The Canoe Project

During the summer of 1986, Laurie and I purchased our first non-inflatable water craft. It was a Stillwater model canoe made by the E.M White company, which we bought from Green's Marine in Hooksett, NH. The sum total for our new "luxury liner" was $350.00, a small fortune to us at the time, but it did come with two paddles, two orange life jackets and four of those foam thingies you use to carry the canoe on the roof of your car. The marina also threw in some rope.

Our first ten years or so of ownership saw a considerable amount of time spent in that canoe and from "ice out" to "ice in" you could usually find it on the top of my truck when not in the water. That poor canoe got used, abused and plain beat up during that time.  It had been on lakes, rivers and ponds from one end of NH to the other, used for fishing, funning and in one instance even entered in a canoe race, which I might add, my friend Brian and I came damn close to winning if we hadn't been passed by just about everybody else.

Eventually, the years of use began to take their toll which were initially made manifest by a cracked bottom brace. Thinking it was of no consequence at the time I continued to use the canoe which not surprisingly led to another brace cracking and then of course the same for the last brace.
Somewhere along the way we purchased a boat, and later another boat, and even later another boat, all resulting in the mis-use, dis-use, and complete neglect of the canoe.

However, not willing to part with the canoe completely, I did what any good New England canoe owner would do: I set it off to the side of the house along the edge of the wood-line where the woods then proceeded to grow in around it. Except for one failed attempt at a quick fix that son Ben and I attempted so that we could get out fishing, and where, the canoe began to "oil can" so badly that it was even odds that we'd make it back to shore upright, the canoe stayed in the woods for many years.

       The bracing in the canoe bottom was made of balsa core wrapped in fiberglass.                                    All three braces cracked resulting in a complete lack of stability in the canoe.     The round holes are screw holes from the "quick fix".

                         

                             I managed to save some of the wood work, only needing to make new handles
                             and spacers.


The Wedding:

Late summer of 2017, Molly and Matt in preparation for their upcoming wedding asked if they could use the canoe as a beer cooler at the wedding reception. After confirming that yes they were serious, I attacked the woods with loppers and buck saw, sprayed a can of Raid underneath the canoe in case of hornets and then carved it from it's tangled tomb.
Once freed, I hosed the canoe off, cleaned it out and realised much to my surprise that the canoe was in better shape than I expected. Perhaps more adequate repairs could be attempted. Upon completion of the festivities I carted the canoe back to the house where I began preparing for the repairs.

The Wedding Cooler

                                                         At home awaiting repairs

The Repairs:

The first order of business was to cut out the busted braces. I used a dremel tool with a cutting wheel to make the cuts and scraped out the remaining crud with putty knives and chisels. I did some sanding to smooth out the rough edges to prepare the area for new braces.

Next, it was time to install the new braces. I thought about using new balsa core but when it priced out at roughly $400.00 per sheet I decided exterior grade plywood would be good enough.  I cut the plywood to the same specs as the old braces, wrapped the new pieces in fiberglass, and then set them into place. A few more layers of glass to secure them in place and we were in business.

                                                       Braces installed awaiting paint

I painted the braces with a hideous metallic silver paint which was described on the can as having the appearance of sea glass something or other. It did not. Thankfully I took no pictures of it.

Now it was time to flip the canoe over and work on the outside. The canoe was covered with finish cracks, stress cracks and a few small holes all needing attention. It was also going to require a new paint job. I began by sanding the entire exterior to expose the cracks, then using a fine bit on the dremel tool I opened the cracks wider. The purpose of this was to ensure that I was addressing all of the damage and by widening them they would be able to accept some body filler.

                                                       Sanded and cracks opened up

Most of the cracks were handled with body filler but some of the more stressed and weakened areas required something stronger. For this I turned to a glass reinforced filler. Then I sanded and I sanded some more. Then when I was done sanding I sanded some more. Then I finished up with more sanding.

This was as far as I got when Bird Season 2017 arrived so I put away the tools, packed up the truck and headed to the camp. I enjoyed a couple of weeks of good bird hunting but when the weather report announced that warm weather was moving in I knew I had a small window of opportunity to get the canoe painted.

The Paint Job:

The paint I chose for this project was Rustoleum oil based enamel in Hunter Green. I used the "roll & tip" method to apply the paint. The paint is thinned out with a small amount of thinner, then working in small sections at a time, the paint is applied with a small roller then lightly brushed with just the tips of the bristles of a quality brush. I had never tried this before but overall I was pleased with the results.

                                          The blue stuff is painters tape to protect the gunnels.

I didn't do any more work on the canoe until the later part of fall toward the end of November.  I cut some new handles, sanded down the wood work, gave it all a coat of stain and then topped it off with some varnish.

The following week I wove the seats using polypropylene webbing and then set them aside until Spring.

When Christmas season arrived we were looking for some decorating ideas and came up with this brainstorm.

                                                 Re-purposing the canoe for Christmas

Spring finally arrived and I was able to finish the canoe. Using the original hardware I was able to save, I installed the seats and handles. The project was done just awaiting warmer water temperatures.  One thing led to another and it wasn't until this past weekend that we got to actually put the canoe in the water.  We headed over to visit my folks where Gerron and I took the canoe out for a ride and to do a little fishing. This was Gerron's first time in a canoe so we spent some time just getting comfortable in it and showing him how to paddle. He was a natural and really enjoyed being out on the water in it.

                                                         Inside the finished canoe

                                                         Getting used to the motion

                                                             Learning to paddle

                                                            We're off and running

                                                                  Time to fish


Thanks for following along.

Ken

Ode To A Snowblower

Ode to a Snowblower
                      by Ken Belanger (2/9/2016)

You started on the first pull, after the storm today
Much the same as you have done, every other snowy day
You dug right in and cleared a path, for all to use and see
My mighty Ariens snowblower, how fond I am of thee

We met about ten years ago, you were new and shiny clean
Bright orange paint that caught my eye, the prettiest thing I'd seen
Brand new tires, six forward gears and two more for reverse
A big bright light to use at night, on the snow that we dispurse

You could be treated better, but never do you complain
Gas and oil is all you ask, and then you run again,
Ice and rocks and bones and socks, even rope and gardening twine
Have found their way into your chute, but you handled them just fine

I admit that once or twice, there were shear pins to replace
No fault of yours, I blame you not, for my at times ambitious pace
But over all after all these years, you continue to come through
My mighty Ariens snowblower, oh how I cherish you

Last Day of Woodcock Season

Another enjoyable day in the woods today with absolutely gorgeous weather. It's the last day of woodcock season and I didn't feel like raking leaves again.  We only went out for a couple of hours to a nearby covert that gets absolutely pounded with hunting pressure but we still managed to find some birds.

Gunner found a couple of woodcock for me and he was nice and steady with rock solid points. Unfortunately one of them headed out over the water so I had to pass on the shot, since Gunner doesn't do water retrieves. But he ran really well for me and I could not have been more pleased with him.

I ran Chunk next and I swear he just keeps getting more and more fun to hunt behind. All of that Churchie Kennel training has certainly paid off for us. He managed to find two grouse which really surprised me because as I mentioned this place gets a lot of pressure. He was steady on both birds but unfortunately I missed them. On one of the misses I actually, really did have the sun in my eyes, I swear...

Gally did not make the trip today, she was enjoying some alone time.
She has been the top dog so far this season, so today we let the boys catch up a little. The rest of the season will be grouse only and it will be all hands on deck. Goodness but this stuff is addicting..

Enjoy your day,

Ken

Home Again

Another week up at the camp is in the books. I got some bird hunting in, a little bit of work done, and enjoyed some quiet nights reading by the fire. I spent one of the days on a run up to Baxter and saw a snow covered Katahdin, looking splendid and majestic.

The Setters continue to hunt really well for me. and I couldn't help but reflect on how it doesn't seem all that long ago that Laurie and I were working them on check-cords and introducing them to birds. Now they hunt at a comfortable range, are steady on their birds and just make for a really enjoyable hunt.

Chunk is Chunk, no other way to describe it. He's lovable, energetic and eager to please. He doesn't fuss, doesn't complain and is always ready to go. He is fun and easy to hunt with. All I need is a whistle and a gun and we're off.

Although we haven't been finding a great number of birds, we did find enough to keep things fun and interesting. The dogs get every bit of the credit for that. As usual my shooting could have been better, but I still managed to spray enough shot into the air to be successful.

As I started the drive for home, I hadn't gotten very far when four grouse flew across my path giving me the single digit salute. Oh well, I'll get them next year. The rest of this season will be spent hunting the home coverts and enjoying more of the outdoors and the dogs.

Enjoy your Autumn,

Ken

Report From Camp - Week One

I just got back from a fun filled week of bird hunting up at the camp. The bird numbers weren't great but the dogs found enough each day to keep things interesting. I was especially pleased with how well the Setters were doing, considering that I hadn't worked them at all during the off season with the exception of some light conditioning. Gunner and Gally were nice and steady on their birds and provided me with several shot opportunities. Chunk did his part during his runs and was steady as well on his finds. It was really satisfying to see all of the hard work and training we had done all year payoff now in the woods. I want to give a big shout out to Steve Church, Lori and Brice Guile and everyone at Churchie Kennel & Gundog Training for their help all year.

Heat was a factor we had to endure all week and limited us to mostly hunting during the morning hours. All of the birds we found were woodcock with the exception of a partridge that was waiting for us back at the camp, sunning himself on our dock. I spent a couple of afternoons picking away at the culvert in the road which the beavers have dammed up. I managed to get a little water flowing through it but we're going to have some serious flooding issues next Spring.

The highlight of the week was an invitation Chunk and I received to do some training with friend and fellow bird dog enthusiast, Vern Knapp, who lives nearby. We had two fun filled evenings there along with Vern's wife Chris and friends Sheryl and Jimmy Mayo as we ran Chunk on pheasants. I had a great time and learned some things as well. My heartfelt thanks go out to the Knapp's and Mayo's for giving up their time to work with me.

The week was capped off hunting with Vern as we checked out a covert I had visited the previous day. I got to hunt behind his dog Briley, an impressive Springer, who really worked hard trying to find birds for us. We managed to find some woodcock, off the beaten path, but in the end it was the heat that won the day. It was the first time I ever recall riding home from hunting with the air conditioner blowing...

Every morning the dogs would wake me around 5:00 -5:30 to start the day, so when Saturday morning found me having to wake them up around 6:30, I knew they were played out and it was time to head home. So I packed up, loaded up, locked up and bid farewell to the camp. I'll be home for a few days to hunt the local coverts, then I'll spend a few days up in Pittsburgh and then it will be right back at the camp, to pick up where we left off.

Enjoy your Autumn,

Ken Belanger

Survived My First Field Trial

     This past weekend I had the opportunity to run Chunk in the Patriot Sporting Spaniel Club's (my home club) field trial which was held in Granville, MA. I thought our club did a great job putting this event together and we were blessed with two days of beautiful weather. The grounds were great and we had a lot of people pitching in to help with all aspects of the event. Kudos especially to Lori and Brice Guile who worked so hard to put this event on for us. Gerron and Laurie were there as well and really worked their butts off helping out.
     We also had a wonderful turnout with folks coming from all over the country. There were lots of great dogs on display and I got to see some truly exceptional performances. We had twenty-nine entries on Saturday and twenty-three on Sunday, which was about twice as many entries as we had last year. We also had some really great judges who had the difficult task of winnowing down a large field of dogs to a manageable third series and placements.

                                  Lori & Brice, the only time they sat down all weekend

     I went into Saturday with no expectations whatsoever. It was our first trial and up until that point we had never run a brace before, not even in training. My goal was to keep Chunk on our side of the course and try to finish the first series; not lofty goals by any stretch. I needn't have worried though because he worked to the guns just like he has in our training sessions and paid no attention to what was going on next to us. He found his birds, made his retrieves, honored when needed and I was really pleased with his run.
     The second series went pretty much like the first, with the exception of a sucker bird Chunk encountered on his second retrieve. He hupped to the flush, I called him in, set him up on a "back" and sent him. He ran straight out, found the dead bird and completed the retrieve. Again, I was really pleased with his run but unfortunately we were not called back to the third series.

     I hustled back to the pavilion where our evening Social was taking place. A couple of friends of mine, Dave Shaw & Dave Orlomoski, were meeting me there to help out with the evening's entertainment. We were billed as "Def Spaniel". The Social was a great time, with lots of good food and drink and even included a make your own ice cream sundae bar for dessert, complete with lots of toppings. A good time was had by all. It was quite late by the time we were done picking up and when I got back to the hotel I was beat. Unfortunately I was too wired and never slept a wink.

                        "Def Spaniel" warming up for the main event, notice the uniforms

                                             Gerron & Pat Cutler cuttin' a rug

Sunday was another beautiful day but not a very good one for Chunk and I. He started out running well, just like the day before. A bird was flushed on the other course which Chunk honored and then I cast him off again. We were working along a side hill and he flushed a bird on the downhill coming back toward us. The bird stayed low following the contour which kept him in Chunk's line of sight which proved to be too tempting for him and resulted in a "delayed" hup. The bird was a flyaway so he got a good long look at it. I called Chunk in, the judge said to keep going, and like the rookie I am, I cast him right back into the flyaway. He fired across the other course after the bird, I called him back but by then it was too late, game over. Oh well, live and learn...

Overall, I found the trial to be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I got to see lots of really great dog work and I got to see what I need to work on for next year. I feel fortunate to have met so many nice people at this event and look forward to seeing them at future trials. There are no better people than dog people. I can't wait for next year.

                                                  Gerron & I at the Social



N.B.     Just realized I don't have pictures of any of the dogs at the trial. How'd that happen???
                                                           

Piper Mountain - November 4, 2015

Journal Entry from a hike Chunk & I did last fall:

Decided to hike a local mountain today since it was absolutely beautiful outside. Took Chunk along with me and it turns out he's a great mountain dog. We followed the Red Trail up and back which starts on Carriage Rd. 

Here is a link for trail info for anybody wanting to give this a try. Well worth it.

Piper Mountain Trail Info

And here are a few pics of us on Piper Mountain.