by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes
Email: artisan@canoeshop.ca
My first book ̶ This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe ̶ has been very well received since its release in April 2016. Sales have been brisk and all the feedback indicates that it fills a void in the canoe library and provides the information required to bring family heirloom canoes back to life and back to their rightful place as part of the family again.
Most of the print reviews for This Old Canoe have been very positive. The only comments pointing to weaknesses in the book came from professional canoe restorers in the USA. They noted that This Old Canoe focused on the restoration of “utilitarian” canoes from Canada and failed to address the challenges found in “fancy” canoes from the USA.
In my own defense, since This Old Canoe is the first book to ever focus entirely on the restoration of wood-canvas canoes, I decided to discuss the process in great detail and give enough specific examples so that people could work on their canoes even if they were not the exact canoes I mentioned. It also seems a bit premature to put forward “post-graduate” information in a book that is geared towards first-time canoe restorers.
That said, everyone I have met over the years who has an old wooden canoe views their canoe as the best and most authentic wooden canoe ever built. Therefore, it only stands to reason that people may feel a little left out if they own an old canoe with details not covered in This Old Canoe ̶ such as:
1) long-framed decks
2) solid, pre-bent decks
3) extreme curves in the sheer-line at the ends
4) closed gunwales and ribs set into pockets in the inwales
5) sponsons
6) a sailing rig
7) floor boards
8) a fancy paint design on the canvas
9) all-wood construction with no canvas cover
10) seats with hand-woven cane in a pattern not discussed in the book
Now that I have laid out the fundamentals of canoe restoration in This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe, it only stands to reason that I now begin work on my second book ̶ This Fancy Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Fancy Antique Canoe.
This is where I need your help. Since I live and work in British Columbia, Canada, I have limited exposure to canoes with these “fancy” features. Most of these canoes were built by companies based in the eastern United States (companies such as Old Town, Carleton, Morris, Gerrish, Ruston, Kennebec, Robertson, White and many others). Other fancy canoes were produced in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s by companies in Ontario such as Peterborough, Canadian, Strickland, Lakefield, Herald and others. If you have an old canoe with long-framed decks, sponsons, all-wood construction with no canvas cover or any of the other features mentioned above, please contact me (email: artisan@canoeshop.ca). I would like to be able to restore the canoe and document the process ̶ just as I did in my first book. You will have to bring your canoe to my shop in Grand Forks, BC and I will only charge for the cost of materials plus a token amount for my services (far less than the full cost of a regular restoration). The cost of the restoration will be negotiated between you and me. I am willing to do the work simply for the opportunity to document the process, so please contact me (phone toll free: 1-855-572-2663).
A recent example of this assistance came when I presented my request to the Northwest Chapter of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association in September 2016. I was approached by someone who lived near Seattle, Washington. He had acquired a 1905 J.H. Ruston Indian Girl canoe with closed gunwales in 2010.
He was well prepared to bring the canoe back to its original condition but was finding it difficult to get the time required to complete the project. He had acquired plans for all of the missing components and had begun the restoration by removing fiberglass applied in the 1960’s as well as removing all of the old varnish from the interior.
I will be building custom bending forms for various components. Also, I am documenting the dimensions of the components in enough detail to allow others to restore a similar canoe.
I look forward to talking to you about your fancy antique canoe.
Be sure to get your copy of my book – This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood Canvas Canoe.
If you live in Canada, CLICK HERE to buy the book.
If you live in the USA, CLICK HERE to buy the book.
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