Antique Heirloom Canoes Lovingly Refurbished in Maine

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Antique Heirloom Canoes Lovingly Refurbished in Maine

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Sandy Bottom of Sands Pond, Denmark, Maine

by Leigh Macmillen Hayes
Do you have an old canoe that has fallen into disrepair sitting off to the side of your Maine lakefront cabin?
Daniel Eaton of smallboat shop on Hio Ridge in Denmark, Maine, is a craftsperson who lovingly restore these family heirlooms.
Dan is not only a craftsman, but also an archaeologist. The restoration process begins when he dismantles outer parts including gunwales, stem bands, outside stems and keel–labeling each item and every screw.



After setting the outer parts of the boat to the side, he takes off the old canvas skin and strips off any varnish. Sometimes, removing the finish reveals defects that weren’t obvious under all that old patina–fractured planks and cracked ribs are suddenly visible.
The restoration process is a long-term event, especially since it takes time to complete and reinstall repaired parts, including ribs that need to be steamed till they bend. Molds and patterns are made as necessary. A large sheet of canvas is prepared and stretched taut from end to end and side to side, then fastened to the canoe, a task that takes at least five hours. Filler is hand rubbed into the canvas. While it cures, which takes days on end, work continues on the gunwales, seats are stripped and re-caned if necessary, and other parts repaired or remade. The canvas is painted with several coats and sanded, outer pieces are reattached and the hull is sealed with a final coat of enamel. In keeping with the integrity and beauty of the boats, Dan tries to use as much of the original wood as possible and chooses to respect the historical accuracy.
Wood-and-canvas canoes are an evolution of the birchbark canoes built by Maine’s Native Americans as their chief means of transportation; they fished the coast during the summer months, then traveled upstream to hunt and trap. These boats constantly needed to be repaired, but in their defense, they were light enough for one person to carry and traveled swiftly through the water.
By the late 1800s, Maine guides and sportsmen were among the first to make use of wood-and-canvas canoes, which were being built over an upside down form with ribs first, then planks and canvas, opposite of the birchbark canoes, traditionally built from the outside in, bark then planking and ribs. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wood-and-canvas canoes represented some of the finest examples of American craftsmanship. Men such as Evan Gerrish, Bert Morris, Guy Carleton, E.M. White, Alfred Wickett, J.H. Rushton, C.P. Nutting, John Ralph Robertson and George Stephenson built them, many of which we now recognize as functional works of art.
Over the years, Dan has come to recognize subtleties about these antique boats that help him identify the creator. Evidence exists in the remains of the ribs, thwarts, and stems–fossils indicating who may have built the boat. Records for most companies no longer exist; but in Old Town canoes the length and serial number are stamped into the bow and stern stem and a build record, which states the year the boat was built, by whom, for whom and the original color, may be obtained.
On one occasion, a woman asked if a canoe that her parents had stored in a barn for 59 years was worth being repaired. Apparently her father had purchased the canoe second hand in 1947 and took his betrothed out on Highland Lake in Bridgton, where the canvas pulled away and the boat immediately sunk. He put the boat in the barn and there it remained, collecting dust. By the long decks, closed gunwales and small brass plaque Dan discovered it was a Nutting (they use the builder’s last name to identify boats) made in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Each discovery helps to increase his knowledge and understanding of canoes, their builders and subsequent owners. “They’re really beautiful boats,” says Dan. “They were made beautifully with great care and quality materials and in almost all cases you can bring them back to almost what they were.” Once restored, these antique heirlooms that showcase the American tradition of quality and workmanship can be handed down for generations.
For Dan, restoring these old canoes is a labor of love that involves both the romance of woodworking and the fascination of history.
To learn more about lakefront properties for sale in Denmark, Maine, click on the green box above.
To learn more about the Denmark area, check out the blog links below.
Hancock Pond and Sands Pond, Denmark, Maine – Two for One for Lakefront Property Owners
Moose Pond in Bridgton and Denmark, Maine, Offers Four Season, Lake Region Vacation Fun
Revised from an article written by Leigh Macmillen Hayes and previously published in Lake Living magazine.

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