Hi,
Many years ago at the age of fifteen I used to spend long days paddling a 16 foot Lakefield canoe on the River Thames. The father of my best friend bought this canoe from an old man who had owned it for many years. It had original loose padded seats and a carpet. These canoes were used for family picnics as an alternative to the more traditional punt or skiff . I have some old film circa 1955 of us using this canoe and will try and upload it sometime.
My love of Canadian canoes continued over the years and I had an aluminum 16ft that was used for family trips and really came into it,s own when we moved to the small village of Brockweir on the river Wye.
In 1987 I gave up a job that had not worked out and decided to build a Lakefield that I could sell................... This proved to be quite a challenge but with a bandsaw, plane and a steamer and a lot dedication this canoe came to life. It has over 3000 copper nails and it is now hanging from the ceiling in my daughters upstairs music room in London ( We managed to get it in through a window ).
The design was quite loose and ended up with more rocker than I wanted and the stems are pronounced . The river Wye at Brockweir is tidal and on spring tides the road is covered which made an ideal launching area. It was however not without stress as the whole village turned out to witness the event. It would have been good to have tried it first but that was not possible.
I have uploaded a video of this launching and hope you will enjoy the spectacle....... http://blip.tv/file/2609199
All best wishes,
Patrick
Many years ago at the age of fifteen I used to spend long days paddling a 16 foot Lakefield canoe on the River Thames. The father of my best friend bought this canoe from an old man who had owned it for many years. It had original loose padded seats and a carpet. These canoes were used for family picnics as an alternative to the more traditional punt or skiff . I have some old film circa 1955 of us using this canoe and will try and upload it sometime.
My love of Canadian canoes continued over the years and I had an aluminum 16ft that was used for family trips and really came into it,s own when we moved to the small village of Brockweir on the river Wye.
In 1987 I gave up a job that had not worked out and decided to build a Lakefield that I could sell................... This proved to be quite a challenge but with a bandsaw, plane and a steamer and a lot dedication this canoe came to life. It has over 3000 copper nails and it is now hanging from the ceiling in my daughters upstairs music room in London ( We managed to get it in through a window ).
The design was quite loose and ended up with more rocker than I wanted and the stems are pronounced . The river Wye at Brockweir is tidal and on spring tides the road is covered which made an ideal launching area. It was however not without stress as the whole village turned out to witness the event. It would have been good to have tried it first but that was not possible.
I have uploaded a video of this launching and hope you will enjoy the spectacle....... http://blip.tv/file/2609199
All best wishes,
Patrick
