Cedar Strip Canoes

Chestnut Prospector

This "workhorse of the North" was designed in Canada to meet the specific needs of the prospector - good maneuverability through whitewater and wilderness, with capacity to carry substantial loads. The Prospector features a flattened, shallow arch hull with it's fullness carried into the bow and stern, increased depth amidships to maintain freeboard, and deepened ends to keep paddlers and gear dry. The rockered keel-line makes it very maneuverable in whitewater. This is the favored canoe of Bill Mason, Canada's premier paddler: "It is amazing that such a large-volume tripping canoe can also be so beautiful to paddle solo in the leaned position - canoe ballet, as I call it. It is the ideal all-around canoe." - from Canoecraft by Ted Moores & Merilyn Mohr. Specifications: Length - 16 ft Width - 34 inches Weight - approx. 58-62 lbs. Price - $5000

E. M. White

The E. M. White "Guide" canoe was developed over 100 years ago to preserve the traditional designs of Indian birch canoes as used on the Penobscot River in Maine. This canoe is the "closest thing to an all- around canoe that is beautiful to look at as well as functional", according to Gil Gilpatrick in Building a Strip Canoe. The E. M. White design is broad and deep and very stable with or without a heavy cargo. This is the canoe my wife and I take each year on our week long trip around the Keeweenaw peninsula in Lake Superior. It is an excellent choice for big water when a lot of gear will be taken. It is a very comfortable canoe to paddle for days at a time on extended trips. Specifications: Length - 18 ft 6 inches Width - 34 inches Weight - approx. 70-72 lbs. Price - $5000

Redbird

This Bear Mountain design is an efficient wilderness canoe that has proved exceptionally seaworthy, even in the heavy seas around the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St, Lawrence. Its keelless shallow-arched hull with moderate rocker combines with a long water line and fine entry to make it a fast responsive boat. The bow and stern profile are reminiscent of the Long Nose Ojibwa Rice Harvesting canoe. The sides are moderate tumble home for improved lateral strength and allow out wales wide enough to turn aside waves and spray. As one delighted owner reported, this boat is very "sweet in the water - an excellent touring and tripping canoe." - from Canoecraft, by Ted Moores and Merilyn Mohr. Specifications: Length - 17 ft 6 inches Width - 33 inches Weight - approx. 52-56 lbs. Price - $5000

Hiawatha

This Bear Mountain design has a look that is as traditional as its name, its sheer-line and bow profile harking back to conform to the most up-to-date concepts in paddling efficiency. The hull is a shallow arch with a moderately flat keel-line that flows into a shallow vee to become a fine deep vee at the bow for directional stability, speed and maneuverability. The vee is carried as far back as possible so that it acts like a keel for tracking. As a general purpose or light tripping canoe, it was designed in the tradition of contemporary American cruisers, achieving its optimum waterline shape when paddled level, not keeled over. - from Canoecraft, by Ted Moores & Merilyn Mohr. Specifications: Length - 15 ft Width - 34 inches Weight - approx. 48-50 lbs. Price - $5000