New Canoe Id Richardson Copy cat
Turns out the cedar canvas canoe I obtained in a trade isn't a likely Chestnut Chum at all. Mike Elliot of Kettle River Canoes mentioned in a comment that the canoe wasn't consistent with a Chestnut. Instead it looks to be similar to a Richardson or Rilco based on the narrow red cedar planking and other features Richardson and Rilco were descendents of Lakefield Canoe company. According to the ID page on Dragonfly canoe, in 1962 Jack Richardson, the former General Manager of the now defunct Peterborough Canoe Co. purchases the Lakefield Boat Co and renames it Richardson Aquacraft, also called Rilco Industries. The company closed down around 1969. The narrow red cedar planking is an identifying feature of this style of canoe. Intrigued, I did some more searching and came across this posting on Kijiji for a fully restored Richardson. The planking pattern is neater but similar to mine. Richardson Canoe Despite the fact that the rawhide seats had long ago deteriorated on my canoe a...
