Bear Mountain Boats
362 County Rd 10 K0G 1X0 Westport, ON, Canada

We were curious to see what our most popular post of 2020 was, so we looked it up - Svein Løvaas' Rob Roy, shared back in May, took that prize. It's a solo model seen less frequently, with gorgeous bookmatched decks and an absolutely beautiful finish, so it definitely deserves to be revisited. Congrats again, Svein!

"Dear Sir, -I have examined your sectional canoe, and consider it convenient and serviceable for those travelling to the Klondike." Love turning up these examples of invention and experimentation by turn-of-the-century wooden canoe builders.

Picking up the C4 progress shots where we left off last month: having marked the sheer line and roughed it out with a chisel, Ted smooths off the excess with a router.

Ted is hard at work on a C4 for Club de Canoë-Kayak Lac-Beauport. Here he's using one of his "cheap tricks" - a jig that helps him mark the sheer line by transferring the shape from the inside of the hull to the outside. Coming together nicely!

With all the beautiful accent strips and inlay work builders shared recently, we thought it would be interesting to post Ted's method of making a feature plank. This article is pulled from Kayakcraft, but the technique works equally well for canoes. Check it out if you're pondering some customizations to your design: https://www.bearmountainboats.com//making-a-feature-plank-

A very handsome compass rose inlay, courtesy of Trent Smith. This is one of two kayak builds by Trent and his wife, based on designs by the good folks at Chesapeake Light Craft.

Admiring the view of Viktor Nagy’s handsome canoe from above. Thanks Viktor!

We're back! The first post of the year goes to Bruce Agan, who launched his new canoe December 6. Gunwales, deck, seats, and paddles were made using ash from Bruce's own property. If you've finished a project recently or have one in the works, we'd love to see it. Once again, many thanks to everyone who shared their photos and stories in 2020!

Joan gives a little demonstration of what goes into the scale model canoe kit. These make an excellent gift, but with shipping demands even more challenging than usual this time of year, we do recommend ordering soon if you've got your eye on one! Here's the link: https://www.bearmountainboats.com/products/scale-model-canoe

Time for a holiday! We're taking a break from social media after today, returning January 4. Please call or email instead if you need to get in touch before then. Here's how Ted and I will be spending the break: the self-isolation schedule has been arranged so we can spend time with the grandkids building a wooden toboggan out of eastern white cedar from Bancroft. It's an opportunity to show them how steambending works, and a lasting gift will come out of it. They love Calvin and Hobbs and we are sure this is the inspiration. Ted said when he built his first canoe he knew nothing about steam bending so he buried the wood for the stems in a swamp - and was surprised when they broke! Hope everyone gets a break after a long year, and thanks so much for your support of our small business in 2020!

The Cottage Cruiser is a lovely canoe we don’t see enough of. It has Prospector DNA, with some stability trade-off for speed and agility, and good performance across a range of conditions. Steve DeYoung and partner have just laid the whisky strip in a very fine example!

30 feet of canoe means a lot of varnishing... This Ted's latest C15 war canoe, built for Club de canoë kayak Pointe-Claire.

When I shared Simon Prochaska's Bob's Special back in June, the focus was on the beautiful teak decks. Now it's time to marvel at the finished product.

Going for a serious throwback today, all the way to 1899. This is a freighter canoe, probably a Peterborough, in central Alberta. North West Mounted Police superintendent H.C. Forbes is riding in the middle. This is taken from Ted's chapter in The Canoe: A Living Tradition, illustrating the rapid spread of manufactured canoes.

The Redbird is best suited to seasoned builders and experienced paddlers, but for those ready for a challenge it's one beautiful canoe. This is Kirk Fredericks' work in progress.

John Hendren and his friend Paul Brochu teamed up to build a kayak each for their daughters (John’s is the one with the darker coating). Congrats guys - your daughters are lucky to have such beautiful gifts!

I forgot to add this one to Viktor Nagy's Prospector collection last week! The canoe as timeless fashion accessory.

Viktor Nagy of Hungary makes a very fine-looking canoe! Woods include mahogany and larch. I like the touch of Canadiana too.

We usually get asked for varnish recommendations a few times a month, so for the record: this is what Ted’s using on all his current building projects. He likes working with the Pettit, but has had good experience with Epifanes too!

So excited to announce the 3 winners of our 50th Anniversary Contest! 1st prize winner Ian Walker from Newfoundland and Labrador, 2nd prize winner Cameron Holla...nds from Ontario and 3rd prize winner Jennifer Pulvermacher from Wisconsin! Thanks to all who participated by voting or submitting entries. We’re so humbled by the support we’ve received in our 50th year, in spite of Covid-19 and the various challenges it has presented us with. Thank you! #novacraftcanoe See more

Another Crodino- plank

We're very impressed by the aesthetics of Sebastian Rapp's Prospector 16. Made from locally sourced pine and ash and with a slightly modified hull shape, it'd be impressive even without the paint job. This canoe is going to get a lot of admiring looks at the put in!