Event Report: 2026 Silent Boat Rally
On Saturday, July 25th, a few members from the Northern Lakes Chapter participated in the annual Lake of Bays Silent Boat Rally in Dwight, Ontario. Hosted by the Lake of Bays Heritage Association, roughly two dozen watercraft launched from the public beach to paddle the lower Oxtongue River to Marsh's Falls. This year I was accompanied by my younger son so we got to take out our circa1919, 15 foot Chestnut Twozer. However, my little bow engine wanted to spend more time checking out the wildlife so switched to sitting in the bottom of the hull for the majority of the upstream paddle and eventually started dozing off! Though not an exclusive wooden canoe event, there were plenty of interesting vintage craft around including a 14ft Chestnut Little, a Peterborough Mermaid, as well as a rare 16foot Peterborough Riverdale. Peterborough Riverdale Model 1432 This rare model seems to have first been offered in the 1936 catalogue under a different serial number (P404). After the serial num...
