Even though I missed the
2014 WCHA assembly again this year, some of the attendees have shared wonderful photos of all the canoeing fun. Jim Wilson recently uploaded a
Flickr album of much of the action, including one of the long-standing traditions at the Assembly...the
Paddle-by. Participants cruise by one-by-one showcasing their wooden boats.
I recognized a few paddling friends, most notably Pam Wedd of
Bearwood Canoes. Pam was the wonderful instructor for my
own build course way back in '08! She brought along a new
14' Gerrish Replica in a pretty turquoise colour.
Photo Courtesy of Jim Wilson
Equally stunning was Craig Johnson paddling his 15' canoe (also built at Pam's shop in Parry Sound, ON). Craig makes gorgeous paddles as well (see previous posts
here and
here). This particular one is sassafras Northwoods style with an indented grip, distinct blade spine and a unique copper tip.
Photo Courtesy of Jim Wilson
Craig had posted more of his beautiful sassafras creations on the
WCHA forums a while back.
Craig Johnson's Sassafras Paddles
He's also come up with a pretty innovative way of mounting copper tips onto the blade end. A photo sequence of the basic process is found is this
thread here.
Craig's Copper Tips
After having some serious sassafras envy, Craig was kind enough to mill some 5/4 Sassafras boards and sent them along with paddling friend Rob Stevens back home to me. Very much appreciated!
new 5/4 stock
Between this haul and Graham Warren's
new paddle design book, I'm getting all sorts of ideas for some new creations.
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