Original Hand Made Birch Bark Canoes for Sale:

This section of my website is dedicated to my long time friend Charlie Harris and his loyal friend Smokey who spend their days appreciating nature and building birch bark canoes so they can paddle around the lakes and ponds of Northern Maine. These hand fashioned birch bark canoes are built in the true tradition of the Native American Tribes who so cleverly designed these fabulous watercraft.

On the pages associate with this section of my site, you will see some remarkable works of craftsmanship with specifications, prices, contact information, and any additional information pertaining to a particular canoe if you should be interested in owning a piece of history.

The hand crafted canoes (like the one pictured above) are constructed from all natural materials of birch bark, cedar, and spruce. The thwarts (cross braces) of all canoes are constructed of birch. Ribs, gunwales, pegs, planking and headboards are made of white cedar. The gunwales and top rails of the canoes are lashed together with spruce root. All of the seams are pitched with spruce gum and lard. These canoes are constructed avoiding any use of nails or glue in the final construction. The two-fathom canoe like the one shown above, will carry two passengers with all of their provisions. The image above shows Chuck and Smokey with a combined weight of over 200 pounds. The freeboard in the picture shows how light in the water these canoes are. The canoe Chuck and Smokey are shown in above won the 'Best in Birch Class' award in the Annual Wooden Canoe Festival in Millinocket.

A still photographic documentary on building brich bark canoes can be seen here.

SPECIFICATIONS

If you have an interest in purchasing this canoe you may contact the builder directly by mail at:

Charlie Harris

PO Box 362

Millinocket, Maine 04462

Or, you may also contact me through email and I will forward your contact information to Charlie. Be sure to include your mailing address and telephone number.