During the fur trade era, large 36 – 42 foot “canot de maître” or Montreal canoes traveled across the great lakes with cargo approaching 9000 pounds per canoe. Near Duluth Minnesota at “GRAND PORTAGE” the loads were broken down into smaller canoes called “canot du Nord” , North canoes or Selkirk Canoes which typically carried a crew of 4. They ranged between 22 and 25 feet long. Our eight seat canoes are the scale of the fur trade era “north canoes”. Historically, there were many north canoes travelling back and forth along the rivers that run through Winnipeg.
Why your party of 6 to 8 paddlers might prefer our single 22 foot canoe over three or four smaller tandem canoes?
- Paddling our big canoe is a unique opportunity not experienced by many in this generation of river goers. Surly the memory of time spent paddling this elegant craft will be etched in every ones memory.
- This canoe is much wider and more stable than a modern tandem canoe. This width offers a degree of security to those who tend to find themselves a little uncomfortable in smaller watercraft.
- Keeping everyone together in one boat really adds to the camaraderie or social aspect of the journey.
- Slower canoeists can never get left behind or forced to spend their time struggling to catch up.
