Seliga Canoe
History
Among Joe's first experiences with canoe "building"
was the repair of his
father's B.N. Morris canoe after it was damaged in the Boundary
Waters. Most people would have thought it was damaged beyond
repair, but after much thoughtful
consideration about how to perform the needed repairs, Joe
successfully repaired it .
A few years later, based on the
knowledge he gained from the repair of the B.N. Morris canoe, Joe began
what would become a lifelong journey of canoe building that would
result in Joe being recognized as a master canoe builder.
Joe Seliga's canoes continue to be
made of wood and canvas, just as they have been throughout most of
his more than six decades of canoe building. During that time Joe has built over 600
canoes.
For those of you interested in more
history, recommended reading is the book The Art of the Canoe
with Joe Seliga, available at bookstores and sporting goods
stores.
Some historic highlights:
-
1938 - Joe built his first canoe
- a 16' square stern
-
1938 - Built first double end
canoe - a 16' built over a 15' B.N. Morris canoe
-
1941 - Built first 17' canoe -
built over a modified 15' B.N. Morris canoe with extended ends
-
1946 - Joe built his first canoe
form - an 18 footer
-
1948 - Began building 16' canoes
again - lighter to carry for campers
-
1950 - Revised the 18' form to
17'
-
1953 into 1964 - used
fiberglass/poly instead of canvas - to eliminate canvas filler
cure time
-
1959 - Built nine all fiberglass
canoes - no wood
-
1964 - Went back to canvas
covering
-
1994 - February 4 a fire
destroyed Joe's shop - Joe rebuilt the shop and was building
canoes again by September
(Sincere thanks to Dan Lindberg for information
from which the historic highlights were obtained)
