canoe maker

Fiona and Mike Ramsay of Badger Canoe Paddles graciously sent my a new paddle accessory as a product test (thank you!). Descriptively called a Paddle Sock, it is a stretchy knitted material that serves to protect the paddle from scratches and dings from rough handling.

The Paddle Sock seems quite narrow right out of the package, but it easily slips over the grip and shaft of my Heirloom Paddle and nicely stretched to accomodate the blade.


The end can be simply cinched closed with the drawcord or the the excess material can be folded back onto itself and held in place by looping the elastic drawcord over the face of the blade as in the pics below.


I wanted to try it on my widest paddle, the Arctic Whitewater display paddle with an 8 inch wide blade. It was pretty tight, but the material did stretch sufficiently to accommodate this design.


Certainly, it fit some of my other designs, including the ultra narrow, but lengthy Solo Sparrow.


I was curious to see if the pointed end of the Fusion Paddle would protrude through the knit fabric, but the material seemed strong enough to tolerate this rare paddle design too.


All in all, a very versatile and practical product for the reasonable price of $18.95 CND. Compared to many of the high end, fleece lined canvas paddle bags from Duluth or Frost River, this material is certainly thin and wouldn't protect against severe dings from dropped paddles or objects crashing onto them, but for the price and usability, this is a great little accessory to protect against more common scars and careless scratches on your valuable paddle.

Many thanks to Flickr user catlennox for permission to post her photo of the stunning Maliseet Paddle at the York Sunbury Museum in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Despite poor lighting in museums generally, she was able to capture enough detail in this exquisite bit of paddle heritage.


Photo Credit: catlennox
The full citation at the new Artefacts Canada mentions that the paddle is dated to at least 1878, made from maple, and is ornately carved with a stylized fiddlehead design.

Last summer, I blogged about my attempt to use photoshop on images of this antique paddle to enhance the beautiful etched patterns. After adjusting some of the colour levels, adding a spotlight effect, and using the unsharpen mask feature, I was able to adjust catlennox's image too to bring out some more contrast.


Photoshop adjusted
Still it's no substitute for checking out this paddle in person. While I've still got other paddle designs on the go, I think my future direction will be replicating these historic museum paddles as authentically as possible. Better get started on chip-carving practice!

The season's first canoe jaunt is always a moment I eagerly look forward to. I was lucky enough to escape up north for a brief weekend getaway last week and took advantage of our early spring to hit the cottage lake a month before usual. Under mixed sun and cloud and a brisk spring wind, I was able to try out the newly completed Maple Northwoods along with some other favourites to initiate the 2010 paddling season.






Activity on the lake was non-existant with most cottages still closed for the season. I was able to spot a small flock of Common Goldeneye ducks and a lone solitary loon was wailing in the distance. Tranquility that'll be surely gone when the G8 Summit and all the accompanying security invades our tiny lake in June. Before then, our nearby neighbours will have a very unpleasant surprise when they arrive to open up their place...check out their dock and boat shed. Never underestimate the power of lake ice!


Uh-Oh!

Bark canoe builder Ferdy Goode has a new book illustrating his wonderful skill and artistry. Entitled BEAVER BARK CANOES : The Art and Works of Ferdy Goode, it is described as a photo-journal depicting birch bark canoes, bark baskets, Native style snowshoes and porcupine quill embroidery. Clicking on the image link below will send you to a partial online preview (first 21 pages) of the book with its stunning photos. A couple feature some fascinating paddle designs too. Looks to be a great addition to any bark canoe library.

Finally got the chance to complete the Maple Northwoods paddle I had been working on since last fall (see Part 1 & Part 2). It's been a while since I've been able to post a new paddle pic in the slideshow gallery.

Over the last few months, I kept it in my den and worked on the decorative pyrography whenever the boy gave me a chance. Nearly complete last month, I heard a ruckus as he grabbed the paddle when I wasn't looking and proceeded to drag it by the blade letting the grip scrape across the stone flooring. Then he decided to run it over with with toy truck and walk up and down the shaft as a kind of trapeze act.


Goofing around


Caught red handed
Good thing I made this out of maple, it came out of the ordeal unscathed. The chip carving pattern along the edges of the blade was continued up the shaft - the first time I ended up decorating a paddle from grip to tip. Here are some shots of the final work before oiling the paddle. The decoration on the tip was meant to be replica of the antique-style copper tips protectors I had posted on earlier.


Completed Paddle


Blade Closeup with "Copper Tip"


Grip Closeups

Recently received an email from Doris & Rick Nash of Woodland Heirlooms regarding a new website documenting Rick's fanastic bark canoes and other craftsmanship. I've posted some of Rick's works before documenting his amazing skill as a canoe builder and paddle maker. Feast your eyes on some of Rick's gorgeous work below:


Some of Rick's paddles


Chip Carved Crooked Knife


Model Bark Canoe

Anyone wanting to contact Rick and inquire about his work can do so by clicking here.

One of the earliest memories I have of seeing a birchbark canoe was a photo of Canada's 15th Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 � September 28, 2000) paddling one. Recently I came across the same photo again on the net.


Trudeau in 1974
Trudeau was by no means the only world leader to comprehend the joys of paddling. I've already posted about young Franklin Delano Roosevelt's bark canoe. Intrigued to know more, I started investigating. Trudeau's canoe was apparently built in 1968 by Patrick Maranda of Lac Rapide (Quebec). It was commissioned by the Maniwaki Chamber of Commerce as a wedding gift for the Prime Minister.


Maranda Canoe built circa 1968

Not sure if it is still there, but on my way to the High Arctic in '07, I noticed a beautiful bark canoe on display at the Ottawa Airport Canoe. Turns out it was Trudeau's canoe on loan from the family.


Ottawa International Airport
In 1944, many years before his career in politics, Trudeau wrote an essay entitled, Exhaustion and Fulfillment: The Ascetic in a Canoe. Here's a selected passage

"What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature.

For it is a condition of such a trip that you entrust yourself, stripped of your worldly goods, to nature. Canoe and paddle, blanket and knife, salt pork and flour, fishing rod and rifle; that is about the extent of your wealth. To remove all the useless material baggage from a man's heritage is, at the same time, to free his mind from petty preoccupations, calculations and memories. "

I find the last line particularly poignant as my life lately has been inundated with such "petty preoccupations" as he put it. In my mind I've already started fantasizing about my solo canoe trip planned for this summer.

To check out Trudeau's 1944 essay in its entirety, click here or for a bit of comic relief, check out this little Parody Skit (RealMedia Format) about the late Prime Minister promoting his memoirs. Loaded with a lot of inside jokes that probably only Canadians would understand, but comical nonetheless even if you are a Trudeau hater/lover.