canoe maker

From an online exhibit entitled, Wolastoqiyik, Portrait of a People are some historic pics featuring some nice paddle shots


Campsite at Blue Mountain,
on a bend of the Tobique River
c. 1862.



From Tobique, Simon Paul and sons, Charles and James.

The Innu Aitun website has some fantastic videos of traditional Innu canoe construction. The videos are a combination of French and Innu languages, but have english subtitles. I've embedded them here but if you can't see them because of missing plug-ins, they are available on this page regarding the canoe in Innu culture(Quicktime needed to view).

The most interesting one for me was part 2 where the men use a PVC coated canvas instead of birchbark as the skin of the boat - a very practical solution given growing scarcity of quality bark. Also, check out the last video which details the method of lashing paddles for the portage. It is exactly as described in Paul Provencher's book about the Montagnais method - with an angular position of the blades and the grips crossed onto the forward thwart.


Materials and Preparation
9:18 min



Assembly
10:24 min.




Specificity, Trial
1:24 min

From an expired Ebay auction is an intense watercolour by Canadian Artist, Arthur Keelor. I haven't been able to find any info about Keelor's life other than the fact that he painted many War Bonds and Propaganda posters during World War I. In this work, the canoeist has lost his only paddle in some crazy current. Check out the look of fear and panic on his face.





Watercolor - No Title
Signed in pencil � A. Keelor
This is why I always take 2 paddles with me into the boat!

Came across this interesting pic on Flickr of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge being guided in his all-wood, board and batten style canoe. The caption is from the Flickr page.

President Calvin Coolidge fishing at Cedar Island Lodge, rustic lodge of Henry C. Pierce, 35 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, on the Brule River. This lodge was later dubbed The Summer White House. The canoe is named Beaver Dick and the guide is John LaRock.

The juvenile in me couldn't help but chuckle at the Commander-in-Chief's chosen name for his personal watercraft

Apologies to those wanting to see more paddle making specific posts. Things have gotten very hectic as of late but another piece is sitting here in the den awaiting some free time for decoration. In the meantime, here are some Montagnais paddles from the American Museum of Natural History


PADDLE, WOMAN'S
Culture: MONTAGNAIS
Locale: QUE, LAKE SAINT JOHN
Country: CANADA
Dimensions: L:153.7 W:9.9 H:4.1 [in CM]



Culture: MONTAGNAIS, CHICOUTIMI?
Locale: QUE
Country: CANADA
Dimensions: L:167.5 W:10 H:2.8 [in CM]

The history buff in me really gets a kick out of these old Victorian canoe prints featuring some elegant ladies who can paddle...


Frank Crerie, 1911
EBay Link



Female Portraits by Maud Stumm, 1905
10 x 12-1/2 inches
LINK


Girl in Canoe
Lithograph by Maud Stumm
This 10" x 12-3/4"
Ebay Link