Our Canoeing Heritage
Heritage & Builder Resources
Do you want to learn how to build or restore a wooden canoe or kayak -- or are you looking for someone who can? Are you researching a school or work project? Or are you just interested in this fascinating area of study? If so, the Museum has assembled the following selected resources you may find helpful:
Bark Canoes | Fur Trade | Kayaks and Skin Craft | Wooden Canoes | Builders & Restorers
For the most current resources or for more detailed research information, please contact the Museum via e-mail
Bark Canoes
Selected Bibliography
Adney, Edwin Tappan and Howard I. Chapelle, The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1964.
Gidmark, David. The Algonquin Birchbark Canoe. Aylesbury, Bucks: Shire Publications Ltd., 1988.
Gidmark, David. Birchbark Canoe: Living Among the Algonquin. Willowdale, Ontario: Firefly Books Ltd., 1997.
Kent, Timothy J. Birchbark Canoes of the Fur Trade. Vol. I & II. Ossineke, Michigan: 1997
McPhee, John. The Survival of the Bark Canoe. Toronto, Ontario: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1975.
Philip Shackleton & Kenneth G. Roberts The Canoe: A History of the Craft from Panama to the Arctic. Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan of Canada, 1983.
Raffan, James. Bark, Skin, and Cedar: Exploring the Canoe in Canadian Experience. Toronto, Ontario: Harper Collins, 1999.
Taylor, J. Garth. Canoe Construction in a Cree Cultural Tradition. Canadian Ethnology Service, Paper No. 64. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1980.
Selected Online Sources
NativeTech www.nativetech.org
Birch Bark Canoes jumaka.com/birchbarkcanoe/
Canadian Museum of Civilization: Wave Eaters Exhibit (Native Watercraft in Canada) www.civilization.ca/aborig/watercraft/wainteng.html
Fur Trade
Selected Bibliography
Adney, Edwin Tappan and Howard I. Chapelle. The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1964.
Campbell, Marjorie Wilkins. The Nor'Westers: The Fight for the Fur Trade Toronto. Ontario: Macmillan of Canada, 1974.
Huck, Barbara. Exploring the Fur Trade Routes of North America: Discover the Highways that Opened A Continent. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Heartland Associates Inc. 2000.
Morse, Eric W. Fur Trade Canoe Routes of Canada/ Then and Now. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 1969.
Morse, Eric W. Canoe Routes of the Voyageurs: the Geography and Logistics of the Canadian Fur Trade. Ottawa, Ontario: Royal Canadian Geographical Society, 1962.
Philip Shackleton & Kenneth G. Roberts. The Canoe: A History of the Craft from Panama to the Arctic. Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan of Canada, 1983.
Kent, Timothy J. Birchbark. Canoes of the Fur Trade. Vol. I & II. Ossineke, Michigcan: 1997
Nute, Grace Lee. The Voyageur's Highway: Minnesota's Border Lake Land. St. Paul, Minnesota: The Minnesota Historical Society, 1969.
Selected Online Sources:
The Hudson's Bay Company Archives www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/
Kayaks and Skin Craft
Selected Bibliography
Adney, Edwin Tappan and Howard I. Chapelle. The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1964.
Arima, E.Y. (Editor). Contributions to Kayak Studies. Canadian Ethnology Service: Mercury Series, Paper 122. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1991.
Arima, E.Y., Inuit Kayaks in Canada: A Review of Historical Records and Construction, Based Mainly on the Canadian Museum of Civilization's Collection. Canadian Ethnology Service, Paper No. 110. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1987.
Brand, John. Part II of: The Little Kayak Book. Colchester, Essex: John Brand, 1987.
Brinck, Wolfgang. The Aleutian Kayak: origins, construction, and use of the traditional seagoing baidarka. Camden, Maine: Ragged Mountain Press, 1995.
Petersen, H.C. Instruction in Kayak Building. The Greenland Provincial Museum & The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.
Zimmerly, David W. Arctic Kayaks in Oracles. Archaeological Survey of Canada, 2000.
Selected Films
Kayak Construction and Use: Hopper Bay, Alaska, 1976-1977. Ottawa, Ontario: National Museum of Canada, 1978.
Between Generations: The Transference of Kayak Knowledge. Toronto, Ontario: Royal Ontario Museum, 1991.
Selected Online Sources
Canadian Museum of Civilization: "The Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic - From Ancient Times to 1902", text by Dr. David Morrison, Archaeological Survey of Canada http://www.civilization.ca/aborig/inuvial/indexe.html
Canadian Museum of Civilization: Wave Eaters Exhibit (Native Watercraft in Canada) www.civilization.ca/aborig/watercraft/wainteng.html
David Zimmerly's Arctic Kayak website. www.arctickayaks.com
Canadian Museum of Civilization: Arctic Kayaks Article in Oracles by David Zimmerly, Archaeological Survey of Canada
www.civilization.ca/cmc/archeo/oracles/kayak/11.htm
Wooden Canoes
Selected Bibliography
MacGregor, Roger. When The Chestnut Was In Flower: Inside the Chestnut Canoe. Plumsweep Press, 1999.
Neel, David. The Great Canoes: Reviving a Northwest Coast Tradition. Toronto, Ontario: Douglas & McIntyre, 1995.
Philip Shackleton & Kenneth G. Roberts. The Canoe: A History of the Craft from Panama to the Arctic. Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan of Canada, 1983.
Solway, Kenneth. The Story of the Chestnut Canoe: 150 Years of Canadian Canoe Building. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing Limited, 1997.
Jerry Stelmok & Rollin Thurlow. The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History , Construction, Restoration and Maintenance. Old Bridge Press, 1987.
Selected Online Sources
Bear Mountain Boat Shop www.bearmountainboats.com
Headwater Wooden Boat Shop www.headwatercanoe.com
Wooden Canoes Heritage Association www.wcha.org
Builders & Restorers
Please note that the Museum neither recommends nor endorses builders. This information is provided for your convenience only.
Birch Bark Builders
Aaron York (Abenaki builder)
Telephone: (514) 639-6811
Tom Byers
Telephone: (705) 692-9658
John Lindman
Telephone: (727) 442-6391
Bill Novacek
Telephone: (603) 788-2019
David Gidmark
P.O. Box 26, Maniwaki, P.Q., Canada J9E 3B3
Rick Nash (Dorset Ontario)
Telephone: (705) 766-2924
Henri Vaillancourt
P.O Box 142, Greenville, New Hampshire U.S.A. 03048
E-mail: henri@birchbarkcanoe.net
Web site: www.birchbarkcanoe.net
Canoe and Kayak Builders
Note: This is a list of selected canoe and kayak builders in Ontario only. For a comprehensive list of Canadian and international wooden canoe builders & suppliers, visit The Wooden Canoe Heritage Association's web site at
www.wcha.org/buildsupply
Bear Mountain Boat Shop
Ted Moores and Joan Barrett
Peterborough, Ontario
Telephone: (705) 740-0470
Email: info@bearmountainboats.com
Web site: www.bearmountainboats.com
- instructions and plans for building canoes and kayaks
- canoe and kayak building courses
- Sprint racing canoes C4-C15
- Model strip canoes and canoe kits
- Repair and restoration of canoes, kayaks and boats
Fred Forster
1144 Main St.
Box 162
Keene, Ontario KOL 2GO
Telephone: (705) 295-4832
- builder of wood/canvas canoes
- repair and restorations
Headwater Wooden Boat Shop
Dick and Karin Persson
1910 John Street (Lakehurst Rd)
P.O. Box 254
Buckhorn, Ontario KOL 1JO
Telephone: (705) 657-2601
E-mail: boat@headwatercanoe.com
Web site: www.headwatercanoe.com
- builders of wood/canvas and cedar strip epoxy canoes, kayaks and small boats
- repair, restoration and recanvas of canoes
- canoe accessories and custom wood working
Ruch Canoes
Will Ruch
Minett Post Office
Muskoka, Ontario P0B 1G0
Telephone: (705) 765-5390
Fax: (705) 765-6419
- traditionally built cedar canvas canoes
- new canoes based on early Peterborough designs, 15', 16' & solo versions
- restoration of all wood canoes
Waussnodae Canoes
Ron and Linda Squires
R.R. 4
Lakefield, Ontario KOL 2HO
Telephone: (705) 654-3796
- builders of wood/canvas and cedar strip canoes and rowing skiffs
- repair, restoration and recanvas of canoes
Windy Ridge Canoes
Susan and Michael Butz
Box 645
Haliburton, Ontario KOM 1SO
Telephone: (705) 457-1771, (705) 457-1596
- builders of wood/canvas and all-wood cedar strip canoes and rowing skiffs
Voyageur Canoe Co. Ltd.
Glenn Fallis
3 King Street
Millbrook, Ontario LOA 1GO
Telephone: (705) 932-2131
E-mail: voyageur@nexicom.net
Web site: www.voyageurcanoe.com
- manufacturers of canoes 12-36 feet, including 40-foot dragon boats
- restorations, repairs, recanvassing
- canoe building supplies and accessories
Historic Information
Roger MacGregor
Box 321
Lansdowne, Ontario KOE 1LO
Telephone: (613) 659-3629
Dick Persson
Headwater Wooden Boat Shop
1910 John Street (Lakehurst Rd)
P.O. Box 254
Buckhorn, Ontario KOL 1JO
Telephone: (705) 657-2601
Email: boat@headwatercanoe.com
Web site: www.headwatercanoe.com
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