Nova Craft Bob Special - where'd that name come from?

I was wondering where the name for the Nova Craft Bob Special came from, so of course I google’d it. Here’s what I found…

Credit to Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes and his blog: Canoeguy's Blog “For those interested in restoring wood-canvas canoes” on 04/08/2019

“According to Roger MacGregor in his book When the Chestnut was in Flower, Henry and William Chestnut were real history buffs.  The telegraph code for the 15’ 50-Lb. Special was BOBS and made reference to Lord Roberts, a major figure during the Second Boer War in South Africa. Over the years, as this wide, light-weight canoe became more difficult to keep under the weight limit of 50 lbs. (the average weight was 58 pounds while the carrying capacity was 700 pounds), they changed the name.  I have seen a variety of Chestnut catalogues call it Bob’s Special, Bob Special and Bobs Special.  So, feel free to take your pick.”

Nova Craft calls it “Bob Special”

Here’s a picture and a quick description go the boat:

Bob Special in blue

The Bob Special: The Chestnut Canoe Company responded to the need for a lightweight canoe well suited to solo tripping and casual tandem paddling by introducing the versatile Bob Special. While the canoe was very stable due to its larger than normal width, the hull shape was optimized for performance resulting in a canoe that was remarkably fast.

Our version is based on the Chestnut original with some improvements to increase speed and sea worthiness. It is ideally suited as a tandem day-tripper yet large enough for a weekend canoe trip. It really shines when paddled solo by a competent paddler. The Bob has a unique blend of characteristics that produce a canoe novice paddlers can enjoy yet experts can savour.