--feature
in summer recreation, and having been a light canoeist for nearly fifty
years, during the last twenty of which I experimented much with the
view of reducing weight, perhaps I can give some hints that may help a
younger man in the selection of a canoe which shall be safe, pleasant
to ride and not burdensome to carry.

Let me promise that, up to four years ago, I was never able to get a
canoe that entirely satisfied me as to weight and model. I bought the
smallest birches I could find; procured a tiny Chippewa dugout from
North Michigan and once owned a kayak. They were all too heavy and they
were cranky to a degree.

About twenty years ago I commenced making my own canoes. The
construction was of the simplest; a 22 inch pine board for the bottom,
planed to 3/4 of an inch thickness; two wide 1/2 inch boards for the
sides and two light oak stems; five pieces of wood in all. I found that
the bend of the siding gave too much shear; for instance, if the siding
was 12 inches wide, she would have a rise of 12 inches at stems and
less than 5 inches at center. But the flat bottom made her very stiff,
and for river work she was better than anything I had yet tried. She
was too heavy, however, always weighing from 45 to 50 pounds and
awkward to carry.

My last canoe of this style went down the Susquehanna with an ice jam
in the spring of '79, and in the meantime canoeing began to loom up.
The best paper in the country which makes outdoor sport its specially,
devoted liberal space to canoeing, and skilled boatbuilders were
advertising canoes of various models and widely different material. I
commenced interviewing the builders by letter and studying catalogues
carefully. There was a wide margin of choice. You could have lapstreak,
smooth skin, paper, veneer, or canvas. What I wanted was light weight
and good model. I liked the Peterboro canoes; they were decidedly
canoey. Also, the veneered Racines: but neither of them talked of a 20
pound canoe. The "Osgood folding canvas" did. But I had some knowledge
of canvas boats. I knew they could make her down to 20 pounds. How much
would she weigh after being in the water a week and how would she
behave when swamped in the middle of a lake, were questions to be
asked, for I always get swamped. One builder of cedar canoes thought he
could make me the boat I wanted, inside of 20 pounds, clinker-built and
at my own risk, as he hardly believed in so light a boat. I sent him
the or