17' Prospector

The 17’ Prospector – perhaps the most revered and duplicated canoe ever designed.  Originally designed and built by the Chestnut Canoe Company of New Brunswick Canada, the prospector was and still is in a class all its’ own.  A deep, wide hull with a bulbous entry line, it truly is the work horse of the north. 

For nearly 20 years we resisted making a prospector, but eventually the time came when a long time customer asked us if we would. 

We wanted to produce as absolutely as close as we could to the original lines, shape and form taking no self-proclaimed “tweaking liberties” along the way. We were well acquainted with this design from get go having logged 1000’s of canoe tripping miles in prospectors. This combined with our lofting techniques, we feel has given us a prospector as close to an accurate Chestnut original as possible.

We used 4 different original prospectors that had never been used and were all built from the original Chestnut form as the basis for our model.  We took the lines from each of the four, lofted each one taking the average when needed, and just like that we had a prospector. 

This canoe really has one use, and one use only: canoe tripping.  It is meant to hold gear and can handle the many varying elements of canoe tripping.  And we build it as such. 

Only offered in camp grade with ash inner and outer gunwales, ash seats, thwarts, and decks, thicker white cedar ribs and planking and heavier weight canvas.  To build it any other way would be a disservice to this time honored design.

Contact us for pricing. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Specifications:

LOA: 17'

Width: It’s wide

Depth: It’s deep

Weight: It’s heavy, but that’s not relevant here.