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Chestnut Ogilvy Special Salmon Canoe for Sale

On Chemquasabamticook Stream
On Chemquasabamticook Stream

My baby seeks a new home.

This is the classic Chestnut wood-canvas “Ogilvy Special Pool” canoe. It was designed and made popular by Atlantic salmon fishing guides in eastern Canada. Guides maneuver these extra rugged and very stable canoes through shallow rapids while their clients fly fished from the bow.

The hull shape is excellent for paddling, poling and even using an outboard. It has an excellently proportioned beam-to-length, cross-section and rocker for easy paddling and maneuverability — not a tub like modern plastic substitutes.

I purchased it directly from the Chestnut Canoe Factory in Fredericton, New Brunswick, for primary use on Maine’s Allagash and Penobscot Rivers.

Original owner must sell now.

  • Built: 1970, Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • Condition: Excellent, Original
  • Damage: No Damage, No Patches
  • Length waterline: 20ft
  • Length overall: 20ft 6in
  • Beam: 37in
  • Weight: ~ 115lb
  • Ribs & Planks: Cedar
  • Thwarts: Oak
  • Canvas: Heavy duty #8 Cotton
  • Seats: Original Hand-Caned
  • Outboard Rating: up to 15hp
  • Factory Options: Anchor pulley & cleat

I also have an original Chestnut folding canoe seat.

  • Located in Bangor, Maine, area
  • Canoe: $2,475

Contact John for info or viewing: (207) 337-5858; email john@johnrustconsulting.com

Click images for a full-size detailed view.

Side view
Side view
Shows "Shoe Keel" for better tracking on lakes
Shows “Shoe Keel” for better tracking on lakes
Inside, toward stern
Inside, toward stern
Inside, toward bow
Inside, toward bow
Transom
Transom
Side view of Rocker
Side view of Rocker
On the Allagash
On the Allagash
On inlet to Umsaskis Lake
On inlet to Umsaskis Lake
Original Chestnut Canoe logo decal on Ogilvy's mahogany bow deck
Original Chestnut Canoe logo decal on Ogilvy’s mahogany bow deck
View of stern seat and transom from inside the hull. Dark block on the right is backing for the anchor pulley.
View of stern seat and transom from inside the hull. Dark block on the right is backing for the anchor pulley.
View of stern seat and transom
View of stern seat and transom
Chestnut Ogilvy models featured extra heavy ribs, planks and this 6 inch oak center thwart
Chestnut Ogilvy models featured extra heavy ribs, planks and this 6 inch oak center thwart
Original Chestnut hand caned bow seat (not machine made and then pressed into place)
Original Chestnut hand caned bow seat (not machine made and then pressed into place)
Original hand caned Ogilvy stern seat and stern - note the steel bracing on the stern - was "rated" for up to 15 HP!
Original hand caned Ogilvy stern seat and stern – note the steel bracing on the stern – was “rated” for up to 15 HP!
Original Chestnut hand caned bow seat (not machine made and then pressed into place)
Original Chestnut hand caned bow seat (not machine made and then pressed into place)
Close up showing transom and factory installed anchor pulley
Close up showing transom and factory installed anchor pulley
Close up of Chestnut stern at waterline and transom
Close up of Chestnut stern at waterline and transom
Mahogany bow deck showing original factory logo and rope eye
Mahogany bow deck showing original factory logo and rope eye

Some Great Wood-Canvas Canoe History and Resources:

1) Good background on many classic canoes with model identification info: Dragonfly Canoe

2) Chestnut Canoes…Bill Mason And His Chestnuts

3) Wikipedia: Chestnut Canoe Company

4) American President Teddy Roosevelt, who purchased Chestnut canoes for a South American expedition.

5) Northwoods Canoe Company. Atkinson, Maine
http://www.wooden-canoes.com

6) Ambrose Canoe – Canoes for sale
PO Box 1628, Alexander City AL 35011
Drews Lake, ME (when I’m lucky!)
paddle@ambrosecanoe.com
205-541-0461

7) https://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/tag/chestnut-ogilvy/

The Chestnut Ogilvy – Although never as popular as the others, fishing guides on the salmon rivers of New Brunswick helped create a working canoe that was unmatched for its purpose. They needed a river canoe they could stand up in all day long. They were often poling the canoe upstream through shallow rapids in order to offer the prime fishing spots to wealthy clients. The canoe had to be stable and tough with a shallow draft so as to avoid many (but not all) of the rocks. They came in six models that ranged in length from 16’ to 26’ – real, honest working canoes