canoe maker

A potentially bit of interesting canoe history is up for auction - a canoe belonging to Burt Reynolds that has a loose link to the film, Deliverance. I had posted about this canoe back in 2012 during the 40th anniversary of the film when it was housed at the Burt Reynolds museum in Florida (original post here).




Now Julien's Auctions has posted some more pics of this canoe on this listing

These wide beam canoes were first marketed as "50-Pound Specials" since they weighed roughly 50 pounds and were nearly 10 pounds lighter than any other canoe of comparable size using novel construction methods of the time. Their relatively flat bottoms allowed for more stability when standing in flat water so were preferred by fisherman and other sportsmen.  A more detailed history of the Bobs Special (including the curious originating source of the name) can be read in this article by Kaydi Pyette of Canoe Roots magazine.

One of the more "famous" users of this canoe was Grey Owl (Archie Belaney). Here is a photo of him standing in an early model 50 Pound Special. The photo was taken during his stay in Prince Albert Nation Park sometime after 1931.



Back in 2010, I wrote a post researching Grey Owl's paddles and discovered that one of the paddles he used is kept in his cabin on Lake Ajawaan, SK. That post also has 2 silent films from the National Film Board of Canada showcasing his skills in a canoe.

Anyway, the Ebay canoe up for sale needs new canvas along with some minor planking and seat repairs. But overall, it looks to be in great condition for the age. What caught my attention however, is the original home-made tumpline (all stitched - no rivets) along with a custom carved notched carrying bar.




A closeup shows a carved indent in the middle of the carrying bar where it was lashed with a separate piece of cordage to the centre thwart. Additional cordage is wrapped with hitches to slide the paddle blades through.


Apparently this canoe has its original canvas and has sat unused under a cabin for quite a while. Either way, the original paddler knew about this method of rigging. Hopefully, this interesting canoe will be purchased by someone who will restore it and bring it back to its full tripping glory.

The current August edition of the Wooden Canoe Journal has a stunning cover photo of a young Teen paddling a beautiful little canoe. Turns out the main article features 15 year old River Grace of Florida and his restoration job on a 12 foot Kennebec canoe dated to 1926. It is a lovely story of his patient restoration efforts which took over 4 years to complete. Unfortunately, no details were provided about the beautiful looking Northwoods paddle with a distinctive scalloped grip.  For anyone interested, there's a brief online article in Florida Today about this young lad and his canoe story.

Here's a photographic print featured on FineArtAmerica by Bill Curtsinger entitled The Bow And Oar Of A Handmade Wooden Canoe. 

Here's a visual treat of all the beautiful boats at this year's Wooden Canoe Heritage Association Assembly...

I've been here solo before and thought this would be an ideal introduction to future tripping with the boy. Up until now, he's been limited to about 1 hr of paddling time before wanting to get back to shore, so we've been puttering around the cottage lake.

This time, needed to make it a bit more interesting so I hyped up the adventure of going up a "wild river" to a "secret waterfall" where we could climb up the rocks and have a shore snack before returning. He helped pack his own gear but interestingly did not want to fish along the way, so the rod stayed at home. Matching Captain yachting caps (a gift from Grandpa) were necessary to complete the adventure wardrobe.





Since this was a portage free route, I ended up packing the newly constructed wanigan  full of goodies as well as the packbaset with some dry clothes and other items in case of a mishap. The little man's custom cedar paddle is now too small for him so he used a left over from before my paddlemaking days - a small laminated Redtail Paddle to which I added some leather whipping.




I suppose at this age, there's only so much silence and stillness a 5 year can take, so it was time for entertainment. He had packed a bunch of small toys in anticipation for the trip and now took them out. One of the neat  things he discovered was that the space between the canoe ribs were excellent tracks for his race cars. He'd hold them up right below the gunnel and let go. Gravity and the deep, boxy canoe design would shoot the car across to the other side of the hull. There's Lightning McQueen about to race down steep slope. Plenty of paddling time was now spent setting up cars to drag race side by side. When he tired of this, his toy helicopter was used to chase away the dragonflies that would hover around the boat.



The anticipated shore lunch by the waterfall never materialized. He got too hungry and insisted on eating right away. The wanigan lid made a perfect tray for his lunch and beverage.



After seeing the artwork on the lid, he wanted to draw pictures on the flat surface too. So next time paper and crayons will be packed as an extra distraction. Who knows, maybe he'll end up being a modern day canoe tripping artist like Rejean Roy.  Soon the roar of the waterfall could be heard. Things were packed up and the little Captain took his place in the bow seat again. You can just make out Marsh's falls in the distance.

Came across the strange video postings of Vimeo User Kind Eyez which feature some reworked footage of flatwater paddling master, Omer Stringer. I've never seen action footage of the Algonquin Park legend before so these video experiments are a real treat, despite the funky soundtrack and optical effects.

Here's the first clip showcasing a basic cruise in Omer's heeled position. Although tough on the knees, this is the type of paddling is what I find most relaxing and actually comfortable for the back.



This next vid has some slow motion capture of Omer's famed "C stroke" used to power his custom build cedar canvas design.




Back in '08, I made a Yellow Birch paddle based on the blade design from Omer's little booklet, The Canoeist's Manual. It used to be sold for a the amazing low price of 1 Canadian Dollar but the cost of living has made this little gem go up 100%...now $2.

"Omer's canoe is also unique. He began with a 15-foot Chestnut Chum, built in New Brunswick. When it was under construction, he asked that the cedar plank-and-rib shell be left without inwales, thereby allowing him to vary the sheer line after the shell was removed from the form. He then increased the depth of the canoe to 15 inches and reduced the bow height by 1-1/2 inches. With weights, he rounded out the ribs in the center of the canoe slightly. This rounding produced a canoe that was deeper and a bit more tender and maneuverable than the original Chum."

Today, this canoe is hanging in the Algonquin Park visitor's Centre (km 43)...it's the faded red one.







Photo Credit: Andre Cloutier from WCHA Forums

Just found out about interesting canoe expedition planned for the summer of 2014. Labrador Passage is a documentary film project setting out to retrace Mina Hubbard's historic 1905 canoe journey through Labrador.

In this particular trip, the two paddlers will be using as much traditional, non-synthetic equipment as possible - canvas packs, tin-cloth rain gear, a canvas tent, etc. In addition, one of the sponsors - The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum - is commissioning a specially built Atkinson Traveler cedar canvas canoe from Rollin Thurlow of the Northwoods Canoe Company. The plan is that after the expedition the Traveler will be returned to the WCHM where it will be added to museum collection for display.

Here's a vimeo vid of one of the crew members describing the plans for the journey.



This isn't the first attempt at retracing Mina's 1905 route in a cedar canvas canoe. In 2000, British freelance author Alexandra Pratt attempted this route with a single Innu guide, Jean-Pierre Ashini. Interesting that the canoe then was another Thurlow Northwoods canoe.



Unfortunately changes to river water levels due to modern hydroelectric projects, forest fires, as well her guide's knee injury during some upstream travel meant the expedition had to be abandoned quite early on and the team evacuated by helicopter. Not sure what happened to the canoe in the story...it was left behind to be picked up in the winter. Her adventure was published in a book entitled Lost lands, forgotten stories : a woman's journey to the heart of Labrador. 

Hope this 2014 expedition has lots of success in tackling a very challenging route with the added "burden" of using historic gear on their trip

Pre-eminent wooden canoe builder Rollin Thurlow of Northwoods Canoe Company is celebrating a milestone in his shop and is running a contest that every lover of cedar canvas canoes should like. A recent post on his Northwoods Canoe Shop Cam blog states the following:

Write your way to a Atkinson Traveler

Over the last 36 years I have been very fortunate to be able to make my living doing what I love in such a specialized and admittedly old fashion occupation as custom building and restoring wooden canoes/boats. I have been able to restore almost every type of old classic boat, build reproductions of some of the best boats ever built and I have also been able to build and sell my own designs.

My shop has always been no more than a one, two and in some very busy years, a three person shop. I have been extremely lucky to have the help and assistance of Peter who has been my shop partner for over 20 years; Pam who does all the mail order shipping and book keeping and Andrea my supportive wife!

In the near future I will be taking the order for the one thousandth boat to be restored or built in my shop. To celebrate this milestone I want to build a special canoe that means a lot to me, the 17.5� Atkinson Traveler. It is the first canoe I designed; named after the village I live in and designed for the wilderness paddling that I enjoy. It has been a very successful design which I am very proud of.

While I want to put all my years of experience into this canoe I also want it to be a canoe that is used as the design was intended. The Atkinson Traveler needs to be in the water, a few scratches on it, maybe a cracked rib or two from hard use, mud on the paint and a smile on every face in the boat. This is a boat that I want to build to my own specifications and I want it to be used as the canoe was designed for.

Because my customers and the WCHA (Wooden Canoe Heritage Association) have been such a important part of my professional success, I want to celebrate this one thousandth boat by offering this commemorative Atkinson Traveler completely free of charge to either;

1) A past or present member of the WCHA.

2) Any one of my past canoe/boat customers.

Cost of any shipping not included!

There is only one stipulation: The owner of the boat must promise the boat will be used as it was intended as per the original design; and the harder the use the better!

To be eligible for this boat please send me your name, your; contact info and a brief description of how you intend to use the boat. Please, no more than 300 words and be sure to include your WCHA membership number or NWCC customer number. Peter, Pam, Andrea and I will choose the top 25 essays and then have a drawing for the winner. There is no cost for the boat or to enter your essay. The boat will be on display at the 2014 WCHA Assembly where the drawing for the winner will take place. You need not be present to win but of course that would be nice. Sharpen up your pencils and plan on attending the 2014 Assembly!

Thank you for your years of support.

Rollin

---

Wow...what a contest! If those words aren't enough to tempt you, here are some pics and stats of the boat in question - The Atkinson Traveler. I'm drooling looking at this beauty in action.

.

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

Steven Hanton of CanvasCanoes.co.uk has a great new pic on his facebook page featuring a  wood canvas canoe rigged up for some traditional portaging and poling.


This pic is getting me excited about my own poling adventures planned for this summer

A few years back, I posted about a pic of bashed up cedar canvas canoe after a run down some nasty rapids. Now I've come across the original source article which appeared in LIFE magazine, 16 Nov 1953. It follows the life of Woodsman Rock Robertson in the backwoods of Quebec and features a few of Rock's canoeing exploits. Here's a pic of his portage load...




The article also features a sequence during a successful bear hunt. To get back to camp, he portaged the canoe and the bear with a tump-strap. Talk about a single carry!



But the most exciting part of the piece is his attempt down some rapids. Rock seems to have ignored typical bushcraft wisdom of being conservative in whitewater with a cedar canvas canoe and maybe tried to show off for the camera. Here's the excerpt from the article:

Recently, when he decided to shoot the rapids at the head of Lake Mattawa. He ignored the warnings that no man alive could take a canoe over that drop, and that no man could survive if the canoe tipped. Rock simply shrugged and reached for his paddle. He rode the millrace but not in the canoe which turned over and dumped him. Bouncing from boulder to boulder he went through the water in a jackknife position with arms and legs extended before him absorbing the shocks. When he crawled out unhurt 200 yards below, a triumphant grin lit up his face. "I lost my socks," he announced, "but l still got my chewing gum."

The sequence of pics...

A recent story (Oct 31, 2012) appeared online at AthensOhioToday.com entitled Canoe heirloom brings together three generations. It features paddling friend Craig Johnson who I had the pleasure of meeting back at the Killbear Rendezvous back in 2011. Craig is a fantastic woodworker and has a growing collection of wood canvas canoes. Apart from some of his glorious looking paddles, Craig recently restored his father's Old Town Canoe and took it with his daughter on fantastic backcountry journey through Quetico Provincial Park this summer. Very touching that this cherished heirloom has new life and is being used appropriately!

Included in the online article are some pics of Craig's work including a beautiful Northwoods paddle in action.

Steven Hanton and Willow Lohr have begun a canoe business in Scotland appropriately named Canvas Canoes. Pics from their new website show some gorgeous looking traditional northwoods gear including setting poles, wanigans and packbaskets. Included on their products page are some current models of paddles, one of which is a traditional scalloped gripped Northwoods Guide from ash.




Beautiful stuff. The primary canoe model is based on the 17.5' Atkinson Traveller, a classic Maine tripping canoe. Photos showcasing the canoe include some shots of Steven with one of his first paddle creations - a 6foot long, whippy paddle with lots of flex. Steven was kind enough to provide some details regarding its origin - apparently traced from an circa 1920's Guide Paddle from Alexandra Conover Bennett of Northwoods Ways.







Wishing Steven and Willow well in their new canoe business and looking forward to seeing more of their photos. If you'd like to get in touch with them, you can do so through their contact info below: