Wood canvas canoes are a man-made wonder of the natural world. But you don't have to take my word for it. I believe that it was Rousseau that said, "The wood canvas canoe is the sublime incarnation of culture and civilization in its most unadulterated form. In the wood canvas canoe man has preserved natural integrity and exalted his human ingenuity to achieve a vessel of spiritual justice."
Well, I thought to myself, I have to get me one of these.
And one day, as I drove the ziggy the local speedway, I beheld my "bon chance."
There lay a derelict wooden husk. (Sadly I did not take pictures of this).
The precise date was Mid August, 2009.
I purchased the "vessel of spiritual justice" from the previous owners, the Anderson family. This family is an old Ojibwa family in the Ely area (this part actually true). They used to run a resort on Lake Burntside but as the kids'-kids grew up, they decided to divide the cabins among themselves and stop all the fuss with the professional hosting biz.
I knew immediately that it was an old town by the deck plate. (picture warranted and forthcoming). I spoke with the owner who confided that the canoe deserved a second chance but that the estimated repair cost of some $1200 had intimidated. Armed with a willful disregard for the reality of how much work, time, money and frustration this project would surely cost me, I wagered to exchange passed youthful nativity for optimism and paid some $250 for the carcass.
I am now the proud owner of an old and somewhat neglected wood canvas canoe. The canvas had been removed and replaced with a fiberglass coating that was pealing off. There were holes in the planking, breaks in the ribs, and rot all along the noses and gunnels. The outer gunnel had rotted off and one inner gunnel was broken and rotted on one side. The ends of many of the ribs were similarly rotted. The wood is mostly majestic white cedar. This wood is aeromatic and possesses many magical qualities that will be revealed with time.
I cleaned out my canoe. I spoke with Widjiwagan canoe master Jim Schwarz. He advised that if I contacted Old Town, that they could tell me about the make, model and history of the canoe. I did so. And it was good. (a scanned copy of these documents is in order and shall be duly provided).
The first thing to do would be to clean the outside and of fiberglass.
Jim also advised me to buy a gas torch and borrow a paint scraper. I heated and scraped the fiberglass in turns, scraping with the grain, of course.
By the time this was finished, I had to leave the area. I went on a little canoe trip:
(A midget Canous Americanus in its natural environs to be added)
Then I strapped my old canoe (NOT pictured above) to the roof of my Subaru and drove to Seattle. I kept the canoe off of the ground on saw horses and covered it with a tarp. It sat, neglected for one more winter while I studied, loved, laughed, cried and bribed. For, though I am utterly opposed to taking bribes, I often find it convenient and unobjectionable to offer them.
This spring, I paid for the varnish to be removed from the interior of the canoe. I wished to do this myself. But it is a highly toxic process and I lack an adequate space to contain the messy sludge as well the prerequisite relics for the casting of a effective incantation of protection, I paid professionals to do it.
Here is the Canoe, before de-varnishing, after fiberglass removal:
Now, all of the deficiencies are fully evident. I will assess and make a plan and pray to the Gods of the Canoe (Jim Schwarz). Also, soon there will be much sanding.
Chim Chim Charoo.
