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Freighter Canoe Mi'kmaq
20' Freighter Canoe Mi'kmaq
It has been some 15 years now since I floated the Restigouche River in upper New Brunswick. Among the many
memorable things I saw on that trip was a Canadian freighter canoe. A truly utilitarian canoe with an eye towards
elegance.
As we drifted down the river with our guide, who claimed heritage to the Mi'kmaq tribe, I had some time to talk with him
about these magnificent canoes and he was a wealth of information. Apparently these canoes were quite popular on
the rivers in this area for getting up and down the river with equipment for fishing and hunting and simply taking the
tourists for a site seeing tour.
In general, these boat maintain the general shape of a canoe, albeit a good deal larger. People tend to talk about A
Freighter canoe is a good deal wider, ranging from about 48" to 56" depending on the length of the canoe and the
bottom shape tends to be fairly flat. Though I have heard of some people using motors upwards of 50 hp on these
boats, anything over 25 hp on this boat is dangerous and entirely unnecessary.
When built to specification, this hull should approximate 200 lbs and move along smartly with a 10 hp engine as long
as it is not fighting too strong a current. If you are looking for a smaller version of this boat you can take a look at our
16' freighter canoe.
Our design encourages the installation of a water tight bulkhead in the front of the boat with ample opportunity for
additional flotation throughout if required.
We would like to thank Lorraine and Dave Klassen for providing some pictures for us. They are preparing for a trip
down the Columbia River.
It has been some 15 years now since I floated the Restigouche River in upper New Brunswick. Among the many
memorable things I saw on that trip was a Canadian freighter canoe. A truly utilitarian canoe with an eye towards
elegance.
As we drifted down the river with our guide, who claimed heritage to the Mi'kmaq tribe, I had some time to talk with him
about these magnificent canoes and he was a wealth of information. Apparently these canoes were quite popular on
the rivers in this area for getting up and down the river with equipment for fishing and hunting and simply taking the
tourists for a site seeing tour.
In general, these boat maintain the general shape of a canoe, albeit a good deal larger. People tend to talk about A
Freighter canoe is a good deal wider, ranging from about 48" to 56" depending on the length of the canoe and the
bottom shape tends to be fairly flat. Though I have heard of some people using motors upwards of 50 hp on these
boats, anything over 25 hp on this boat is dangerous and entirely unnecessary.
When built to specification, this hull should approximate 200 lbs and move along smartly with a 10 hp engine as long
as it is not fighting too strong a current. If you are looking for a smaller version of this boat you can take a look at our
16' freighter canoe.
Our design encourages the installation of a water tight bulkhead in the front of the boat with ample opportunity for
additional flotation throughout if required.
We would like to thank Lorraine and Dave Klassen for providing some pictures for us. They are preparing for a trip
down the Columbia River.
Along with the building plans and patterns we make the Bay Hawk DVD
set available which will guide you through the stripping process and also
show the installation of the front bulkhead.
If this is your first wood stripper, we highly recommend getting the DVD
with the plans.
Length = 20' LOA
Beam = 54"
Weight @ 200 Lbs
Power up to 25 HP
