A canoe must fill many unusual requirements: it must be light and portable, yet strong and seaworthy, and it must embody practical qualities for paddle, pole, and sail. It must reject every superfluity of design and construction, yet satisfy the tastes of its owner and safely carry heavy dunnage through unpredictable conditions. These demands will be met by a builder both meticulous and clever – one who, through resourcefulness and dedicated craftsmanship, can build a canoe that will be an everlasting source of joy. It will provide pleasures that continue throughout the four seasons: loving labors that extend from spring refit through a summer and autumn of hard work and play, and on through the winter layup period of redesigning, building, and improving the canoe and its auxiliary gear.
I hope the author’s text….will impart….a proper understanding of of the creation of simple, graceful canoes. It is sad that the practical knowledge and technical skill necessary to build them has remained virtually uncommunicated. One can only hope that revealing a part of this information will result in a clearer understanding of the special bond between the traditionalist canoeist and the wood-canvas canoe. For indeed, a canoe reflects the spirit of its builder and user that develops a character more akin to a living thing than to a mere object of possession…. - Clint Tuttle (canoe builder and instructor of wooden boatbuilding), from the Foreword of Building The Maine Guide Canoe by Jerry Stelmok.
Time spent in a wooden canoe of fine lines and able handling qualities is intoxicating. Restoring vintage canoes or building such craft from scratch can be consuming. It will ruin a man or a woman for any other work. This is not to dismiss all canoe builders as rapscallions, curmudgeons, or reprobates. But in the majority of cases there are the symptoms of an addiction, or at least a suspension of common sense where canoes are concerned. We are kin to the hard-bitten trout fisherman who stands out in the wind and rain breaking ice from the guides of his fly rod for a chance at an early season rainbow, or the railbird unable to resist the summons of the bugle, knowing it will be followed by the starting gun which will launch the thoroughbreds from the gates. We all know better, yet we simply can’t help ourselves. Why else would we devote our most productive years attempting to revive an industry that has not known real prosperity since before the Great Depression? Today, at long last, wooden canoes and their construction are enjoying a quiet renaissance, and this only encourages us, adding fuel to our dreams. - From the Introduction to The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide To Its History, Construction, Restoration, And Maintenance by Jerry Stelmok and Rollin Thurlow.
Beautiful things made by hand carry within them the seeds of their survival. They generate a spark of affection. For some it’s sentimental, for some it’s the art of the craftsmanship, for some the beauty of the finished boat. People love these things and try hard to ensure they endure.
The survival of the wood-canvas canoe (to paraphrase John McPhee) is certainly a matter of the heart; a romantic affair. The economics are unfavorable. In fact, the wood-canvas canoe’s most conspicuous asset and advantage is that it’s a beautiful piece of art. It’s the Shaker rocking chair of outdoor sport – handcrafted, simple, clean, and functional. There’s nothing in it that doesn’t have to be there, but all of the pieces add up to more than the parts. It works well and looks wonderful doing it. - From Honeymoon With A Prospector by Lawrence Meyer
Sometime ago I mentioned a young new canoe builder, based out of the Greater Toronto Area….his name is Marc Russell….and he operates under the name of Gull Lake Boat Works (the website) plus there is a Facebook: Gull Lake Boat Works page (with more info).
Gull Lake Boat Works describe their work as: Custom Built wooden canoes, kayaks, and paddles; repairs and restoration for wood and synthetics; exclusive supplier to Kilcoo Camp, and proprietary builder of “the Kilcoo” 15.7′ canoe. One of the canoes (the Kilcoo model) they build is based on the Minto Marine design (originally built by May Minto). Here is a description of “the Kilcoo” 15.7′ canoe:
15.7′ length (based on Minto Marine model) – white cedar plank and ribs – #10 cotton duck canvas – white ash stems, gunwales, deep dish carrying yoke – white ash/cane seats – brass stem bands – brass/silicon-bronze hardware. A one of a kind wood canoe based on the classic Minto Marine canoe – narrow entry, low-riding canoe with sweeping lines. Very stable, approx. 70lbs. All wood is finished with 4 coats of Epifanes Clear Varnish. Canvas is impregnated with 4 layers of W.E.S.T. system epoxy and filler. Hull is finished with Epifanes Interim Coat and with 4 coats of Epifanes dark green (#62) Yacht Enamel. A brass serial number/ownership plaque is installed on the bow stem.
I first heard of Gull Lake Boat Works from an ad on Kijiji and then about the demonstration of canoe building that Marc put on at the Toronto Sportsmen Show last March (the Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. folks gave Marc some space in their booth). A paddling friend, Roni Furst had seen their display at the Sportsmen Show….even got a chance to put some planking on a canoe they were working on at the Show. Here are some photos from their Facebook page:
Cottage Life article.
Marc Russell in shop.
Photos from Sportsmen Show. (Bottom two by Roni Furst.)
Kilcoo canoe.
All photos from the Gull Lake Boat Works Facebook page.
It is good to see a young builder out there….especially since several builders of wood canvas canoes are getting older….it’s good to see new blood getting involved….so that building wood canvas canoes doesn’t become a dying art.
From Gull Lake Boat Works, About Us:
Gull Lake Boat Works is fully-functional boat shop that specialises in creating custom-built canoes and kayaks for discerning enthusiasts. With locations both in the GTA and in the Haliburton Highlands, we have the means and capacity to build, repair, and restore all types of small watercraft.
Gull Lake Boat Works was founded in 2008 by Head Builder Marc Russell, after an intensive apprenticship with Master Builder Ron Frennette of Canadian Canoes. Russell, former Program Director of Kilcoo Camp (a venerable, Toronto- based private summer camp located near Minden, Ontario), was charged with the mammoth task of rehabilitating and replacing Kilcoo’s aging fleet of antique cedar plank and canvas canoes with their modern equivalent – the Kilcoo 15.7’ canoe. Gull Lake Boat Works , named for the lake on which Kilcoo lays, was created to facilitate and support this endeavour.
News travels fast, and as Kilcoo’s fleet grows so does demand for private sales among not only camp alumni, but also paddlers and collectors outside of the Kilcoo community. Indeed, Kilcoo’s plan was featured in Cottage Life Magazine, while GLBW was invited to demo and display at the 2011 Toronto Sportsmen’s Show.
Now quickly expanding to meet the demands of its various clientele, GLBW necessarily remains as it was first envisioned: a small and personal operation committed to producing unique vessels that wed traditional designs to modern methods, that define workmanship and durability, that join function and finish, and that instill a continuing pride of ownership.
Please enjoy our site and feel free to contact us.
Check out this video on Marc’s shop, Adam’s Rib:
