensive we can get it in long clear lengths every day. Finding long clear lengths of Eastern White Spruce is very difficult. Good luck with the Bob's!

I always put them on over a couple of coats of varnish and then add at least two more coats to protect the decal. Be sure you are using good spar varnish, never any poly varnish....

How about running a saw kerf about the length of the curved area at each end of the inwale and then steaming and bending to your form. After the the wood dries out put it back on the form, or in place on the hull and glue the laminations together. Even kiln dried wood can be bent using this...

Windsor Plywood has two locations in Winnipeg, they offer Sitka Spruce along with a bunch of other interesting species. Here at the canoe shop we use Sitka exclusively for inwales and often for outwales, It bends nicely and in spar grade has fine grain lines. In addition Sitka has one of the...

Murat, the Keewaydin canoe was won by a couple from Piercefield, NY, not far from Paul Smith's. They are not real trippers, but, with a cottage in the Adirondacks they have promised to give it a good home.

The extra piece of wood on top of the center thwart is a "carrying bar". These are added by Keewaydin to protect and strengthen the thwart while portaging and also when the crews are loading and unloading the wannigans. Sometimes they are dropped on the thwart, not so gently. A wannigan is a...

Raffle Chestnut Raffle Chestnut Actually, Robin, the weight isn't as bad as it looks - 85 pounds, about the same as a Royalex Tripper..

A 17 foot Chestnut Cruiser, # 36 from Keewaydin will be raffled at the WCHA Assembly at Paul Smith's College on Saturday, July 13, 2013. Buy your tickets at the Assembly! #36 was made by the Chestnut Canoe Company in Fredrickton, NB in 1973 and delivered to Keewaydin Camps on Lake Temagami...

Cedarwood canoes were made by Carl Jones, formerly with the Chestnut Canoe Co. in Frederickton, NB When Chestnut closed up he acquired some of the building forms and made quite a few canoes off them. The 16 foot Prospector is a wonderful canoe, fun to solo as it becomes very maneuverable...