Peterborough Model 1815 Minetta

The van grabs another one, but no camera was handy before it was unloaded. 

Today's find is a great little 15 footer, completely original. Up until recently it seems to have lived a charmed life, built some time in the late 1950s to 60s, it still wears its original canvas, seat caning and in fact all of its finish. One outer gunwale end is cracked, and its time for new canvas. The interior varnish is fine, after a light sanding it will shine after a couple of new coats. This will be a great solo boat, or tandem for kids or smaller adults. Ready for spring 2016, all it needs is the new colour chosen. Perhaps a new owner will make the choice, otherwise we'll choose an Epifanes colour for its newly filled canvas when its ready. 

Single thwart 15'

Decal and painter

Factory caning, bow seat

Stern seat

Stem stamps

Stern gunwales

Only damage, outer gunwales which are D shaped in profile. Much of the dark staining seems to be due to the boat having been wet. Now dried, once sanded the wood will be bleached and oiled to remove the staining and return  it to its natural colour.

Next is new canvas, cane, interior sand and varnish and paint colour to be chosen.

Thrill of the hunt..

Acquiring storied and antique boats is fun enough, but the real thrill comes in stumbling across them ( or finding them during a search), running down leads, rumours and vague stories and finally determining by features what they are. 

This week provides not only a Peterborough Minetta #1815, not much mystery there since it is plainly marked with stamped model number and decal, but also what just may turn out to be another pre-fire Chestnut cruiser. Hard to tell from photos, as well as having been heavily re-worked during a "restoration" - more on these later, but the term refurbished is often more appropriate for what is done to boats in order to bring them back to useable condition with little or no attention to the boats original features. 

Shoe keel, these are great solo boats. This one wont stick around in the spring after its redone. 

Strip, sand and bleach + minor tip repairs

Peterborough decal and painter

Serial number

Crunch end

Better end

Nice interior, shame it was left outside. Easy restoration on this one.

Cruiser - like sheer

Way too brown, needs to be stripped out!

Spacers and seat bolts likely incorrect, too much stain

More stain, but tapered ribs. Need to see decks and ends

14' Peterborough recanvassing

Weather hits 2 degrees Celsius, time to canvas a boat. A 14' Peterborough restored for a daughter goes quick, especially with many hands

Stretching the canvas, the upside down method. Much prefer this to right side up and bracing the boat down in the taught canvas

Nice and taught.

A few more strokes on the come-a-long and its ready. The Ford anchor works fine

Other end anchored to the wall. 

Clothespins in place

Ready to mark the ribs, staple guns loaded with Stainless 

Sides done, boat cut out and ready to close ends

Gotta do the spots where the boat sits on the sawhorses

Dyed seat cane 

Finishing.

The lesson here is to have batteries for the camera, but it did get done! Just no shots of closing in the ends...

Peterborough Mermaid

At 14' long, the Mermaid by Peterborough  and Playmate and Fox by Chestnut were great little boats. Still retaining the fine entry, nice hull shape and proportionate lines of the larger boats, they are nice to look at and have a sweet shape. Accordingly, they are great paddlers.  This one came to us in original condition, made some time  in the late 1950s -1960s this boat will look tremendous with a complete strip and revarnish and new canvas.  Sale pending, photos below.

Custom 12' canoe

We received an inquiry from a customer inquiring about a 14' canoe we had for sale, they were looking for a 12' for a project they were working on. A restaurant/bar in Toronto was to have an outdoors theme that would need a canoe. It was to be used to house a sink we were told, and the space could only accommodate up to a 12' boat. The 14'  would of course not work, so the decision was made to shorten it as it was for display only and would no longer need to be waterworthy. The 14 was a 1950s Peterborough, still in fine condition and awaiting restoration. Additionally, it had green paint on the gunwales and didnt have the sort of rough patina that they were seeking. We offered up a 15' Prospector that was tired but would look terrific, and a deal was struck to shorten it to just under 12'.

It was time to dig it out of the snow...

 Tripped hard, this boat bears the scars of a lot of miles and several rebuilds. 

Never able to decipher the carvings on the deck and gunwales, we had some fun coming up with meanings for them (which they would never stand for!)

Pre-surgery, the seats needed to come out and the thwart would stay in the 4' section being taken out.

Done! Didnt take long to get through it!

What have we done! will it go back together?

Ugly gunwales and sheerline!

Down to 11'6",now to join it

pulled back into rough shape, an ash gunwale will be placed under to help create a sweet shape along the gunwale, and to provide some rigidity that the missing thwart and seats had contributed

Battening the hull before setting gunwale joint and replanking

Almost there!

A big section of boat gone!

 Fitting stiffeners under gunwales

 Planking and finish left to do

Completed boat awaiting pickup! Never meant for the water again of course, but a great prop to become a static fixture.

If you have a project in mind or need something specific that you are having trouble locating or that just cant be found, give us a call. We would be pleased to explore just about anything you can come up with.