canoe maker

Superb blogger of Indigenous Boats, Bob Holtzman, has posted some personal photos of canoe-related exhibits at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Included in this display are some wonderful closeups of a favourite paddle design I've always wanted to see with my own eyes. It has served as the inspiration for my own cherry interpretations (posts here and here). It looks to the be the paddle illustrated in fig. 72 of  Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Adney sketched 1/2 of the blade pattern, included some dimensions and identified the paddle as a 71" long (180cm), maple wood Passamaquoddy dated to 1849.





Despite the difficulty in photographing dimly lit museum pieces behind glass, Bob was able to get some shots of the paddle on display.







The paddle was captioned with the following info...

 "The blade of this elaborately decorated paddle is painted green. The double-curve design was executed by removing the paint while it was still wet. The stepped motif and crosshatching are suggestive of Penobscot or Passamaquoddy manufacture. The handle exhibits graceful carving and shows much indication of use." 

Until now, the only photo of this paddle I've seen was the official museum pic showcasing the white scroll design on the blade.




Closer inspection reveals that that scroll pattern of the official pic and the display model are different. Now I'm wondering if the paddle is painted on both sides with slightly different scrolled patterns or if the museum has 2 distinct paddles in their collection.

Back in 2010, Bob also sent links and photos to some paddles at the University of Maine's Hudson Museum. It included a paddle with an attractive, segmented style grip.

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

Archive.org has a free online edition of Boat-building and boating (1911) by Daniel Carter Beard. Chapter VI features bark canoe construction. The images look to be replicas of Adney's famous sketches and are quite detailed. On page 60 is a crude sketch of some paddles with rough dimensions. The only detailed provided  is a brief caption posted below:

Paddles are made of rock maple, and sometimes of birch and even cedar. Bow paddles are usually longer and narrower in the blade than stern paddles (Fig. 101).

A few years back, I posted an artist profile on John Buxton. Much of John's work feature birch bark canoes and images of various paddle shapes and decorations. He is still very much actively painting wonderful historic images. Here is a new 2013 piece entitled "Night Rain" which features 2 prominent canoe paddles with painted decoration and distinct grip styles.

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

Recently came across this newly uploaded video (52 min) called "Agwiden" showcasing an 18 foot birchbark canoe build. Steve Cayard was the builder invited to the Penobscot Nation to help construct the first bark canoe there in over 60 years. Lots of closeups of the build technique. Learned some new things about bark canoe construction.

Can't seem to embed the video due to restrictions by the film-maker, but here is the direct link for viewing on Vimeo...

http://vimeo.com/77745115

One of the neatest things is around the 4 minute mark where Steve climbs up the trunk of the monster birch to harvest the bark. Never saw this standing method of bark harvesting before...no need to haul a ladder into the bush!




What also caught my eye was the elegant paddle used by Chief Barry Dana during the initial launch (around the 48:00 mark). Here is a screen shot...





The grip style is what Adney described as a "Malecite Group" paddle (Fig 65) belonging to a 18 foot Passamaquoddy Ocean Canoe.




I've carved quite a few paddles with this simple but effective grip style, including one of my earliest cherry paddles from 2008. It is quite comfortable when draping the wrist over the wide palm area. Here are some shots from the old condo balcony "workshop"




Ended up decorating this with a burned image of a Chickadee on a white pine branch...


For all you folks in the south who get to paddle year round...enjoy it! The temperature right now feels like a chilly -22 Celsius with the windchill.

Longtime followers of this blog will know of my gushing awe for the traditional paddles carved by Rick Nash of Woodland Heirlooms. Many of his beautiful creations have been featured on the site before (click here for all these posts).

Here's another paddle that's been recently updated on his page of Maliceet Class Paddles. This one from split cherry is 66" long with all the incising decoration done with a jack-knife and nail...