Little bit of history...

I love this old building, this canoe company is the oldest in Ontario and the second oldest in Canada. Good thing they have a more modern operation built next door.
I blipped my way to North Bay today and stopped in Temagami, a little town of about 1,000, but in the summer it's a major tourist attraction.

*"Not much has changed, in hundreds of years, in building a canoe," he said. "The external shape is still formed the same way and instead of birch bark, we use canvas."

It takes about a month to construct a canoe, and about 2,200 tacks are used, with each struck six or seven times.

"That's as hand made as it gets."

He no longer cuts trees for the canoes and canvas is no longer made in Canada. But the labour intensive methods haven't changed. The sequential process of building a canoe requires that each step has to be done right and never cutting any corners. And after more than 30 years, Kilbridge still enjoys his work, lifestyle, and sharing the company's story with a stranger.