Canoe-building tradition continues on Moosehead ‘Doc’ Blanchard’s craftsmanship known worldwide

March and April are hangdog times on Moosehead Lake. Winter is about over. The bracing fresh scent of open water is in the air but, often, the ice is still in. You can’t do much outdoors because it’s mud season, yet you’re antsy enough to cause fur to fly. So what to do?

During these in-between months, Harold “Doc” Blanchard is one of the few left in the region who uses this time to build wood and canvas canoes. Building a wooden canoe from scratch takes time, patience, a little nest egg and some space. But the effort is invaluable. The finished product is a work of unsurpassable beauty and grace, guts and strength that has come from your own two hands. And early spring makes a perfect time to try this project out.

The wooden canoes from the Moosehead Lake region were often built in the months before trout-fishing season arrived, but became a cause of celebrity for a handful of respected craftsmen. The forms and canoes that came from Fred and Arthur Templeton, Harry Edgerly, “Boots” Levensellar, George Ayer and Fred Reckards trip off the tip of the tongue of those who still talk about the sturdy canoes that originated from Moosehead Lake. While these fellows have all gone to the great waters of the other side, today other craftsmen with very fine reputations, like Rollin Thurlow of nearby Atkinson and Jerry Stelmock, have stepped in. Some, like Doc, never made a business of canoe building, but made some very desirable ones as a hobby.

“I like doing this in the spring, when the snow’s melting. But if you make something a business – you don’t have the business, the business has you,” Doc is quick to point out.

The starting point for the building of a wooden canoe is getting your hands on a form. The form is the skeleton from which the canoe takes shape. Some craftsmen closely guard their form. Others will generously share it and their time with a beginner. If you know someone who will loan or rent you one, you’re all set. Making your own form can be expensive, but then you can have a unique design specific to your requirements. Form kits, materials, and plans for certain canoes can be purchased through Northwoods Canoe Company out of Atkinson. Depending on the length and style of the canoe you want, cost starts at around $2,000. From then on, you’ve got your own form, too.

That’s one way to start. Another way is to just take a deep breath and jump in on your own.

Many of the Moosehead old-timers did just that. Of his first canoe, Doc shrugs, “Well, I wanted one of my own, to do with what I wanted, so I built one.” It can be that simple. He built his first canoe from scratch more than 40 years ago. Before starting, he said he talked to everybody he could who had already built one. Then, with a good dose of Yankee enterprise, he gave it his best shot.

When Doc began his craft, there were a lot of forms stored in old sheds around the lake. At the time he said there was a lull in wooden canoe building. Fiberglass on canoes was just coming out. But with the likes of local businessman Phil Sanders, the owner of a form who was willing to make a reasonable deal with him, he started.

Doc likes to build with cedar, spruce and ash, though says it’s difficult to find clear cedar these days. His first canoe was a 20-footer built on a Fred Templeton form he rented from Sanders. After it was built he said he got an offer on it he couldn’t refuse, so sold it. There went his beauty. So he built another one. A friend admired it. So he built another one. The rest is history. He did manage to keep one for his annual fishing trip down the West Branch of the Penobscot River.

The craftsmanship of Doc’s canoes gained notice. He taught wood and canvas canoe building at Greenville High School in the evening. In his busiest year, he built 12 20-foot canoes one winter, six hulls in one month. Over the years, a Blanchard canoe won the national whitewater championships one year in Wisconsin and international ads centered on a client fly-fishing from the bow of one of his canoes. Word-of-mouth review of his canoes resulted in inquiries from as far away as Europe about the possibility of apprenticing with him. But the Maine biologist wasn’t interested. He just wanted to build canoes, on his own time, out of his small shop.

Doc says there are some beautiful plans available now and that the kits from Thurlow are very nice. The price can’t be beat. I have seen one craftsman in a southern state who makes just four canoes a year, but fetches upwards of $30,000 for one. To me, these are more works of art than a watercraft you’ve built for yourself to enjoy time and time again on your favorite trips. For the beginner, ask those with experience about the differences in canoes. What are you using it for? Rivers? Large lakes? Whitewater? The 20-footer is a real beauty, but may not be what you need.

Fashioned from the classic E.M. White form, Fred Templeton’s 20-footer had a flat bottom with wide ends that could carry a big load on a long trip, but it was not good for a motor. Arthur Templeton’s had an arched bottom, lower ends, was less wind-prone, and could handle a motor, though not carry as big a load. Blanchard’s is known for its speed and ease in paddling or poling. It just depends on what you want.

Outdoor writer Suzanne AuClair has been covering the Moosehead Lake region for the past eight years. She can be reached at suzauclair@prexar.com.