My two old canoes are works of art, embodying the feeling of all canoemen for rivers and lakes and the wild country they were meant to traverse. They were made in the old tradition when there was time and the love of the work itself. I have two canvas-covered canoes, both old and beautifully made. They came from the Penobscot River in Maine long ago, and I treasure them for the tradition of craftsmanship in their construction, a pride not only of form and line but of everything that went into their building. When l look at modern canoes, of metal or fiberglass stamped out like so many identical coins. l cherish mine even more …Sixteen feet in length, it has graceful lines with a tumble home or curve from the gunwales inward …No other canoe I’ve ever used paddles as easily … The gunwales and decks are of mahogany, the ribs and planking of carefully selected spruce and cedar… - Sigurd Olson, Tradition
Although in later life Bill vehemently defended the virtues of his beloved Chestnut – his personal fleet included three, a 16′ Pal, a 16′ Prospector and a 17′ Cruiser – he could have been paddling any number of canvas-covered canoes built in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In fact, there were on the market, for all intents and purposes, dozens of nearly identical models, made by various manufacturers in the United States and Canada, many of which had the model name “Prospector.” But, even as a class or type of canvas-covered canoe, the Prospector that became his favourite was entirely consistent with Bill and his view of the world. It was mostly made of natural materials – steamed white cedar ribs and planking; brass tacks and screws; cotton-canvas skin; and white ash or oak seats, thwarts and gunwales. It was solid; it was durable; it could be repaired in the field; and it moved quietly and responsively in all types of water. – James Raffan, Fire In The Bones
Wood and canvas canoes are strong, seaworthy, exceptionally responsive to the paddle and soothing to the human spirit – Hugh Stewart, master canoe builder, Headwater Canoes
Going down a river or crossing a lake in anything but wood-canvas is like floating on a linoleum rug. That’s just how it looks when you glance inside one of those types of canoes and watch the bottom flex and shimmer with the water. Whereas, in any wood-canvas canoe you have all these beautiful rich colors of the cedar planking and ribs, hardwood gunwales and decks, and caned seats. Even the smells are nice and directly relate to the environment you are traveling through. - Jack Hurley, canoebuilder
I suppose there would always be an argument for the different types of materials and canoe designs, but the wood-canvas canoe is one generation away from the birchbark canoe and was made for working and transporting people through the wilderness. It was designed and made out of materials that would stand up to miles and miles of flatwater and whitewater and portaging through very rugged and unexplored terrain. As a trip leader with kids and adults, I have safely traveled across many lakes in a wood-canvas canoe in conditions where other experienced paddlers in the new-design boats were either windbound or took on water during the crossings. - Jim Spencer, canoebuilder.
A Recipe For Success:
STEAMED CEDAR WITH CANVAS
An elegant accompaniment to fish.
Make ahead of time for relaxed visit with friends.
51 board feet of peeled and deveined eastern white cedar
10 board feet of combined ash, black cherry, and maple
2600 brass tacks
18 feet of 10 weight canvas
¾ gallon of oil base filler
3 quarts of varnish
2 quarts of paint
Assortment of beer to taste (chilled if possible)
Using a large shop, prepare all ingredients the night before. Early the next day preheat element to high heat. Bring an adequate quantity of water in a large pot to a tumbling boil. Steam ribs until al dente (flexible) and bend immediately while still tender. Let stand at room temperature to blend flavors until cool. Chop cleaned white parts of planking into long thin slices, (smaller pieces will fall to ground). Add bulk of brass tacks and planks at random until ribs disappear (careful not to tenderize planking with pounding of tacks). When ingredients become solid remove from mold and set aside. Prepare gunwales and decks by chopping fresh hardwoods. Snip to length and desired shape, introducing slowly for best results. Wrap with canvas skin; skewer with tacks along edges, leave middle open. Add both caned seats and center thwart until balanced. Inlay decks for garnish.
Use the same basic recipe for fifteen and seventeen footers. Quantities will vary including concentration of beer.
Well before serving time, press filler firmly onto bottom side of prepared carcass to seal in natural juices and let marinate. Heat entire hull at medium to high sun for about three weeks, covering occasionally, until fully baked. From a separate pot, baste inside with all-purpose varnish to glaze ribs, careful not to drip, and let harden. Repeat occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk and and gently combine, until mixed but not runny, an assortment of fresh paint to color, stirring occasionally as you serve, and dressing the outside lightly from end to end. The condiments blend even better if allowed to stand for several hours until sticky topping hardens. (Careful not to undercook, but do not let baking temperature bubble surface.) Repeat spreading of additional layers on outer crust and again set aside and let stand until hard. Cover and store in a safe spot until needed. Present whole at room temperature, arranged attractively on an adequate bed of water. If desired, garnish with cherry paddles as a starter. Bon voyage. Serves 2 to 3. (Note: Depending on degree of festivities, presentation may be turned into a dip.) – Don Standfield, fromStories From The Bow Seat: The Wisdom & Waggery of Canoe Tripping by Don Standfield and Liz Lundell.
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
My hands are on every stage of production. If you spend two or three months making something, it becomes a chunk of you, like for a painter.- Will Ruch, Ruch Canoes, Bancroft, Ont.
Nothing feels like a cedar-strip canvas canoe - Omer Stringer, a confirmed traditionalist
I have often written about the wood canvas canoe as a real art form. I thought I’d share some examples of art related to wood canvas canoes….
First All Posters.com: David Cayless Posters includes two images of Cedar Canvas Canoe, Canada:
Both images by David Cayless.
Timberline Canoes: Canoe Art has an image called Cedar Moon, painted by Gordy Blair:
‘Cedar Moon’, painting by Gordy Blair.
Of course canoes figured into Tom Thomson’s story as we have seen already….and occasionally in his art. As I wrote before in Reflections On the Outdoors Naturally: Searching For Tom’s Canoe Continued….Tom Thomson: The Artist And The Canoe:
Few Thomson paintings actually have canoes in them. When he did depict a canoe, it seemed to be just part of the scenery. One such painting, simply entitled The Canoe, shows a lone grey canoe on the shore of a northern lake. But by looking at most of Tom’s smaller sketches, it is apparent that these were created from a canoeist’s perspective. Thomson often painted while he was in a canoe. Tom included the image of a grey canoe in a couple of his paintings….could this be the same grey canoe as shown in the above photo. In December 2005 Joyner Waddington held an auction of works by Lawren Harris (a member of the Group of Seven) and Tom Thomson. These included a little-known oil sketch, by Tom entitled Canoe and Lake, Algonquin Park, which sold for $369,600 (now that would have bought a pile of Chestnut canoes LOL LOL).
Image of Tom Thomson’s ‘Canoe and Lake, Algonquin Park’ courtesy Joyner Waddington, Joyner Waddington: Canadian Fine Art Auction Fall 2005: Tom Thomson, Canoe And Lake, Algonquin Park. Title: Canoe And Lake, Algonquin Park, oil on canvas, laid down on panel, signed Creator: Tom Thomson 7 ins x 10 ins; 17.5 cms x 25 cms EST. $80,000 / 100,000 PRICE: $377,100.00 Painted circa 1912-13. Provenance: Private Collection, Toronto Literature: Dennis Reid and Charles C. Hill, Tom Thomson, Art Gallery of Ontario and National Gallery of Canada, Toronto and Ottawa, 2002, pages 157-169, colour plates 5-17 for related Algonquin works from the same period and of similar size and medium, in particular, for a painting entitled The Canoe (plate 6). This work was included in Joan Murray’s catalogue raisonne of the artist’s work.
Tom Thomson also painted The Canoe in 1914, which is now in the Art Gallery of Ontario, yet another depiction of a grey canoe in Algonquin Park.
Image from Group of Seven Art.com, a fine arts reproduction company, Group Of Seven Art: Tom Thomson, The Canoe. Note: This image incorrectly identifies this painting as from 1912.
From Jerry Stelmok: Artwork:
Begin The Carry (it usually feels like you have wings on at the beginning….)
A Bear Of A Carry (….but after a while it feels like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders)
Lining (if you don’t want to run….and don’t want to portage or wade….then line)
Reflections (NOTE: you reflect sometimes on whether you should paddle or portage)
John Kaltenhauser has a series depicting wood canvas canoes on Prints Plus Posters.com: John Kaltenhauser:
Autumn Approaching by John Kaltenhauser.
Blue Canoe by John Kaltenhauser.
Into the Mist by John Kaltenhauser.
Bill Mason once said:
I have always believed that the Canadian Wooden canoe is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. There is nothing that is so aesthetically pleasing and yet so functional and versatile as the canoe. It is as much a part of our land as the rocks and trees and lakes and rivers. It takes as much skill and artistry to paddle a canoe well as it does to paint a picture of it. In this painting I wanted to capture the look and feel of a well-worn travelling companion. There’s hardly a rib or plank that isn’t cracked but after a quarter of a century it’s still wearing its original canvas. - Bill Mason, Canoescapes (in reference to his painting of his favourite Chestnut canoe).
Chesnut Prospector, source: The Bill Mason Gallery (found at Red Canoes: Bill Mason: Print Gallery).
On her Dad’s art: Like him, I find that paddling can take you on a voyage of creativity where you store up experiences in your memory to treasure for a lifetime. – Becky Mason
There are other paintings and photographs of wood canvas canoes….and many more masterpieces in wood and canvas….these have just been a sampling….
Paddles up until later….maybe you’ll even get to paddle in an work of art.
