I saw an ad for a 15' wood canvas Chestnut canoe on Facebook Marketplace recently, the canoe was located 15 minutes from my house. I sent a message and set up a meeting with the nice lady selling it.
She claimed it was a 1915 Chestnut, I was hoping it was a Chum, but when I saw it I wasn't sure it was even a Chestnut. Maybe an Old Town 50 lb'er. It had a cracked rib and some iffy plank, but the canvas and wood was solid, the paint old and peeling. Turns out it was an old Chestnut Bobs
What threw me off was the screws used to hold on the gunnels, they where slotted round heads rather than the Robertsons type that Chestnut always used. Turns out Robertsons weren't invented till sometime in the 30's and Chestnut used these slotted round heads before then, so that put the canoe around 1930.
I sanded the hull and interior, removed the gunnels and sanded them, cleaned up the screw heads and replaced the gunnels. I used some Sikaflex caulking under the gunnels against the canvas to help give the canvas a few more years. Varnish and paint, she came out good. I was going to keep her but I just don't have the room, she sold in a day on Marketplace.
She claimed it was a 1915 Chestnut, I was hoping it was a Chum, but when I saw it I wasn't sure it was even a Chestnut. Maybe an Old Town 50 lb'er. It had a cracked rib and some iffy plank, but the canvas and wood was solid, the paint old and peeling. Turns out it was an old Chestnut Bobs
What threw me off was the screws used to hold on the gunnels, they where slotted round heads rather than the Robertsons type that Chestnut always used. Turns out Robertsons weren't invented till sometime in the 30's and Chestnut used these slotted round heads before then, so that put the canoe around 1930.
I sanded the hull and interior, removed the gunnels and sanded them, cleaned up the screw heads and replaced the gunnels. I used some Sikaflex caulking under the gunnels against the canvas to help give the canvas a few more years. Varnish and paint, she came out good. I was going to keep her but I just don't have the room, she sold in a day on Marketplace.