Peterborough 12

Description

The Peterborough 12 is a vintage small sailing dinghy or sailing canoe produced by the Peterborough Canoe Company (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada), a historic Canadian builder renowned for high-quality cedar-strip and canvas-covered canoes and small boats from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century (founded 1892, later merged/absorbed). These 12-foot models (often dating from the 1930s–1950s, with examples like 1930s catboat-style or sailing canoes) were built primarily in cedar strip or wood construction, featuring simple cat rig (gaff or similar mainsail), centerboard for shallow draft, and lightweight design suited to daysailing, rowing, or light utility on lakes/rivers. They appear in old catalogs (e.g., 1936 models with 12 ft length, 40-inch beam, 15-inch depth, 75 lb weight) and antique listings as restored originals or projects, often with spruce spars and basic sails. No modern mass production: these are rare antique/vintage craft now, with surviving hulls valued for restoration (e.g., fully restored examples sold via antique boat dealers, some with new rigging/sails). The company designed/built them in-house as part of their small boat line (no external designer credited in records), with limited quantities surviving today (exact production unknown but part of their broader output).