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J a. 'Building canoes the old fash In an age where the next advance in technology is just a fibre optic away, there are still some people who do things the old-fashioned way. * ke Dearborn and Jim Cha for example. Dearborn, who lives near Nestleton, and Chatsick, a resident of Port Hope, have been ardent canoeists for years. And théy have turned this love of canoes and the water into a business that is starting to thrive, About 15 years ago, they began repairing canoes and that start led six years later to the formation of a comp to hand using the finest materials possible. The KiJik Canoe Company is now building about eight each year, as well as some 15 restorations KiJik (pronounced Kee-jik) is the Algonquin Indian word for cedar. Indians tonsidered cedar the tree of life, and in fact tea made from cedar bark was widely used to cure scurvy. It takes about 75 hours of patient labour d a cedar canvas , and both said last week it is *a labour of "We hi do and would rather build cedar canvas canoes by ng we really get paid for it than watch ™v< Canoe buliding partners Mike Dearborn (kneeling) and Jim Chatsick In front of one of and not get paid" said Dearborn last webk in an interview with the Citizen at his"workshop near Nestleton. Of course, the cedar canvas canoe has a fabled tradition in Ontario waters going back" | more than a century. The design and construction of canvas over cedar was first developed when birch-bark began to get harder to find. Dearborn 'and Chatsick learned the basics of cedar and canvas canoe building from the legendary Omer Stringer; a guide, outfitter, dst and ter builder. Stringer was a good friend of hastick's father in the llaloe area of central KWik cedar canvas canoes. In photo at top you can see what the canoe looks Jike construction before the canvas is stretched over it. NOTICE fo ALL CUSTOMERS Ontario Hydro is undergoing a series of changes to keep costs under control and the following changes are * EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY , at the Bowmanville (Lakeshore) office : @® Cash payments for bills will no longer bé accepted. A depesit box has been provided for your cheque and tear-off portion of your bill. J @ All billing inquiries should be directed to 1-800-263-2070. @ All Electrical Inspection inquiries should be directed to 1-705-745-3236. ® Customers needing information about lines, forestry or customer service, please call 623-2561. @ In the event of power outages, please call, day or night, 623-2561 or 1-800-263-8028. CENTRAL ONTARIO ELECTRIC ONTARIO HYDRO "KiJik as a panoes." Ontario. " After learning the bagics from this master, the partners added a few refinements of their own and are now building 16, 16 and 17-foot models which are deep and stable, strong, durable, and Hght-weight. But meré than that, thby look fantastic. In fact, Chatsick proudly refers to a "Cadillac of The seats; thwarts, outer gunwales, and the paddles are hand-fashioned from black For the inner gunwales and the stem, white ash is used. The ribs and the sheathing are of white cedar, a wood that is not only very buoyant and light, but also has natural preseryatives thut keep it "Li ht-weight canvas is ] over the craft, then treated with a "special ingredient" to waterproof and preserve it for up to 40 years. The partners politely declined to reveal what's in this special ingredient, but said it works. The canvas is then "cured" for four week before outer coat of paint is applied and the several coats of varnish to the interior. The final product is a'cance that not only does what it's supposed to do in the water, but turns heads as well. Dearborn said there are not too many builders of cedar canvas canoes still working at this craft. But his greatest fear is not #0 much that the craft will die out some time in the future, but that the materials used in construction will no longer be available, For the small brass tacks (about 2200 in each canoe) are getting hard to find and can only be bought in 12 kg. boxes as a minimum ned wa order. Likewise with the white cedar. Dearborn and Chatsick now buy this wood from amill in the Ottawa Valley, but the number of sources is getting r all the time. Any canoeist knows that weight is a crucial factor, especially when portages are part of the adventure. KiJik Canoes weigh from 55 (the 15 foot length) to 65 pounds for thé 17 footer. 'The secret is the light-weight canvas and about eight pounds less fillers. KiJik Canoe customers are found all over Ontario. « Dearborn said the typical ner'is someone who has done a lot of canoeing, wants a solid, durable canoe, but is attracted to the KiJik by such things as the ck cherry 'wood, the ha ned seats, and the fact that so much of the construction is done the traditional way--by hand. When the partners get away for a bit of canoeing of their, own somewhere in Ontario," their canoes always seem to attract attention. KiJik canoes are not cheap by any means, but at $100 per foot, the customer gets a lot of "have full-time jobs at Dupont, but once they retire hope. to get into building canoes full- time, and perhaps setting up a guiding-outfitting business in the Ottawa Valley. But that's all in the future. In the meantime, they will continue to build canoes and paddles, fix and restore the old-fashioned way. And there's one other thing they do the old-fashioned way--stand behind their work with a lifetime guarantee. KiJik Canoes will have a booth at Canoe Expo 94, April 8-10in Etobicoke.