15' 0" Bob's Special

“The Chestnut 50-lb. Special has been designed to meet a certain demand for an extremely light weight canoe of good carrying capacity and has proved very popular. Owing to its width and flat bottom it is very steady and the ends are low, making it easy to portage through the brush.” …from the 1950 Chestnut Canoe Co. catalogue.

Forty years later it is one of their better known models, favoured by fishermen and solo trippers. The moderate rocker and soft bilges make this a great canoe for traditional style solo paddling.

In order to adapt to strip planking, some modifications to the original lines have been made. A shoe keel was recommended on the original canoe because of the light weight ribs and planking. Since they are not saying it is for directional stability, we can assume that the keel is optional.