Olivemyjourneys
Chris Harris
Greetings all.
Brand new member here. Ive also purchased my first year membership with the organization.
I’ve loved wooden boats all my life.
I’ve been fortunate to have grown up with a family cottage property in Muskoka Ontario, so exposure to this type of craft was plentiful.
I now live here full time, and having turned 50 decided it was time for me to enjoy my own wooden boats.
I love canoeing and have been paddling the same fibreglass three keeler for the past 20 years.
This year I purchased an amazing wood canvas 12 footer. I don’t know the age as the people I bought it from we’re not the original owners.
It is made by the Sturgeon River Canoe Co. in Coldwater Ontario.
It’s a trapper style with two cane seats. I’ve removed the stern seat and replaced it with a maple thwart to accommodate loading my canoe packs further forward, while I paddle facing stern from the bow seat. I’m 205 lbs and this setup is ideal for this canoe.
The weight of this canoe is surprisingly light…..at least compared to my fibreglass….. portaging is a dream. move had three trips already with this canoe and I could not be happier with it.
I also now am the owner of a 16 footer of unknown make that I rescued this past weekend from a bonfire. The chainsaw was out and they were getting ready to cut it up just as I was driving past the property. I had to stop and ask about it.
the story is that the grandfather of one of the group (all 20ish people) had used it but it has sat tied up under the deck since his passing quite a number of years ago.
So….yadda yadda yadda….a quick run into town for a case of beer, and I drove away with the canoe on my truck.
It was a wood canvas when it started life, but had the canvas removed and was fibreglassed over at some point. I know this is not ideal for this construction of canoe….but I couldn’t let it go to the bonfire. There is absolutely no sign of rot behind the Fibreglass, a spray down of water tea walls the wood behind clearly. The planks are solid throughout. It must have sat on the ground at some point for a long time as the gunwales are rotted….the keel is rotted and three ribs on the port side bow are rotted at the gunwale. The cane of the seats has been replaced with some kind of vinyl. It has two thwarts and no yoke. Flat head slotted screws (not brass) fixing the gunwales.
the decks have also been fibreglassed over…so if there was a decal it is not visible. The decks have a half round cutout.
there is a serial number on the stem but it’s hard to make out …. 999 0T 8 My best guess at this point.
Anyhow, I’m thrilled to own these boats and just as thrilled to be part of this fine group.
thank you all
Chris.
ps. My user name is from IG. My Dachshund Olive posts all of our adventures.
Brand new member here. Ive also purchased my first year membership with the organization.
I’ve loved wooden boats all my life.
I’ve been fortunate to have grown up with a family cottage property in Muskoka Ontario, so exposure to this type of craft was plentiful.
I now live here full time, and having turned 50 decided it was time for me to enjoy my own wooden boats.
I love canoeing and have been paddling the same fibreglass three keeler for the past 20 years.
This year I purchased an amazing wood canvas 12 footer. I don’t know the age as the people I bought it from we’re not the original owners.
It is made by the Sturgeon River Canoe Co. in Coldwater Ontario.
It’s a trapper style with two cane seats. I’ve removed the stern seat and replaced it with a maple thwart to accommodate loading my canoe packs further forward, while I paddle facing stern from the bow seat. I’m 205 lbs and this setup is ideal for this canoe.
The weight of this canoe is surprisingly light…..at least compared to my fibreglass….. portaging is a dream. move had three trips already with this canoe and I could not be happier with it.
I also now am the owner of a 16 footer of unknown make that I rescued this past weekend from a bonfire. The chainsaw was out and they were getting ready to cut it up just as I was driving past the property. I had to stop and ask about it.
the story is that the grandfather of one of the group (all 20ish people) had used it but it has sat tied up under the deck since his passing quite a number of years ago.
So….yadda yadda yadda….a quick run into town for a case of beer, and I drove away with the canoe on my truck.
It was a wood canvas when it started life, but had the canvas removed and was fibreglassed over at some point. I know this is not ideal for this construction of canoe….but I couldn’t let it go to the bonfire. There is absolutely no sign of rot behind the Fibreglass, a spray down of water tea walls the wood behind clearly. The planks are solid throughout. It must have sat on the ground at some point for a long time as the gunwales are rotted….the keel is rotted and three ribs on the port side bow are rotted at the gunwale. The cane of the seats has been replaced with some kind of vinyl. It has two thwarts and no yoke. Flat head slotted screws (not brass) fixing the gunwales.
the decks have also been fibreglassed over…so if there was a decal it is not visible. The decks have a half round cutout.
there is a serial number on the stem but it’s hard to make out …. 999 0T 8 My best guess at this point.
Anyhow, I’m thrilled to own these boats and just as thrilled to be part of this fine group.
thank you all
Chris.
ps. My user name is from IG. My Dachshund Olive posts all of our adventures.