Like her Dad, Bill, Becky Mason likes Prospectors....this is from her website,
http://www.redcanoes.ca/becky/canoe/canoes.html:
"I like to use a versatile all-purpose canoe like a 16-foot Prospector. I say versatile because these canoes can be used for tandem or solo, for an afternoon or a long trip, with only a little trimming (shifting ballast to level the ends of the canoe) involved. I like canoes to be deep enough to hold a lot of gear when I travel and to have some rocker for maneuverability so that when heeled over while soloing the ends rise out of the water. If I'm given a choice of a cedar-canvas canoe over a synthetic one the traditional cedar-canvas wins hands down for its beauty and feeling. It's like paddling a piece of our history.
So who makes a nice Prospector in my opinion? If you start looking around on various canoe sites you will see there are a great many Prospectors on the market. Some are wood-canvas but most are made with synthetic fibers. I favour the 16' Prospector model that the world famous Chestnut Canoe Co. of Fredericton New Brunswick produced but Chestnut, alas, has been out of business since the late 70's! However many small companies are making wood-canvas canoes based on the Chestnut designs. One of the original 16' Prospector forms from Chestnut is being used by Hugh Stewart, a neighbour of mine, to build fine working canoes. He is a great guy and very helpful and a fine canoeist too. His company is called Headwaters Canoes in Masham, Quebec,
www.headwaterscanoes.ca He also makes other Chestnut models from the original molds. They are reasonably priced and built for wilderness travel. Headwaters do have lovely classic lines and use good traditional beautiful wood. They are exquisite and steeped in historical Canadian canoe lineage. He usually puts on a weighty canvas and thicker gunnels so the canoes can run whitewater and are more durable. Another manufacturer, Cedarwood Canoes in New Brunswick, also makes wood-canvas canoes off original Chestnut molds. And Fletcher Canoes in Atikokan, Ontario
www.fletchercanoes.com makes an nice wood-canvas canoe that is similar to the 17’ Prospector."