[right] This is a classic canvas over wood Peterborough-style canoe. It was purchased in New Brunswick circa 1960, making it over 50 years old as of 2012 when these images were shot. I have a book on the history of the Chestnut Canoe company which offers the extremely interesting theory that the Peterborough and Chestnut Canoe companies, long thought to be great rivals among Canadian canoe manufacturers, were in fact different divisions of the same corporate structure. In other words, the entire Chestnut vs. Peterborough debate which raged between Canadian paddlers for decades was nothing more than a marketing hoax! Bear in mind that even if this is true - and the book I refer to makes a convincing case - this in no way implies that the quality of the Chestnut and Peterborough canoes was in any way compromised - they are in reality magnificant examples of a noble canoe-building tradition.

[left] My parents sailed this Vesper sailing canoe canoe for many years on 6th Lake, not very far at all from Twitchell. We cartopped it from their house in Webster to Ottowana in the summer of 2012. This will be it's new home for the forseeable future. Very twitchy, as Karen will attest.

[right] Some images of the Vesper under sail are linked here.

[right] Green Canoe and Vesper at the Ottowana dock.

[left] Alumacraft dinghy arriving at Ottowana dock with Stacey and Rich, summer 2012

[right] View of seven of our nine vessels summer 2012 (missing: Sea Eagle inflatable, lapstrake Wee Lassie). Front row, left to right: Alumacraft canoe, Hornbeck Wee Lassie, Necky kayak, LiquidLogic kayak. At dock, left to right: Vesper sailing canoe, Chestnut canoe, Alumacraft dinghy with 8 hp Johnson outboard.