canoe maker

While searching the web for pics on wanigans, I came across the artwork of fellow Toronto resident Graham Robinson. His "Coureur Des Bois" series showcases a seasoned paddler (who looks a whole lot like a paddling friend Rob S from the WCHA) using a mix of traditional and modern canoe gear.  Hope you find Graham's artwork as inspiring and appealing as I do!

Robinson takes his artistic inspiration from classic scenes of Canadiana. An avid adventurer, his paintings and illustrations are inspired by his travels across Northern Canada. Robinson works with a skewed and somewhat surreal approach to memories past where wanigans, barrels, canoes, and paddles all appear in familiar yet fictitious stages. His work often contains fable like narratives which reflect on the solidarity of the human psyche and consider the fragile state of our natural environment.

Graham Robinson was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1987. He is currently enrolled at the Ontario College of Art and Design and has exhibited his work in galleries across North America since the age of 17. 

Looking forward to more cool canoe related art. In the meantime, anyone wishing to contact Graham can find his email address on his blogspot profile page HERE.

Most long time readers of this blog will note my affinity for the Canadian Canoe Museum. It was the CCM's paddle making workshop that started my intense interest in this hobby and taught me the basic skills to experiment with carving. For a blast from the past...check out my very first post here from December 2007 featuring some pics about the workshop.

Mentioning all this because I was very honoured recently when this site was selected as one of the Top 10 Must Read blogs by the Museum.

Last week I got to spend another fun day playing around the mid section of the Big East River. The plan was to pole upstream further than last year's trip, setup a day-camp on a sandy spit somewhere, and snub back down to the launch point at the Williamsport Bridge. Just like last year, I ended up picking a steamy, humid day for the trip. Here's a shot of the gear loaded up at the access point.




Used this for filming some of the basic shots on shore and for the downstream run. Worked out very well. It only tipped over when an unsecured paddle slid across the bow seat and moved one of the legs out of position.

After posting about some various canoe shelters back in the winter, ended up coming up with this basic fair weather shelter to get some escape from the sun. The canoe was propped up with some driftwood and the canoe pole and paddles supporting the tarp. To get the most of the very mild cooling breeze, it was setup so the air would flow through rather than being a windblock. Must be getting older because without an afternoon nap on a canoe trip, I get cranky.






At the far end of the pond was a marshy area where I spotted this guy fishing in the shallows. It allowed me to get a relatively clear shot before retreating in the reeds.


  

The annual Wooden Canoe Heritage Assembly is happening this week beginning today until July 14th. Unfortunately I can't attend again this year due to schedule issues but always look forward to the photos posted by those who attend.

This year, a special canoe is being raffled off - a completely restored Chestnut Cruiser from camp Keewaydin with quite a tripping history. Here are some details obtained from a recent post on CanoeTripping.net

 A 17 foot Chestnut Cruiser, # 36 from Keewaydin will be raffled at the WCHA Assembly at Paul Smith's College on Saturday, July 13, 2013. 

#36 was made by the Chestnut Canoe Company in Fredericton, NB in 1973 and delivered to Keewaydin Camps on Lake Temagami that year. For thirty five summers she was used in the Keewaydin tripping program. From the Rupert River in Quebec to Hudson Bay via the Winisk River in Northern Ontario, she has seen it all. Imagine the stories that this canoe could tell!

Saved from the burn pile by the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association the canoe has been rebuilt in the manner of the Keeywadin canoe shop and is ready for another round of extensive canoe trips. All the broken ribs were replaced along with quite a bit of planking. New seats and thwarts have been installed and the canoe has been covered with #8 canvas. The canoe has been painted Hunter Green and the distinctive letter "K" has been stenciled on the stern sides and the fleet number has been applied at the bow, just as it was at Keewaydin.

What caught my eye was the traditional temagami style carrying bar and tumpline on the centre thwart....






Some readers might remember my own re-interpretation of this piece of traditional gear to work with some non-traditional portage pads. After trying it out for a season, I concluded that I could have made the bar a bit thinner and so spent some time on rainy day to recut the piece and shave it down with better angles. To make gripping a bit easier, I also cut the profile to match the slightly curved thwart below...maybe not traditional, but I found this easier to grip when flipping the canoe onto the shoulders for a portage. Here are some shots

An interesting paddle is being featured in the July 13th sale at GouldAuctions.com. It's item 220 on their online catalog. Unfortunately, no details other than the basic catalog title.

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! Got to take the canoe out into the lake in overcast conditions to celebrate our nation's birthday on the water.
 


Also took the time to test out a new bit of gear - an ultralight water filtration system called the Sawyer Squeeze. It consists of a plastic dirty water bag and a 0.1 micron hollow fiber filter that screws onto the bags threads. It's been reviewed by backpackers before but haven't seen it done for the paddling crowd yet. Here is the bundle in the hull...



The two components of the system side by side. The bag has handy instructions printed right onto it in case you forget the order of things....

Basically you dip the bag into a water source, in this case the deepest sections of my cottage lake, and wait to fill up. The collapsible design of the bag with its narrow threaded opening means the bag won't fill completely, but I helped it along by blowing the bag full of air before submerging. Here's a shot leaning over the gunnels to fill up...


Pop open the flow valve on the top and you're good to go for a quick drink....