canoe maker

Bob Holtzman runs a great blog on indigenous watercraft from around the world which includes some discussion on birchbark canoes. A recent post outlines some fantastic museum paddles from the Hudson Museum in Maine.

I especially liked the local paddles on display, one of which Bob mentions has metal strips to repair a serious split. The bottom two are long stern paddles which seem like early incarnations of the modern Northwoods paddles documented by the Conovers


Paddles from Maine
In the photo below, I'm really drawn to the grip style of the paddle on the left, a segmented grip that is reminiscient of my own version that I'm working on. This one has much more fluid lines however, especially with the additional indented edges. Had I not already thinned out my grip and balanced the paddle the way I like it, I think I would've preferred this style. Oh well, there's always the next paddle.


Segmented grip
Also on display is a decorated paddle from the Amazon with an interesting tip, perhaps to get a grip on shallow, muddy waterways when poling upriver.


Its design is similar to another Amazonian paddle I posted on earlier from a now completed online auction.

Amazonian Decorated Canoe Paddle, 60.5"
From the Estate of John Auraden of Hamilton & Fairhaven, Ohio.

Many thanks to Bob for taking these pics and giving us an inside glimpse of what the museum has to offer. If I ever make it out to Maine, I think I'll be checking it out in person.

As a bit of a new diversion on the site, I thought I'd begin a series of posts profiling living artists who produce wonderful works of historical art featuring unique paddles designs.

John Buxton is a historical artist whose stunning works illustrate a time when birchbark canoes plied the waterways of North America. Three of John's pieces from his historical vignettes gallery feature some marvelous canoes and decorated paddles.

Below is piece entitled "New Canoe". He captures the eloquent lines and tumblehome of the bark canoe with a personalized bear claw decoration on the bow. The angular paddle being used features straight lines and a thick spine running the length of the blade.


"New Canoe"
Another piece entitled "The Agile Bark Canoe" shows a set of canoes being loaded with muskets and gear. The native in the foreground is paddling a similarly shaped paddle as the "New Canoe" but with chevron etchings at the throat and shoulders, echoing the chevron-theme decoration seen in many other historical paintings, especially that of Frederick Verner.


"The Agile Bark Canoe"
My favorite is "Dry Mocassins" which shows a solitary canoeist with his gear laid out on the rocky shoreline - very reminiscent of the Canadian Shield where I paddle. The two paddles in the foreground include another with a red chevron decoration and some curved, abstract patterns on one side of the blade. The 2nd non-decorated paddle looks very consistent with some of the Iroquois paddles on display at the Royal Ontario Museum - wide rounded tip, lengthy spine and short, flattened grip style.


"Dry Moccasins"
Many thanks to John for the permission to reproduce these stunning prints on the site. Be sure to visit his page BuxtonArt.com for more of these historical masterpieces.

Get ready for some stunning paddle photos. After coming across this thread at the Song of the Paddle forums and the full set of pics on Flickr, I knew I had to post them on the site. These ash beauties were made by Tim over in the UK.








Tim is in the process of setting up as a wooden canoe builder & paddle maker and should have a website soon. Judging by the looks of his paddles and gorgeous BN Morris replica he'll be in high demand. If anyone is interested in contacting or purchasing some of his work, you can get in touch through the Song of the Paddle thread mentioned earlier or by email.

I think I speak for everyone when we say more photos PLEASE!

Slowly but surely, the Maple Northwoods paddle is coming along. Given that the maple is so dense and heavy, the blade needed to be thinned considerably to reduce the weight. Many of the paddles are reduced to 3/8" thickness (3/32" edges) for flex but this one was shaved down to 3/16ths and paper thin edges to reduce weight.


Nearly Complete
The grip still needs some additional shaping and serious sanding to even out irregularities and tool marks, but overall it feels quite comfortable. The top is just nice enough to fit my broad palm and the ribbed grip sections are just the perfect width for my hands for using the northwoods stroke. Noticed afterward that the grain of the grip section seemed to curve right at the location of the rippled bumps, only to straighten again in the flat sections between - sort of like a neat contour line effect on a topo map.


Grip nearly complete
Despite not fully completing the grip, I got impatient and eagerly began decorating the blade. I first wanted to add a pyrographic version of the old copper tip protectors mentioned in a previous post. Around the blade remaining blade circumference, a basic chip carving motif was added. In the center of the blade, I ended up replicating another scroll pattern taken from Frank G. Speck's Double-Curve Motive in Northeastern Algonkian Art. Given that the this paddle design seems to have evolved from Abenaki / Penobscot origins, it seemed appropriate to use some Penobscot designs from Figure 4 of Speck's publication.


Penobscot Scroll Pattern


Pencil sketched decoration
Now I just need to find some time to do the actual woodburning. The dark pattern should contrast nicely with the pale maple wood.

UPDATE - April 19/2010 - Decoration finished - Part 3 has posted here

I know this YouTube video of an old Canadian comedy skit has made the rounds in the paddling community, but I still get a chuckle everytime I watch it.


Love the emergency stop in front of the clothing store and the paddling down Toronto city traffic. A canoe & a skateboard may the answer to urban navigation in my fair city.

Came across another canoe blog (in Czech) which mentions a homemade canvas pack made to resemble a hybrid of the Woods Pack and Duluth versions complete with a canvas tumpline. The google translated page has some details as well as pics of this interesting take on a classic portage pack.


Homemade Canvas Pack


Another view

After watching a recent YouTube set on the latest Ray Mears program, Northern Wilderness, I was interested in learning a bit more about Samuel Hearne. Came across this page with some info and illustrations of his journeys. A sketch documents the watercraft used by the Tlicho (Dogrib) tribe of the area. These bark canoes were built in a sort of kayak style that could portaged on the back like a pack. The illustration also has a small image of an angular shaped paddle (item F).


Northern Indian Canoe documented by Hearne
Couldn't help but think I had seen this paddle design before and after searching through my previous posts, I recognized the shape as one that Henry Schoolcraft documented in his journeys nearly a quarter-of-a-century later in a completely different area (1000s of miles away). This shape was described as a cedar paddle used by the fur trade companies. Might be an interested shape to copy - the straight sides would certainly make for quick and easy carving.


Schoolcraft's documented paddle
By the way, Mike, over at Reflections On The Outdoors Naturally wrote a recent post with all the relevant links to each episode of the Northern Wilderness series (my favourite is Episode 2). Many thanks for organizing these links!