I'm a new member and would dearly love to know more about the history of "Les Canots Tremblay Ltee". I'm aware of the company being based out of the town of St. Felicien in Quebec (Lac St Jean area) and their use of a vinyl impregnated canvas (Verolite) to cover their canoes. I would however, like to know more about the builders, years of operation, design style and generally anything about this company. So Tremblay owners I would really love to hear your stories!
Tremblay canoe history
- Thread starter Danroy
- Start date
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
While waiting for replies, you can put "Tremblay" into the "search" function above on the right and will get old posts. You may also want to look into back issues of "Wooden Canoe", which are available through the WCHA store. The index indicates the following issues have information on Tremblay, Les Canots:
36:2; 38:13; 153:8.
Welcome!
Kathy
36:2; 38:13; 153:8.
Welcome!
Kathy
Thanks for the welcome Kathy. I've actually checked just about every post with regards to LCT under search and have come up with a few snippets of information. It seems as though the company may have been low profile in terms of marketing and administrative presence. My interest in the company is in part one of my French Canadian background but also in knowing who these folks were, who they may have modeled their canoe after,were they a family run business, could they have been first nations builders, how long were they in business for and what eventually made them close down. Unfortunately I'm at the opposite end of the country so I just can't pop over and learn more. I'll just have to do more detective work and hopefully more information will come to the fore. The "Wooden Canoe" back issues may indeed be a good starting place because from a historical point of view the company wasn't that old.
Kind regards,
Dan
Kind regards,
Dan
peter osberg
LOVES Wooden Canoes
I ordered one in '69 or '70, as I had used them when guiding wilderness trips and knew their seaworthiness and great design as a tripping canoe. They were designed for the bigger water of the Saguaney river as opposed to flat water designs.
This history comes from a ride we got north of lake superior in 72? or thereabouts when we were trying to hitchhike back to where we had hidden the car in the bush after a 'made up' 2 week trip, using topo maps to follow rivers and lakes, with some very long and unmarked (read non-existent) portages (and we are still married) and came out a few hundred(?) miles from where we hoped our car would still be. The fellow who stopped and gave us a ride was from St Felicien on his way to work in the oil fields in Alberts and gave this story:
The French canadian family business had been producing a small number of canoes for many years, they were persuaded to accept government low interest loan as a way to boost employment and the local economy; they built a new building, only to find out the older craftsmen could only produce the same number of canoes per week, they tried shortcuts, the quality suffered, the interest payments on the new building became unsustainable and they went under. Amazing what some government help can accomplish!
peter
This history comes from a ride we got north of lake superior in 72? or thereabouts when we were trying to hitchhike back to where we had hidden the car in the bush after a 'made up' 2 week trip, using topo maps to follow rivers and lakes, with some very long and unmarked (read non-existent) portages (and we are still married) and came out a few hundred(?) miles from where we hoped our car would still be. The fellow who stopped and gave us a ride was from St Felicien on his way to work in the oil fields in Alberts and gave this story:
The French canadian family business had been producing a small number of canoes for many years, they were persuaded to accept government low interest loan as a way to boost employment and the local economy; they built a new building, only to find out the older craftsmen could only produce the same number of canoes per week, they tried shortcuts, the quality suffered, the interest payments on the new building became unsustainable and they went under. Amazing what some government help can accomplish!
peter
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
I recall when I read some of the early issues of Wooden Canoe, it seemed the Deans-- who started the WCHA-- had Tremblays and (this may be wrong) marketed them here in the US.
If you go to dragonflycanoe.com/id/ and scroll to Tremblay on the left, there is a chart with some specific model information. There are probably catalogs on the Canadian catalog CD available through Dragonflycanoe-- I'll check and let you know. The catalogs are a great way to get information on a canoe company, what they offered, and when.
Kathy
If you go to dragonflycanoe.com/id/ and scroll to Tremblay on the left, there is a chart with some specific model information. There are probably catalogs on the Canadian catalog CD available through Dragonflycanoe-- I'll check and let you know. The catalogs are a great way to get information on a canoe company, what they offered, and when.
Kathy
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
The 1980 Tremblay catalog is included in the Canadian Canoe Company Catalog Collection available at http://www.wcha.org/catalog/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm on the web. Someone else here will have more specific information about the years this company was in business. My impression is that the Tremblay was a good all-purpose no-frills canoe that was reasonably priced and popular in the latter 20th century.
Thanks very much for your post Peter. Wow that sounds like it was quite the adventure back in '72! You've given me the first glimpse into what this company was like and why it had to close it's doors. The story sounds very familiar for canoe manufacturers of that era as new technology was taking over and forcing traditional canoe makers to try and keep up. This may explain why LCT opted for stapled on veralite in place of traditional filled canvas. I remember my father complaining about how so much of the "Trudeau era" monies were being spent on such initiatives, especially in "La Belle Province".
Merci,
Dan
Merci,
Dan
Hello Kathy
I've looked at the chart through dragonfly-canoe and have read the LCT model description post on the WCHA site back in October which enabled me to identify my 1973 14ft Chibougamau-Sioux model. I posted back in November under Serial number search and received some replies regarding decals and corporate logos...unfortunately there was nothing with regards to serial numbers despite the fact that here was one engraved on the underside of one of my decks. I must admit that this research is great fun and I really appreciate WCHA's discussion forums and efforts from board members such as yourself...Encore,Encore, BRAVO!
BTW four replies in one day! I'm attaching a few pictures of my canoe and ongoing restoration.
I've looked at the chart through dragonfly-canoe and have read the LCT model description post on the WCHA site back in October which enabled me to identify my 1973 14ft Chibougamau-Sioux model. I posted back in November under Serial number search and received some replies regarding decals and corporate logos...unfortunately there was nothing with regards to serial numbers despite the fact that here was one engraved on the underside of one of my decks. I must admit that this research is great fun and I really appreciate WCHA's discussion forums and efforts from board members such as yourself...Encore,Encore, BRAVO!
BTW four replies in one day! I'm attaching a few pictures of my canoe and ongoing restoration.
