The Canvas-Covered Cedar Canoe
The canvas-covered cedar canoe, when rightly made of the best material, is by all odds the best paddling craft afloat, being strong and light, with a hull so smooth that it is swift to paddle, while the mode of construction makes a very stiff craft, which will not warp or twist out of shape. Moreover, it will stand a vast amount of hard usage and abuse, while repairs are quickly and neatly done by the stream side. In the making of a first-class canoe of this type, the ribs are first steamed and then bent and fitted over a solid form; cedar being used for the ribs and planking; spruce for the gunwales, and white ash, or oak, for the stems and thwarts. In a canoe built according to my instructions, each plank runs to the full length of the craft and all are beveled and lapped together, thus making a perfectly smooth and almost water-tight canoe, before the canvas is cemented on its surface. The canvas is thoroughly waterproofed before it is put on, then it is drawn tightly over the planking, and several coats of filler and the final finish of paint are applied, after which it is rubbed down.
The well-made canvas-covered canoe is, if properly designed, a pretty good facsimile of the representative Indian model in that it possesses all the good points of the birch-bark canoe, but is more substantially constructed, of better and more durable material, and more finely finished. In making the selection, it is necessary to pay a fair price to obtain a good craft, and while various manufacturers supply canoes of similar types at different prices, some of them are so inferior that they will scarcely stand a season’s use. Of course, the use to which a canoe is put will influence the selection. If the craft is wanted for long service on hunting and fishing trips, a high-grade canoe of plain finish is the logical choice. If the canoe is for club use, a highly finished craft with mahogany trimmings may be preferred. A canoe for occasional use on some quiet lake or small stream may be selected from the cheaper kinds, which will, no doubt, answer every purpose. However, most manufacturers list what they call an “A” and a “B” grade. The “A” grade provides selected-cedar ribs and planking; oak for gunwales, stems, thwarts and seats selected from the finest material, and the finish the best that can be procured, while the “B” grade is identical in model, canvas and paint, but the material not quite so clear or free from minor defects, though for all practical purposes it will render as much service and give fully as much satisfaction as the first, or “A,” grade. A little saving may be made by selecting the second-grade canoe, having most of the money invested in the canoe and not so much in the finer finishings. The ordinary construction provides for the ordinary solid topwale, but the open gunwale is sometimes preferred, because the openings make washing easy, all sand and dirt running out freely between the wales. This construction detail is supplied by most manufacturers, when specified, at a slight additional cost.
The Important Parts of a Canoe, Giving Names for the Information of the Novice
Points to be Considered
The particular shape, combined with the dimensions, of the canoe is commonly called the model, and since many canoe builders offer several different models it is a comparatively easy matter to find a craft which fully meets one’s ideas of a canoe. Canoes can be had as small as 10 ft. long and weighing as little as 18 lb., while others are built all the way up to 35 ft. and ranging around 50 in. wide. For all-around use, that is for cruising, hunting, and fishing, the 16-ft. length, with 32-in. beam, 12 in. deep amidships, and weighing about 60 lb., will meet the approval of the experienced canoeist. In a good canoe of this size a flat floor, medium-high ends, and a fair amount of tumble home—to add stability and keep the water from shooting inboard—may be reckoned the “earmarks” of a general-purpose craft. For exclusive river work, where many rapids are encountered, a lightly rounded bottom, a trifle lower in the center than at the ends, will be easier to handle in white water, while comparatively narrow ends will give more speed under the paddle.
All canvas-covered canoes are provided with brass bang plates, or irons, at stern and bow, and if wanted, an outside keel may be furnished. In most cases this is not essential, but when the canoe is largely used in rocky rivers a broad keel of ¹⁄₂-in. oak, or ash, 2¹⁄₂ in. wide in the center and tapered at both ends to fit the brass bang irons, will protect the bottom from hard knocks. The narrow 1-in. keel is an out-and-out nuisance, making the canoe slow to turn and furnishing but scant protection for the bottom. Any keel adds to the weight of the craft, and weight is a factor that must be considered when much portaging is done. So far as capacity is concerned, a canoe, 16 ft. long, 32-in. beam, and 12-in. amidship depth, will accommodate two men and the usual amount of camp duffle, weighing from 350 to 400 lb. On short trips, a 15-ft. canoe may be made to accommodate two men, while on very long cruises, where a larger amount of duffle must be taken along, an 18-ft. canoe may be needed. For three persons, the 17 or 18-ft. canoe, of 34-in. beam, is about right, but for a party of four it is better to use two 16-ft. canoes than one large craft. In fact, canoes longer than 18 ft. are more properly regarded as freight craft and only used on special trips.
Moccasins, or rubber-soled footwear, are most suitable for the canoeist’s wear, but since heavy-heeled shoes are often worn, it is a good plan to protect the thin planking by running a slatted floor, 8 or 10 in. wide, in the center of the canoe. Provide this grating with brass buttons, and it will be held firmly in place, but removable at any time. For convenience in towing, a small but flexible rope—braided cotton is always soft and pliable—about 20 ft. long, should be tied at both bow and stern. The ordinary “painter eye,” which fastens with a bolt screwed to the under side of the breast hooks, is good, but a small hole, through which the rope is securely knotted, will serve as well.