Esker Canoe

02/02/2024

Here are the phases of planking a rib-and-plank canoe:
Photo #1 showing the initial straight, un-shaped strakes; #2, 3, and 4 showing how the gores are filled with shaped planking. These are all done on the building form. Photo #5 shows the hull after removal from the form, without decks and with temporary thwarts and a good deal of planking yet to be done. Photo #6 shows the completed planking job, and #7 the sanded and oiled exterior, ready for canvas.

01/08/2024

(1) Making planking from 8/4 red cedar; (2) cut into mostly vertical-grain blanks; (3) re-sawn into rough planks; and (4) milled into finished planking.

01/03/2024

The full ribs have been steam-bent over the form. While requiring fairing when dry, they begin to show the shape of the eventual canoe.

01/01/2024

A new year seems like a good time to start a new canoe: inwales and stems in place; white cedar rib stock ready for milling.

12/07/2023

All done this one. Just waiting for finish to harden before new owner picks it up.

11/23/2023

Last coat of varnish applied. Strong contrast between white cedar ribs and red cedar planking.

11/18/2023

Myth #4 about cedar and canvas canoes: “They are difficult to repair.”
Any competent woodworker can repair a cedar and canvas canoe. And they are endlessly repairable. Even badly damaged canoes – for example, one with a third of its ribs broken – can be brought back to be completely as good as new. And for those new to repairing wooden boats, detailed knowledge about canoe construction and repair can be found in a number of excellent books on the subject, such as “The Wood and Canvas Canoe” by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok, a classic which is still available. So for those people who are not near a wooden canoe restorer, do-it-yourself work is indeed possible with some woodworking experience, research, and care.

11/08/2023

Myth #3 about cedar and canvas canoes: “They need tons of maintenance!”
More than maintenance, the cedar and canvas canoe needs proper storage, particularly over the non-paddling months. Ideally, it should be stored indoors, or at least under a shed roof on a stand high enough above the ground to keep it out of the sun and rain and to stay clear of the melting snowpack in spring. In terms of maintenance, any bare wood that appears – for example, on the outside of the gunwales – should get a spot coat or two of varnish before the next paddling season, and any deeper scratches on the hull should get a touch-up with paint. But for most paddlers, major work varnishing the interior or painting the whole exterior – providing that the canoe is properly stored – is likely something required perhaps once a decade or longer. Look after its home and it will look after you.

10/31/2023

Myth #2 about cedar and canvas canoes: “They are so fragile!”
This idea developed with the advent of the aluminum canoe, which people took to bashing into rocks and dragging over stony portages. And, no, you cannot do that with a cedar and canvas canoe. But they are by no means fragile. After all, they were the working canoe in Canada’s north for nearly a century for trappers, prospectors, and freight haulers. The canvas is filled with a clay- and resin-based material that preserves and waterproofs the canvas and makes it very tough indeed when fully cured. While it can be cut with sharp rocks, because of this toughness and the tendency of the hull to flex on impact, the canvas is unharmed by scraping rounded boulders. When used with a degree of respect, the cedar and canvas canoe can go decades with only minor repair.

10/23/2023

Myth #1 about cedar and canvas canoes: “They’re really heavy!”
The fact is that a 16-ft. cedar and canvas canoe built for tripping typically weighs about 65-70 lbs. While this is heavier than what’s available in Kevlar or carbon-fibre construction (42-56 lbs.), it is similar to the weights of comparable fibreglass canoes (62-66 lbs.), and the latest plastic laminates (60-69 lbs). And lighter than aluminum (around 72 lbs.) or other older plastic laminates still being used (75-87 lbs.). While cedar canoes can gain some weight in the rain, modern construction techniques minimize it by sealing the hull elements before canvassing. And for uses other than canoe tripping, such as at the cottage, cedar and canvas canoes can be built considerably lighter since maximum strength is not required.

10/06/2023

Interested in having a new, custom-made traditional cedar canoe built at a reasonable cost?
Veteran boat and canoe builder with decades of experience, now retired from employment, willing to build for a limited number of clients on a cost-recovery basis, with no charge for labour. You’ll get a high-quality craft built from the finest materials at a fraction of retail cost. I get to continue with my passion to build (on my own schedule) and to keep the tradition alive.
o 16-foot cedar and canvas canoes
o quality materials used throughout
o can be customized to suit projected usage or type of wood trim and colour desired
o 34” beam, 123⁄4” depth; 65-70 lbs. for standard construction suitable for backcountry use o lightweight model can be built for cottage use
Boatbuilding Background
• Built first cedar and canvas canoe ca. 1978
• Owned and operated Esker Canoe Company in northern Manitoba during the 1980s, building two styles of
canoes: 16-foot paddling canoes, and 19-foot flat-wide freighters.
• For Parks Canada, as part of a small team, built two 34-foot replica York boats using modern materials as
well as a 43-foot reproducNon using tradiNonal methods and local woods. The reproducNon now sits on
public display at Lower Fort Garry NaNonal Historic Site.
• Constructed a 22-foot skin-on-frame rowing shell with sliding seat and complete rigging.
• Since 2021 have been building custom 16-foot cedar and canvas canoes at cost for clients.

10/03/2023