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Yes, people will be bringing private boats for the various paddling demos and activities. There are also plans for some local Canadian manufacturers to bring some demo boats. This is the first time it is being being organized. The thought was to have a combination event, similar to the WPASCR...

For any folks near the Peterborough area, I'll be giving a presentation on an outdoor screen (weather permitting) with some new released archival photos and details on the Chestnut Canoe Company. This is part of the Saturday Night Social for the Ontario Solo Canoe Rendezvous event happening in...

Reminder that this event is happening in a week. Would be great to connect with any of you...

We were actually aiming for the following weekend to correspond to the National Canoe Day celebrations at the Canoe Museum. Unfortunately, we couldn't secure park permits for that weekend so had to move it up by a week. Maybe you can join us next time! We're planning on securing a canvassing...

Hi Benson. My plan is to prepare a separate video later in the summer and post. That way I can directly screen record the slideshow and have proper audio quality. Something similar to the video I sent into the Virtual WCHA Assembly that happened back in Covid.

Robin that is outstanding news! I've been helping co-ordinate the event on behalf of the local WCHA chapter. We're expecting a decent turnout of members and wooden canoe folks. Some folks from the 3 Rivers Chapter in Ohio/Penn are also coming up for the event. I'll also be camping there and will...

Wanted to notify everyone of a multi-day canoe event taking place in Peterborough, Ontario: Ontario Solo Canoe Rendezvous Peterborough, ON June 19th - 21st, 2026 There will be a variety of outdoor vendors selling tripping gear, solo canoe designs to try, paddling clinics as well as a series...

Here's a short 8min production showcasing the shop at Headwaters Canoes in Wakefield, Quebec. Features some remote tripping shots with wood-canvas hulls and an interesting story about an intensive field repair.

Thanks Benson for looping me into this thread. Though I'm not really familiar with Alaskan paddle designs, there is a long tradition of "pole-grip" style paddles across multiple indigenous cultures in Canada. Louis Nicolas, a Jesuit Priest travelling in New France between 1664-1675, documented...

Listed weights in catalogs are sometimes quite inaccurate, not just with this company. Often they would approximate the weight in 5lb intervals and round down when they should have rounded up. Chestnut used to have a model they called the 50 Pound special based on its weight, but eventually had...

For anyone interested, here's a 1923 document for the original Chibougamoo made by Galarneau & Morin which eventually became Tremblay Canoe Co. These two photos were taken in 1925 at their factory in Roberval, Quebec. Deep hull, tripping designs, often with no seats similar to the...

For those interested in some historical gear, there are some very rare pieces linked to the Chestnut Canoe company currently up for auction here in Toronto. Waddington Auctions has three vintage canoe paddles carved by Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) artisans dated to the late 1890s. The paddles...

Looks to be a voyageur style replica. White paint pattern on the bow was the typical decoration on these canoes. It could be a hull made by Ralph Frese (1926 - 2012) of Chicagoland Canoe Base. He was famous for making authentic looking bark canoe replicas out of fiberglass for expeditions and...

The Northern Lakes Chapter of the WCHA will have a booth at the upcoming Rideau Paddlefest, taking place in Smith's Falls, Ontario on Saturday, June 15th. We'll be showcasing some vintage wooden canoes, a dozen historic paddle designs and conducting a paddle carving demonstration The festival is...

The back cover of the of the 1954 Peterborough catalog has the the 75th anniversary logo, but it is not colorized. You might be able to to just add some of the colors to it and get a relatively clean copy. Here is the image: The current Peterborough reproduction decals are based on an earlier...

Here's a pic of metal canoe sculpture in Penetanguishene, Ontario. Apparently there's a legend of a local tinsmith, Toussaint Boucher, making a canoe out of metal in mid-1800s. https://www.pipesmokeofthepast.com/post/the-iron-canoe

For those interested, David Finch's biography of Patterson is now available for digital borrowing at Archive.org https://archive.org/details/rmpattersonlifeo0000finc Also available is Richard C. Davis' publication, Nahanni Journals https://archive.org/details/nahannijournalsr00patt I've...

We found out later that our zoom meeting was booked at the same time as the WCHA board meeting. Sorry for that. Alex Guthro, our Chapter Head, recorded the portion of Mike Elliot's presentation. Here is the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zymLmCgaxDVXFiYaA

Bit last minute, but there is a online ZOOM seminar tonight (Jan 17) at 7pm Eastern Time hosted by the Northern Lakes (Canada) Chapter of the WCHA. After a brief 10 minute discussion of our chapter business, we will be joined by special guest Mike Elliot, author of This Old Canoe. Mike will...

Neat that this thread is still going. Very much like seeing all the different ways to mark a portage trail. Also recently found out a tidbit regarding historic portage signs in Algonquin Park. By the 1940s, many of the more established routes were marked by large wooden signs, painted yellow...