3 w/c canoes on a rack

[Robin]

I'm taking 3 wood canvas (2 are without canvas right now) canoes north, 2 17's are going to Mihun for restoration, the other, a 15' Chestnut Chum is for my solo trip above Nakina, Ontario.
Here's how I" nested" two of them with the help of my friend John, John Deere that is.

I loaded the 17' Penobscot on the drivers side and the 15' Chum on the passenger side, and strapped both canoes tight. Then I layed a rug down the middle of the Chums hull for protection, plus some old bed sheets at the ends.



I then loaded the 17' 100 year old BN Morris on the bucket of the John Deere and lifted it high enough to roll it off the bucket and over the Chum.



I then tucked the sheets up under the Morris to protect the Chum and strapped the Morris down also. You can just see the gunnel of the Chum under the old Morris.



I also screwed a block of wood under the center of the cross bars on the rack to take some weight off the legs of the rack. This morning I took a test ride down the interstate and they rode well at 65 mph. Not sure how the border crossing will go, but I plan on mentioning Brads name, should fly right thru!

<a href="http://s1204.photobucket.com/user/Beavertail100/media/DSC01908_zps33cc71bb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb413/Beavertail100/DSC01908_zps33cc71bb.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC01908_zps33cc71bb.jpg"/></a>

 

[yellowcanoe]

Precision loading.. Maybe the border people won't notice the hiding Chum.. Inventive use of John!

 

[Mihun09]

Nicely done.

Tomorrow morning early, Christine and I pile into my SUV and head east to meet up with Robin in G'Town Friday afternoon at Mem's place!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Y'all have a good trip. We head that way (sort of.. Rossport) Aug 12.

 

[Odyssey]

Nicely done. Reminds me of those Russian dolls. (Be careful googling Russian dolls. ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll
I'm sure you'll get a lot of envious looks on your way up north Robin. Those boats look good, and going to another good home.
Not sure I'd mention my name at the border. One time I ran one of the stop signs rolling up to the guard shack. I honestly didn't see it. Two guards confronted me and gave me a blistering talking to. I took everything they were pitching, after all, it was my fault. As the guy was sizing up my chances of making it across the border, one of the several soccer girls in the back seat (I was taking to an Ohio tournament) spoke up "Hey Mr L, I'll drive!! I've got my beginners! We'll pick you up on the way back!" It scared me when I could see the guard actually giving that some thought. When the back seat started whooping their approval, the guy took pity on me and waved us through.

It's gonna be fun in G'town friday night!

 

[memaquay]

Looks great! Just got back from an epic three day trip, looking forward to everyone arriving, I should be able to drink beer again by then!

 

[icedragonmx]

That looks great! Better behave with all that weight on top. I use to climb the ice falls in Nipigon. You are in a great area for an adventure or two! Enjoy the trip and I hope you post pictures afterwards!!

 

[Mihun09]

Do you tie the front of the boats at all? You are aware there is no such thing as 65mph up here. Still, be careful, you could be two sheets to the wind.

 

[Hanz]

Very clever, Robin.

Have a great trip!

 

[Odyssey]

Three wood canvas canoes on a rack...should be the start of a limerick, or a good sing- a- long song. In any case, it's the start of a darn good story. I'm looking forward to the rest of it.
ps Don't let memaquay turn one of those into a beer cooler; hold out for his 20 'er.

 

[Mihun09]

Just to spice it up a bit for you Brad, Friday is my birthday too.

 

[Odyssey]

Just to spice it up a bit for you Brad, Friday is my birthday too.

Happy birthday and best wishes! Oooooh, I feel a birthday bash coming on. (Will the 20'er cooler be enough?)
I'm also looking forward to future w/c restoration posts about these treasures making this trip. Have fun folks.

 

[Mihun09]

It was an epic roadtrip.

 

[yellowcanoe]

It was an epic roadtrip.

Any pics of the two w/c on your car? What was it ..about a 12-14 hour drive?

 

[Mihun09]

Longer on the way there, we stopped overnight in Thunder Bay, drove straight through yesterday coming home, through epic rain, minimal gas/food stops, 12 hours coming back. Photo's and story to come. Robin is out in the bush for 10 days or so.

 

[Mihun09]

It was a loooong drive, or so it seemed to me. Still ill come Thursday and relentless sunshine blazing down. Actually I still cannot shake the cough.

I did pretty good spotting animals when riding shotgun and got to see a beaut when driving a portion too. Christine was asleep as I topped a rise and a critter stepped out of the ditch on the left as I tapped the brakes to drop out of cruise. I'm thinking... fox, no, too big, cougar?, no, smaller, look, it has tufts on it's ears, it's a lynx. Christine was awake by now but without her glasses she only saw a brownish blur as it sauntered across the highway in broad daylight. Too cool.

An hour or so later, now riding shotgun, I saw a very black spot at the side of the highway and sure enough, it was a cute and cuddly black bear grazing on berries right next to the Trans Canada Highway. It was full grown, but I think I can count that as my bear encounter for this year.

So, 2 deer (1 alive), the bear, lynx, loons, hawks, one eagle north of Nipigon and a whole bunch of smaller stuff. Skunk on the way home.

We counted canoes to help pass the time as well. Between Kenora and Dryden canoes were way ahead of kayaks and Nova Crafts were the clear choice. Between Dryden and T'Bay, kayaks caught up. We didn't count on the way home, so, 15 canoes, 11 yaks, 2 ladders and a SUP.

We stayed in Thunder Bay Thursday night intending to make the shorter ride up to Geraldton Friday, which we did. We arrived just before 1pm and within 10 minutes Robin rolled in too. Perfect timing. We got boats down right away, got Robin squared away with the Chum for his trip and the antiques onto my truck. The Morris is rough, very rough, had to kit bash a gunwale section and the fact the original keel was still on it is likely the only reason it did not break in half on the way home. The other boat, the Penobscot, is in much better shape, although it may still need 10 ribs. Funny thing is, Christine did some research on it this morning and we find out it isn't an old town, it is a Penobscot Canoe Company boat and was only built from 1915 - 1923 and this particular deck style was patented in 1916. So, both boats are rare.

The afternoon was whiled away with canoe tripping stories, beer, more stories, beer, sunshine, checking out canoes, beer, more tripping stories, beer, getting to know each other, some beer and in the evening a fabulous dinner with wine, followed by the surprise birthday cake, which I never even got a piece of, which you all could have passed on. It was nice though, considering the past 5 birthdays have been spent with a stinky old woman out in the bush. After dinner was a fire, beer, coffee, beer, more tales and mosquito's, likely attracted by the beer.

I'm not very social, that is Christine's personality, but I did very well considering I would normally visit a bit then go hide somewhere. I crashed before everyone else and Saturday morning was a kitchen party as Rob got Robin all squared away with the route and we sent him on his way. By 11am we were on the road too with the plan to overnight somewhere. We had all our camping stuff but with how cold the nights were getting and my lingering illness, we were not going to camp. Once we reached Dryden for gas and food and it was just after dinner hour, we pressed on to Kenora and just committed to going all the way home. We would have been fine if it hadn't gotten dark but that sucked the life out of us, still, we got home just after 11pm and crashed.

I really want to thank Rob and Irene for the hospitality. They went way beyond what I could have possibly expected or even hoped for. I know Robin had a good time since he stayed Friday night too. It was EPIC and a birthday I won't forget awhile, or until old age makes me.

We likely will be tripping out that way next year, there is so much water and so little time. We had plenty of time on the drive home to formulate plans and I could definitely see a trip next year out there.

I didn't take many photo's this time around, but I have some nice clear ones of the ropes on the front of the truck trying to shoot through the windshield of the cliffs coming down the highway towards Nipigon.

2017 km round trip. 25 hours driving. $280 for gas. $180 for food and accommodation. Robins portion included money for the boats and a contribution to the site. Fuel prices. Winnipeg, 120.9 L, Dryden, 129.9, T'Bay 139.9, G'Town 146.9.

The trip was in all ways, Epic.

 

[memaquay]

Epic report! I had a spot message from Robin yesterday, he was well on his way down marshall lake and is in for a spell of summer, something we haven't really had yet. We are entertaining again tonight, but on a low key, and I haven't looked at a beer since Friday!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Epic report! I had a spot message from Robin yesterday, he was well on his way down marshall lake and is in for a spell of summer, something we haven't really had yet. We are entertaining again tonight, but on a low key, and I haven't looked at a beer since Friday!

Gotta fix that soon.. Nice Car Trip Report..

What's your beer of choice Mem as far as families go.. lager. wheat, ale, stout... I'm bringing but not Bud.

 

[Mihun09]

Try Bud Light, you can drink it all day and just have a nice humm going...

 

[memaquay]

Ha, geeze I don't know, I'm not much of a beer connoisseur, although I drink lots of the stuff. People have tried to get me to drink that fancy stuff, but it just tastes like a yeast popsicle to me. When they leave me some specialty brews, I give it to my son, cause he'll drink anything and pretend to like it. Sometimes to change it up from the bud light, I'll drink one of those girly coolers, like wild berry or something, just to clear the palate off.

I do, however, have an understanding of some forms of wine, and prefer to drink them often, as long as they have been aged in oak and they leave my mouth as dry as the sahara, usually cabernets, never merlots.