WHY WOOD?

   While there are many options for building boats on the market today, and each has its merits, I feel that for small pleasure boats, wood is the ideal material.
   Wood is a renewable resource. If we plant trees, and I do, we can replenish the materials for the future generations to use. Wood waste, for the most part, is non-toxic. Wood is pleasant to work with and has a pleasing smell; this means that the worker may be enchanted with his or her work, leading to benefits for the customer in areas of quality control.
   Although we hear much about carbon fibre, Kevlar, and aluminum alloys, and their strengths; nothing is stronger or stiffer than good quality, appropriate wood, when measured in strength per pound per dollar spent. Wood is also much less prone to material fatigue than other materials, simply because it comes from trees! They are constantly buffeted by wind, and except for extreme cases, never fail.
   Yes wood rots, but if it is properly protected and maintained this problem can be virtually eliminated. A year or so ago I was in a friend's shop when he was revarnishing a bass-wood (not a very rot resistant wood) canoe built in 1885. Granted this boat had been properly stored in a boathouse, this still is remarkable, because the canoe was in perfect shape. As far as cost and maintenance go I will quote the English builder John Cove: "Many people are put off by the idea that maintenance costs are high. Increasingly, neither the public nor the boating press question this statement, yet it is clear that a good wooden boat regularly maintained is not difficult or expensive, but this is being confused with the high cost of bringing a neglected wooden boat back to good condition."
   No other material can match the beauty of wood, soothe the soul, or help rekindle memories of quieter times.

 

WHY Us?

   Because we like what we are doing and are committed to building every boat or canoe to a higher standard than the last one. We know that without customers we cannot continue to follow this way of life, so we will do our best to make sure you are happy with the finished product. This starts with consultation in the preorder stage of our relationship, to make sure that the craft your are thinking of will suit your purposes; follows through the design stage, and finishes with delivery, set up, and an owners manual. We try to get our boats out by the requested completion date, but feel that a delay of a week or two is much preferable to a compromise in quality.
   We believe that having a boat built for you should be as pleasant an experience as using it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.


Cruiser 16


Canadian 15


Osprey II