Andre Cloutier
Firestarter. Wicked Firestarter.
Posting not so much as a 'look what i got' but more for the 'look at this early one' - early closed gunwale construction, small decks and what seems to be relatively rare half ribs to fill in the floor. Wonderful early lines, lots of tumblehome and a dramatic rise from the 11.5" depth midships. Boat is still in the original canvas but for a large piece torn off by the fellow who sold it. He was working on demolishing a barn in Guelph, Ontario on a contract they had, and this was inside. No telling where they will end up. In all documentation from WT Bush's family I collected, there was a copy of a letter chronicling a canoe that was shipped to Belgium in the 'teens - a lot farther than Guelph of course. Seats directly under the gunwales, copper fastened, tapered ribs, gunwale caps and all the good stuff. Vastly different from (as Dylan puts it) 'the sea of chestnunts' that came from NB in the years since the fire. Just trying to figure out what the brown looking colour might have been.