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There's a Fox in the neighborhood

Robin

Robin

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Here's a couple of pictures of a Chestnut Fox (14') coming off the mold down the road at Schuyler Thomson"s shop.

The canoe form for the Fox is next to it in the 1st picture.




Some would say it's too small for a 6'/ 200 lb guy to paddle, but I fished out of a 13' 6" canoe for years and even loaded it with gear (duck/geese decoys) so I'm giving this some thought. "It'll be great for introducing the grand kids to canoes", that's my opening line to Grandma!




The negotiations begin tonight.
 
That would be a nice canoe. I'm 6'-1" and 215lbs and paddle a Bell Yellowstone (14') locally on the rivers sometimes. I have even had my dog in it in class II rapids when she was smaller. I would like to come across a 14' W/C prospector some day. I think it was called the Fire.

Barry
 
Good looking canoe. Good luck with the sales job. What generally works for me around home here, is if I steer the conversation in such a way as to make her think it was all her idea. The fact that the best ideas are generally hers is besides the point. The danger in all this is, she just may want to pick the colour. Careful now.
Mihun, I'd like to see some pics of that canoe come next summer. I bet it's a beauty.
 
Thanks Odyssey...good plan, unfortunately I complained about her choice of bread for dinner and things went downhill, maybe tomorrow night..haha

Thanks Mihun, an original Chestnut Fox is hard to come by, but I doubt I could meet your needs here. After the above canoe came off the mold, Schuyler figured he could come up with a materials list and price, add in the shop time, some good times building it with him looking over my shoulder....
pretty excited about building my first canoe from scratch.
 
Well, you would have the advantage of perhaps making it lighter. Mine is 57 pounds which is heavy for a 14 foot canoe and that is set up as a solo too. You could have it for $1500, but you'd have to pick it up. Maybe on your way to the Bloodvein next year.

Brad, I've been using it two Summers now but since I don't really solo much it just sits and collects dust. Best picture of it would be this one on the Rice River.

 
I like the colour with the stripe, I also like a solo set up with the seat back so you have the permanent carry thwart, plenty of room for packs up front, nothing better imho than tripping solo with the seat set back (or a reversed tandem) in a wood canvas canoe.

Canvas packs and that beautiful canoe in front of you just add to the whole picture as you travel....
 
I remember that Rice River trip (it felt like I was there) and your gorgeous canoe Mihun. Thanks for the gentle memory jog.
Is that a Chesnut emblem I see on the stern deck? Perfect.
 
Pretty canoes for sure.

It must be nice to take in the sounds and smells of the canoe shop in the first few photos. Hear the floor creak, feel the warmth of the wood stove and smell all the freshly cut and shaped wood.

Great stuff.

Best of luck with your venture.
 
Robin, how do they cut their planking from the boards? Table saw or band saw before thickness planer? The wider planking is problematic since I have to cut part way through then end flip it and cut from the other side to split the planking off, and of course I have to go thicker to allow for more material for the planer. I have been considering getting a decent sized bandsaw to cut the planking with so there is less waste from the blade and it should allow thinner cutting before planing.
 
Canotrouge said:
Really nice Fox Mihun, at a good price!!
Click to expand...

We bought it for $400 a few years ago and it needed a ton of work to get back to life. It was from the late 60's, early 70's and the original workmanship was poor. It restored well though. We tend to put boats up for sale restored for reasonable prices since we wish to sell them. There has been a Tremblay on Kijiji here for 3 years because the owner wants $3000 for it.

Brad: The reproduction decal is actually on the bow deck, I just turned the boat around and hung the new cane seat from one set of the original bow seat holes. I didn't want to drill too many new holes in the original inwales.
 
Mihun09 said:
Robin, how do they cut their planking from the boards? Table saw or band saw before thickness planer? The wider planking is problematic since I have to cut part way through then end flip it and cut from the other side to split the planking off, and of course I have to go thicker to allow for more material for the planer. I have been considering getting a decent sized bandsaw to cut the planking with so there is less waste from the blade and it should allow thinner cutting before planing.
Click to expand...


I don't know yet, never built a canoe from scratch and wasn't there for this canoe. Schuyler and Frank will give us (Me and my daughter in laws dad Bob, the guy with the bad back) instructions on how they want it done, then we go ahead and follow thru. We both have canoes to finish, me the Pal and a Chum, Bob has a really long narrow White that looks like a speedster, actually the same canoe Schuyler uses for the Charles River Race every year, and he's still in the top ten mixed couples racing against modern hulls (at 67 years old)

Schuyler is a funny guy, he took the same canoe for years to the Housatonic River race here in Ct., he and his paddling partner dressed in Khaki pants, a white shirt and tie, and penny loafers with their pretty wood canvas canoe......they are always in the top five in a very competitive downriver race.
 
Schuyler is a funny guy, he took the same canoe for years to the Housatonic River race here in Ct., he and his paddling partner dressed in Khaki pants, a white shirt and tie, and penny loafers with their pretty wood canvas canoe......they are always in the top five in a very competitive downriver race.
Click to expand...

That's awesome, something I would like to see! We have footage from the Beardmore canoe races of the 60's where Verlin Kruger (sp?) would win, but there would often be locals in canvas canoes who gave them a run for their money.
 
Schuyler built the form from lines supplied by Douglas Ingram which he took off an original Chestnut Fox. So anything built on Schuyler's form is a "knock off".

Finding an original Fox form would be quite the find.
 
Doug has his own Fox form in his back shed, I've seen it. He has a few forms out there and a whole bunch of canoes needing restoration and a couple for sale. He collects Peterborough's and has some nice ones he will eventually get around to I'm sure. He has quite a few canoes scattered around his yard.

Doug has offered to rent us one of his forms if we want to build a new boat, but we are kind of stuck on the idea of making our own form once we choose a boat and making something nobody else offers.
 
The Fox is a bit of a shallow little boat that is a nice plaything but maybe not so good for tripping. On the other hand, it works pretty well with a double blade. I have heard of the idea of stretching it another foot and that might make a nice canoe, more like a chum. I have a 14 foot Huron that is deeper by 2" and if we ever get it back together it seems like it could be a nice paddler that I could short trip with.

The little bit of time that I have in Karins Fox, I found it to be a nice paddler and very quick. A really excellent starter boat for kids and a great solo for smaller adults.

Christy
 
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