Feeling lucky to add this the fleet...Chestnut Playmate / Peterborough Mermaid

[Murat V]

After a summer of cancelled trip plans and frustration, got to have an end-of-season consolation prize. Picked up another wood canvas canoe this weekend advertised as a 14' Chestnut. The stars aligned and I had access to the car to run a quick trip out of town and see it in person. Fell for her right away and brought her home...

She's a narrow one. Width is 30" outwale to outwale, depth is 13" at centre thwart. Narrow 1-1/2" ribs nicely rounded with 1-1/2" spacing. Brass stembands not aluminum. No visible restoration work on the ribs, planking or stems and the workmanship doesn't seem as crude as later era Chestnuts. The original owner must've stored it well because the ends look pretty good too. The outwales are oak I think and have scarfed joints that are just coming apart where the glue has failed over time. A chunk of the outwale has been broken off or maybe chewed by some curious critter? Same for a small piece of the inwale although this looks much more recent.

scarfed outwale

broken chunk of outwale

tasty nibble out of the inwale?

The paint on the canvas is heavily cracked and it looks like it's only been one colour for the life of the canvas - red. Took off a few paint chips and the filler is still pretty decent. I might just gently scrape & sand and slap on a some primer and paint just to get a season out of her before attempting to recanvas.

The seller had posted a pic of the bow with the decal and it looked original to my amateur eyes. All the stats lined up with a narrow ribbed Chestnut Playmate. When I got to the seller's place, noticed a non-Chestnut looking serial number stamped on the stem: 1814 5453. First part looks like Peterborough code. Found out that the 1814 is the model number for the 14' Peterborough Mermaid. Given the production overlap with the companies, I guess it's not so weird to have a Peterborough code with a Chesnut decal so ... I guess this is a Peternut Mermate?

Closeup of Code...

I believe Peterborough stopped production in '61-'62. If this is stamped with a Mermaid code I guess that would date this canoe to no later than than the early 60s. Don't know if Chestnut continued to use the Mermaid Code on stems after '62 for their 14 ft Playmate model but posted on the WCHA forums for other's to chime in there too.

Mihun: I remember reading many posts on your late 60s Playmate / Fox restoration (recently sold, right?). Maybe your expert eyes can add any details I missed. Restoration advice most welcome.

 

[Canotrouge]

Wow.... I wouldn't get so lucky up here, in the land of the plastic tub... ho sorry, the land of the midnight sun!!

Nice looking canoe, a bit small to my liking, but I'm sure it would make a great little solo for day/overnight trips!!

 

[yellowcanoe]

I want it. Its just a little wider than my Loon Works Aria.. which is big enough for tripping if I rearrange its many thwarts. Its very interesting how people drifted off one company and started another in the past. And actually still do.. Bell Fire series, Placid Fire series became Colden Fire series.
Decals can be gotten easily.. did the maker once drift over from Chestnut?
Recaning seat pattern? Do you have a favorite?

And I believe Chestnut and Peterborough in the 60s were made at the same plant in Fredericton NB?

https://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/tag/chestnut-prospector/

 

[Mihun09]

Chestnut owned Peterborough so a mix of parts doesn't seem far fetched. Pete stem, Chestnut decks and decal...

Nice little boat, good for solo or two small kids. Not a long trip boat, not enough room for gear but able for overnighters. Would not want to have it out in rough conditions as it is a little skinny in the middle with a load.

More later, just finishing lunch break at work.

Karin

 

[Murat V]

It's a tiny looking boat for sure. Definitely not for The Yukon, Canotrouge! Dropping your 50lb wannigan into the hull might make me faceplant into the deck!

YC: Not sure about caning patterns just yet. Have to do more learning and pretty much forgot anything Pam Wedd showed me back in '08. You are the master of links...any place with pics comparing patterns?

Mihun. Thanks for the observation about paddling with a load in choppy water. Your comment about a tandem for 2 kids got me pretty elated. Suddenly had a vision of my 2 boys accompanying me on a trip one day, although the older one needs to learn some more patience and the younger one needs get thunderbox trained 1st!

 

[memaquay]

It's a thing of beauty!

 

[Odyssey]

Congratulations Murat, it's a beauty!! I see you in future years paddling on the cottage lake in this elegant craft.
Gonna keep it red?

 

[yellowcanoe]

as I said I''ll take it tripping! If I can get pack and Golden Retreiver into the Aria a bigger boat like that is perfect for me.. lemme know when you want to sell. She just screams Temagami or Algonquin or La Verendrye.. ( not Lake Superior)
Murat I was supposed to get Pams caning patterns this fall but the person who was going to write down her method got very busy. Pam only has it orally and in her mind.
Its a variation on the seven step chair caning pattern. Hope this link helps. I never knot cane though.. Just tee the holes with a shaved down ( or several ! ) shaved down tees. At the end I run the ends under and through a hole, jam a small wedge of wood in ( like a shim) and trim the excess cane and wedge off.

http://www.zapflegacycanoes.com/tips.php

I bet that if we pester her Pam might oblige in her pattern or at least notes.

 

[Mihun09]

I have always tied, for what it is worth, but it has to still be wet to tie it without breaking.

I have a photo of a seat from mine, I did offer the original seats to the buyer but don't recall if he took them, would need to wait until the weekend to dig them out. However, lets see if this helps at all.


Can you get a close up of the decal on the deck? There are variations in the design that could possibly date it better.

If it were mine, I would scrub it clean as possible, chip off flaked paint and carefully sand, then repaint it well and paddle it for as many years as possible. Impossible to recreate the original patina on the varnish. Even if it has a broken rib or two it likely doesn't compromise hull integrity so do as little as possible and use it.

Clean up the gouge in the inwale and get good varnish on it. The outwales where it is splitting, maybe clean it out as best as possible and re-glue it for now, again, sand and varnish.

 

[Robin]

Nice one, was that advertised as being in the Kawartha Lakes region? I was interested in one up there in August but the deal fell through.

Anyway, nice looking canoe, the basics are solid..... stems, inwales, ribs and plank, canvas can be fixed, a good canoe to enjoy now and restore down the road. In my opinion, 14' with that debth in wood canvas is a real nice solo tripper as long as you travel light and respect the wind. Nice find, my next canoe for sure.

 

[Murat V]

Thanks all.

The aged patina and lack of major structural damage had me sold. Never been really into red canoes, but for some reason I think it works on this little number.

Appreciate the link, YC. I guess we could pester Pam about her caning secrets but I never want to get on her bad side. I've already bugged her enough with canoe questions over the years.

Mihun - Here's a zoomed shot of the decal. Much of the text has deteriorated...

Appreciate your input about what you would do with this boat. I was thinking the same thing. Carefully clean, sand and just do a superficial touch-ups to get it back into the water. Andre Cloutier on the WCHA forums mentioned he thinks the canoe was originally built as Peterborough but then the decal was slapped on the deck to to fill an order for a Chestnut. Makes sense.

Robin - yeah this one was in the Kawarthas, just south of Lindsay. Don't know if this was the same one up for sale in August or if there was another. Anyway, followed the price and watched it drop when no one bit the first time around. Are you still on the lookout for another Chum too?

 

[Iskweo]

Yeeeeeees very nice little boat. If I am not mistaken, Doug Ingram has one languishing in his storage too. We were sad to see the little Chestnut go but it's uses were limited and the new owner adores it so that made it easier. Do as little as you must to this one and just get her back in the water.

I have my eye on another 13 foot Bastien here in Winnipeg....and that Tremblay is looking better all the time...lol. The thing is, these little boats are ok on rivers and calm lakes but you really want at least 15 feet for longitudinal stability and carrying capacity, if you are tripping with them.

dang they are cute though.

Christy

 

[Robin]

Anyway, followed the price and watched it drop when no one bit the first time around. Are you still on the lookout for another Chum too?

Nice buy, I really like that hull, I would trip with it. It would be nice on the ports. I'm good with Chums, one finished, one bare hull on the rack, too many hobbies right now but come January the restorations begin. The Chum and my old Pal should be fun to wile the winter away

 

[Mihun09]

Ok, so that decal is the one used prior to 1973 so it doesn't help much. The Pete stem is likely the best form for dating the boat and the scarfed outwales likely puts in the 60's for sure. Mine had scarfed inwales as well as outwales and we figured it was late 60's due to that. It also had aluminum stembands.

Now, you know you have to build a new wannigan to fit this boat, low and sleek and curved to fit the turn of the bilge!

 

[redoleary]

What a cool canoe, great find! May you enjoy many safe trips in her.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Chestnuts are marvelously stable craft. I sure would hope that there would be trips taken with her. Lately I have been tripping at most a 14 foot boat. Funny coming down from 15 feet made my speed faster. Must be developing less horsepower in old age. Plenty of folk trip in at most 14.5 feet.

Plenty of folks are not comfy in a narrower solo though.. Its mostly about the paddler and their psyche.. ( kind of like guys in bow stations..after several workshops the consensus is that they feel vulnerable looking at all that water and relatively no boay at all. Thats what they say, not me)

I have a friend with a 13 foot Bastien .She has tripped in it for more than day trips.. Its a cute little thing and being a little pudgy( the boat NOT her) she paddles it well Canadian Style I'd go for one of those too... but the Chestnut first.

 

[Qayaq]

Very nice! Have fun with her.

 

[Canotrouge]

I think the size of the canoe you choose for tripping have to have something to do with your style/ gear you use. In my case, I couldn't fit our gear in less than a 16 feet... If I go solo, again 16 feet seams perfect. I'm also 6'2" and 225lbs, so right there I need more boat lol.

 

[Bob B.]

Agreed, at 6'4" and 235 with 10 days of rations and gear ( 75 pounds-ish ) ... with or without my dog (50 pounds), 16 feet is about right. I can use a 15, but 16 with moderate rocker is just about perfect for both tripping and fishing while on a trip. I am just to darn big for the smaller lighter boats ... wish I was not!

Bob.

 

[memaquay]

Chum worked out pretty well for me, at 225 with a ton of gear. But I'm no six footer, more like a hobbit. Still thinking about rebuilding the raven lighter though, that canoe carries big loads effortlessly.