Vancouver suggestions

[mtapia]

Hi everybody,

What interesting wooden canoe places/activities would you suggest in the Vancouver area? I'm staying here with my family for a small 3-4 days vacation. We are from wooden canoe starved California, so anything will be "new and interesting"

Wooden canoe shops or rental places, or related museums, libraries, schools, etc all sounds good. In fact the pure event of contemplating with bare eyes a functional wooden canoe will be great, since the only one I have seen in my life is the very old and broken canoe I'm trying to repair.

All feedback will be very appreciated.


Thanks!
Mario

 

[mtapia]

Actaully, if you have any suggestion around Seattle, that'll be great too since we will stay there for a couple of days.

Thanks
Mario

 

[Jay Magruder]

Boats in Seattle

When in Seattle visit the Center for Wooden Boats on the south end of Lake Union. The working collection of boats is everything from northwest indian cedar canoes ( check out the 20'er being carved by their craftsman in residence) to rowboats and small sailboats you can rent for use on the lake. Enjoy your trip!

 

[pat chapman]

To see several Willits Brothers Canoes and the Willits Launch, be sure to stop in at the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma, WA. See http://www.fosswaterwayseaport.org/

 

[mtapia]

Jay, Pat thanks a lot for your suggestions, that sounds really good. For sure I will take a look to those places

Thanks
Mario

 

[Douglas Ingram]

Larry Bowers of West Coast Canoe Company, is over on Vancouver Island, at Campbell River. Great Guy.


http://www.islandnet.com/~canoes/

 

[Roger Young]

If you have time, don't miss the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, when you are in Vancouver. You will see native artifacts, including cedar canoes, masks and totems (wooden and argillite) that you rarely find elsewhere. It has a comparative collection of 'Pacific Rim' material that demonstrates similarities between cultures thousands of miles apart across a broad expanse of ocean. If you get to Victoria, there is another excellent museum, and I believe the one in Seattle is outstanding as well. Especially if you're into northwest coast history.

 

[davelanthier]

Me confused.

Was Mario asking about Vancouver, Washington, USA or Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada?

 

[Jay Magruder]

There may be in fact a bit of confusion here. If he is going to Vancouver, Washington ( the state not District of Columbia) he may want to go over the Columbia ( river not District of) to visit Portland, (Oregon not Maine). If however he is going to visit Vancouver BC then he can simply ease into a deck chair and pop the top of a Kokannee, eh? Unless he is going to Vancouver Island, which is obviously closer to Vancouver BC than Vancouver WA. I suggest a visit to AAA and get a good map!

 

[mtapia]

Hey! Actually, we went to visit Larry Bowers and the UBC museum, and I'm just now seeing Douglas and Roger suggestions, so I consider myself very fortunate

(And definitely this is about Vancouver BC )

Indeed, Larry is an amazing guy, I had a great time exploring his shop. I'm just starting in the wooden canoe world, but I think his canoes made with yellow cedar are very interesting, that wood seems very flexible, and it seems it's very strong too. And the paddles he makes are beautiful too!

The canoes at the Museum of Anthropology were a humbling experience, so precise in shape and finishing! I'm really wondering now if you can make a wood-canvas with that sort of "concave flare" at the bow, but I guess it'll be close to impossible to have the canvas following the "negative curves" under tension...

Tomorrow we will be in the Seattle area, so I will keep following the good advice I have received, thanks!