Headwaters Canoe compares 3 16’ Chestnut Prospectors

[Robin]

Headwaters Canoe,
We have a neat comparison of three different canoes of the same model in the shop this week - probably the most famous model: the 16' Prospector.

On the left side of the first photo is a 16' Prospector built by Chestnut. We don't know which form this was built on at Chestnut, or in what year. On the right is a 16' Prospector built by Headwaters in 2003 on the original Chestnut Canoe Company form that Hugh purchased from Chestnut when the factory closed down. In the middle is a new 16' Prospector we built this winter, this time on the new form Hugh and his colleagues at the shop built in 2006. This is the form we build on regularly today. Hugh decided to build a new form, maintaining those classic Chestnut lines and built to the original specs, because the old Chestnut form was difficult to build on and was not symmetrical, resulting in a (slightly) wonky canoe every time. We still have the Chestnut form around as a little piece of Chestnut and Headwaters history, though it's not our workhorse for this model anymore.

It is interesting to get a side-by-side comparison and see the subtle differences between each canoe, a visual evolution of this celebrated and classic model.

 

[lowangle al]

That's a good photo, and I'm not even a Chestnut guy. They look pretty similar to me although the one on the right with the half ribs looks like it has a flatter bottom. It is the one built on the original Chestnut form and I'm thinking the closest to the original Prospector. But like I said, I'm not a Chestnut guy.

 

[Robin]

But like I said, I'm not a Chestnut guy

Yea, not yet.

 

[Patrick Corry]

Thanks for posting this.

I'm very interested to see the variations. It appears to me that the canoe built on the newer form, the canoe in the middle, is not as beamy as either of the others. What a sweet looking canoe! I don't particularly care for the appearance of the babiche seats in the middle canoe, but other than that I love it.

I recently took a similar photo in my barn of canoe stems. The two non-canvassed canoes are both Old Town 15' 50 pounders; 1938 in the foreground, 1957 middle, and an 17.5' Atkinson Traveler in red behind. On the rack, the upper green canoe is a 15' Chestnut Bobs Special, and the gray canoe below it is a Chestnut Chum. It's surprising how different the stem profiles are on the two Old Town canoes- both of the same model but 19 years apart.

 

[dutchlennart]

Lovely to see past and presentatie next to each other

It would be so nice if there is a fast way to make 3d scans. To see all the differences in detail and to make better design s possible. Based on more facts then on feel. Up side down pics are always good.