Search results

Going through some more old documents, found this boat build plan for a boat they apparently used on Long Lake for the log drives. The dimensions are very similar to traditional freighter canoes, just flattened out for building with modern lumber. I've got some contacts I'm going to ask...

The school is in the process of obliterating my past, lol. Since I retired in 2019, much of my stuff from Outers and the Video program I ran has remained untouched. Renovations are forcing a lot of stuff into the garbage. The old map cases have been emptied, and I had to go through hundreds to...

The Save the Moose Campaign 2024 kicked off to a great start on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. It might be a bit of a stretch to call this a canoe trip, as it was our first time taking the big 20 foot freighter, with a mighty 2.5 horse engine on it. Then again, it might be a bigger stretch...

Many years ago, I acquired a set of plans from Carrying Place called the Wilderness Express. The fella told me they were essentially a copy of the Chestnut Pal. I build several of them, ranging in length from 16 to 17 feet. I found the 16 footer to be a good solo, but unless you had two...

So I'm teaching woodworking again, probably going to build a canoe with the senior class. I have three massive pieces of wood I can't identify. Two are 14 feet long, 22 inches wide and sixteen inches wide, the other one is the one in the picture. Clear, no knots, lighter than hardwood, heavier...

It seems to be a banner year for bears up here. Coming back from Thunder Bay yesterday, I saw a few, and one sow with four cubs. Very cute, I don't think I have ever seen four cubs before. However, the downside appeared in one of my local online news sources yesterday...

I'm not sure if any of you have come across these two yet, David is a phot journalist, lives down the road from me in Nipigon. Him and his soon to be wife did an epic 60 day trip all the way to Hudson Bay. He made a video about their journey. I'm not much of a video watcher when it comes to...

For many years I have been on the local citizen's advisory committee to the forest industry. The industry has been huge up here, and the amount of lumber that is taken each year is staggering. Over the last five years I have made inroads for most of the identified canoe routes, with larger...

The beauty of dedicated forums such as Canoetripping is that you get a dedicated base of folks who have a wide range of experience that can generally be trusted. Most opinions are based in years of practice and real life experience, and even if one doesn't agree, there is usually respect for...

I started using all the wood Gamma brought me on his Steel River trip. So far, I have cut out four one piece paddles, and still have enough wood left for at least three more. he had told me the sassafras had a unique smell, and I can testify to the truth of that. The entire shop has a peppery...

SAVE THE MOOSE CAMPAIGN 2023 I wasn’t going to post anything this year from our weekend canoe/moose hunt, as I may as well just repost last year’s report. Same place and even very similar pictures. But Chainsaw Rob came for a visit, and his stories alone made it worthwhile to post something...

It has been a very long fall in Northern Ontario, but the snow is finally falling tonight. I was looking over my pictures from a couple of weekends ago. My wife and I went out on the Annual Save the Moose Campaign. We didn't expect to get anything, as we were both hunting under calf tags, but...

Well, I decided I would build another Raven. Lots of rumination, was going to go with a 15 foot Pal, but I always really liked the Raven, so I will try to build this one a little lighter. Someone posted a video by Nick Schade, I believe, where he had cut his stem strips into 1/8 inch strips...

The J. Winters Raven has been my favourite solo, and every time I build something different, I regret it. And yet, I was thinking last night, I have the forms for the chestnut pal, and if I reduced the length to 15 feet, I would have a large solo, that would look good too. But will I regret...

I used MAS on my latest Osprey build, and this summer I have finally put it into some tripping situations. I have run some good whitewater, dragged over some gravel, had a few bumps, the usual stuff. I have already had three fractures of the outside glass right to the wood. There hasn't been any...

The yearly decision about what routes to open up was a long and prolonged discussion this year. Chainsaw Rob and myself had many ideas, but in the end, we decided that with gas prices being so high, we would try to stay close to home. We had already opened up one canoe route from Geraldton to...

No, I'm not giving any away, lol. A local lady was in the process of moving, and she called me and asked me if I wanted some cedar. I went out and had a look. 35 17 foot 1 1/8 wide bead and coved straps, beautifully made. Pluse enough cedar to make enough strips for a complete canoe. So I'm...

I've noticed that with the coffee table/epoxy craze, amazon has started selling epoxy. Here's an example https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B09CZ9RRX3/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams&th=1# There are multiple varieties, all priced pretty cheaply...

I'm leaving for a trip on Saturday, and it was going to be my first trip using a hammock. I've got a hennessy jungle expedition. I bought the insulating mat that goes between the layers, and an extended hex fly. Seems very comfortable. However, the weather up here has been completely goofy...

As I sit here, perversely hoping for a snow day so I don't have to go to work, I am rolling in the misery of a long, brutish winter. April is a blink away, and there is still over 3 feet of ice on the lakes. My snowblower has gone into forced retirement, this winter has finished it off. We are...