|
CANOE BUILDING
by Dave Kennedy (66-70)
Up | The Army Trucks | Camp Seven | Camp Seven A | Canoe Building | Chief's Paddle Award | HSR Awards: Then and Now | HSR Songs 1981 | Infernal Incinerator | Keith Whiten Memorial Award | Leaving | Lost Kennabi Cabin | Purple Bead Award | Supervisor's Award Recipients | Steam Train | The Victoria Railroad Co.
 My
earliest memories of canoeing, like many other alumni I’m sure, date back to my
youth at HSR. For me I can still remember the first time I stepped into a canoe
– it was the summer of 1962 at the Hub canoe dock after that important
introductory canoe lesson. I was quite amazed that the thing didn’t roll over,
but I soon discovered that like a bicycle, it became more stable and easy to
control once underway.
It was also at HSR where
I first admired the design and construction of the traditional cedar canvas
canoe. Many of the camp canoes at that time were of this type and during my
later summers on staff it was obvious that they were much preferred to the
aluminium models on canoe trips. They handled better, were quieter and were even
nice to sleep under when the bugs weren’t too bad.
Cedar canvas canoes do
require more maintenance however, and that was usually carried out at pre-camp
or post camp before winter storage. It was during these times when I was able to
learn some things about how these craft were made and how to conduct simple
repairs to extend their useful lives.
 When I moved
to Haliburton in 1973, one of the first things I did was to track down and
purchase my own cedar canvas canoe and continue exploring the waterways and
backcountry of the county. I quickly renewed my appreciation of the pleasures of
paddling the traditional craft on the many lakes and rivers of the area as well
as nearby Algonquin Park. But I also began to entertain the thought of learning
to build my own.
 In the
1970’s the rising popularity of fibreglass, kevlar and ABS as canoe building
materials meant that builders of traditional cedar canvas canoes, who could
serve as instructors or mentors for someone interested in learning their trade,
were few and far between. Large scale builders such as The Peterborough Canoe
Company and Chestnut Canoes were either no longer in business or were only
building synthetics.
 Finally
in 1980, Jerry Stelmok, a builder of traditional canoes from
Maine, published his how-to book,
Building the Maine Guide Canoe. This is a beautiful book that describes some of
the canoe-building tradition in Maine and very much details the steps involved
in constructing a cedar canvas canoe.
Using this book and some
information gleaned from visits to Maine and the canoe repair shop at the Kanawa
Canoe Museum (at that time located at Camp Kandalore)
www.canoemuseum.net,
I was able, over a period of about a year, to build my first canoe. The first
one took some time because a big part of
the process was to build a form or mold over which all canoes are made. Building
a form is at least as much work as making a
canoe itself, but once you have one it
will last forever.
 I
was also fortunate to have a resource person in the form of a local woodworking
teacher, Tom Dawson, to help answer some of the questions that inevitably come
along when you attempt such a project for the first time. It was great working
with the basic building materials of canoe construction – clear Eastern White
Cedar and White Ash, brass tacks and screws, and canvas, paint and varnish.
Thankfully no epoxies, fibreglass or glue are used in this type of work.. I was
more than satisfied with the
first canoe to come off the form – it was a pleasure to look at and it paddled
like a dream.
Some of the old-timers say that
building a cedar canvas canoe is the closest a man can get to having a baby. I
don’t know if that’s true, but it sure felt good to launch the finished product
and take it for its inaugural voyage. When a close friend took it out for tour
around the lake his only question was how soon could I build one for him? The
story of that process was
told in a 1986 article in the Haliburton Echo, which of course generated more
interest in the community and before long I was receiving inquires from people
with older canvas canoes who wanted them restored or repaired as well as some
who were interested in a new
purchase.
Eventually I asked a friend,
local family physician and canoe tripper, Karl
Hartwick, to work with me, as many of the tasks, such as steam-bending the ribs,
are much easier to do with an extra set of hands. In time I was approached by
Sir Sanford Fleming College about the possibility of teaching canoe building at
the summer arts school here in Haliburton and also during the winter if there
was enough interest.
 I
was able to offer this course on three different occasions as there seems to be
a number of people who share my enthusiasm for this type of craft, and not
surprisingly, many of them come from a camp background in their youth.
One of the great
things about building and repairing canoes in Haliburton over the last 25 years
has been meeting a variety of people... some cottagers, some locals, some from
other parts of the country and from all walks of life, but all sharing a love
of the classic cedar canvas canoe and a desire to keep it as not just a
collector’s item, but as a practical, viable and aesthetically and
environmentally pleasing mode of recreational travel.
Most recently we
re-canvassed a nice old Huron Village canoe for present day HSR staff member
Geoff Vaughan (99-06) . It was great to meet Geoff and talk about the camp
and see the love of canoeing and appreciation for vintage craft in this next
generation. Long may it continue!
 |
