Wooden Canoe Gallery

17' Chestnut Cruiser (Cronje) - This client was in the market for a wood-canvas canoe in the early 1970's. Since he lived in Vancouver, he went to Bill Greenwood at his shop on Mitchell Island in Richmond, BC. He was excited to see the mold for a 17' Chestnut Cruiser sitting outside Bill's shop. He loved the narrow, quick lines of the cruiser as opposed to the wide, flat-bottom lines of Greenwood canoes. He asked Bill to build a canoe for him off the Cruiser mold -- without a keel. Bill flatly refused, "If you want a Chestnut, then buy a Chestnut!".

So, that's exactly what he did. While restoring his canoe, I lowered the seats for added stability. Otherwise, it is exactly the same as the day he bought it -- from a Chestnut Canoe dealer.

17' Chestnut Prospector (Garry) - This client's wife always wanted him to get their lovely Chestnut Prospector restored. He started to do it himself, but soon got bogged down. He asked me to give him an estimate - which I did - and I didn't hear from him again. Then several years later, he just appeared on my doorstep with his canoe. His wife had died two years ago and now he was ready to get the canoe restored in her memory. It was a very big job with several ribs replaced, new outwales and completely rebuilt ends. The crowning touch was a brass plaque on the bow.

This summer, "The Sheila J." is doing the Bowron Canoe Circuit with the rest of the family.

15' 6" Huron canoe (circa 1970) - As I was restoring this Huron canoe, the client and I exchanged a number of e-mails. He wanted a custom paint design and sent me several ideas over the course of many months.

At the bottom of one e-mail he wrote, "It's too bad you can't put flames on a canoe."

I replied, "Give me a minute."

15' Chestnut Bobs Special - At first glance, you would expect this 37" wide canoe to be slow in the water. However, even though it has a wide, flat bottom, it also has very fine entry lines and substantial rocker at the ends. It is a very nice canoe to paddle and it stable enough to fly fish from it in a standing position.

I replaced four ribs and recaned the seats. Other than that, the canoe was in very good condition.

16' Peterborough All-Wood Canoe - Model 44 (1921) - In 2003, the Okanagan Mountain fire was roaring into Kelowna, BC. The family had five minutes to evacuate their home. They grabbed a photo album and this canoe. Everything else was lost to the fire.

I discovered that both decks had rotted over the years. It was a major effort to replace them. The decks are made of butternut (white walnut) and were steam-bent to fit the curve of the ends. I had to build solid forms and sandwich the 8" wide boards in a custom-built press. It took two attempts to get it right.

The stern seat was recaned and new floor boards were built to match the originals. After the entire canoe was stripped of the old varnish, it was soaked with several coats of linseed oil to create a watertight canoe again. Then new shellac and varnish completed the canoe.

16' Greenwood Recreational Canoe - Shortly after purchasing this gorgeous Greenwood canoe, the client was driving it out to a favourite put-in for a day's paddle. He happened to look in the rear-view mirror just in time to see the canoe land nose first on the highway and bounce into the ditch. He patched it together as best he could and proceeded to use it like that for the next 20 years.

It is always a thrill for me to see a client beaming with delight when their beloved canoe comes back to life.

16' Chestnut Pal - I rescued this canoe from the loft of a barn in Crawford Bay, BC. It was then "adopted" by a guy who had grown up in Ontario. He had spent countless summers at a camp where they practically lived in Chestnut Pal canoes.

This canoe required a complete rebuild -- new inwales, outwales, recaned seats, 6 new ribs and over 40' of new planking.

I had almost completed the restoration when he came to the shop with his two sons (ages about 5 and 6). As they ran their hands over the canoe, he turned to his sons and said, "When it's a hot day on the lake, the varnish gives off a smell that you will remember for the rest of your life."

Crisp Fresh Air Kisses Your Skin at First Light.
Your Wooden Canoe Skims Over Still, Misty Water.
Now, That's Our Idea of a Reality Check.

July 31, 2008

Hi Mike,

This is a message for skeptical partners of canoe enthusiasts:

When Ron and I were first married he gave me an orange (his favourite colour) Chestnut canoe for my birthday??!! For many years we (mostly Ron) used it every summer, while participating in summer camps for kids. Then we moved to Christina Lake, and for the last 25 years, (since summers are Ron’s busiest season, work-wise) the canoe has mostly languished in our wood shed.

Then Ron rediscovered the Huron canoe that his family used for many years when he was growing up. It was in sad, sad shape. To my surprise, he rescued it from his sister’s backyard, brought it to Mike, and had it restored. My reaction was: “You already have a beautiful canoe that you very rarely use! And that you chastise yourself about not using. What are you doing?”

This blue Huron canoe is smaller (13'6"), and a beauty, and it’s siren song must be more compelling – because Ron has canoed more this first half of our summer than he has in the last 10 years put together. During the last week of school, Ron paddled (in individual trips) our three local grandkids down the lake to their elementary school. Three additional grandkids from up north also enjoyed mini canoe trips during our recent family reunion. This little blue canoe is now occasioning joyful summer memories for a third generation.

Thank you Mike for the extraordinary skill you’ve developed in restoring canoes. You are quite simply an artist – and through your passion have made a real contribution to my family’s happiness.

Diana Carr

Kootenay Kitchen (Ron Liddle and Diana Carr), Christina Lake, BC

Phone: 250-447-9263; e-mail: ronskk@telus.net

July 26, 2005

Dear Mike,

Thank you for taking our thirty-five year-old canvas-covered Greenwood canoe with its broken pieces and sagging canvas and turning it into the work of art it was when new. The only difficulty is our reluctance to mark the finish. Maybe we will just look at it for a few months before involving water.

Sincerely,

John Bremmer, 32040 - 97 Hwy., Oliver, BC

976 Transit Rd., Victoria, BC, V8S 5A1

January 2, 2006

Dear Mike,

Thanks very much for the card, which serves as a reminder that at least on the coast, the paddling season never really stops. Last Saturday, time and weather finally cooperated and I was able to get out in the Peterborough for the first time. It is everything I hoped for - light, fast and responsive. I look forward to it providing many years of pleasure.

While I was doing some tidying up, I came across a 1970 Chestnut catalogue, which I am enclosing as a small way of saying thanks for all of your work on my canoe and all the others you have "rescued". It is interesting to note that in 1970, Chestnut was apparently operating from both Fredericton and Peterborough. I hope you enjoy this.

All the best for 2006.

Regards,

Paul Pearlman