Lujo, no 4 cedar rib Peterborough Canoe Company - ready to launch after restoration

Hi, I just finished restoring Lujo in time for Becky Mason's classes in Chenonceaux, France, next week end. Lujo is the original name in brass letters. It means nothing to me, or anybody so far. I made a replacement for the missing front seat, the screws and slots were there not the seat. The seat at the stern is just an oak plank, with a painted number underneath. .
Pat

 

Wow! It looks great! nice job.

 

Thanks. I have identified a couple of other Peterborough Canoe Company cedar rib canoes here in France, there's probably a few more out there. The strip planked canoes are very common here, with many French builders until the 60s. A few built lapstrake canoes - I own one, in need of restoration but well built - and there's even one French builder who made cedar rib canoes, Lawrence in Décizes, central France. After a few bad decades in the 60-90's canoes are becoming popular once again, with some people moving from the mass produced plastic boats to wooden canoes. Prices are still very reasonable for people who want to roll up their sleeves to own a classic.
Patrick

 

That is nice, the shape of a #4 just glide through the water and has a good visual appeal. The Mason's have a couple. And I don't know if you've met this guy who has one in France,

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?6940-Peterborough-cedar-ribs&p=37105#post37105

His has the same bang strips on the bottom.

Just fabulous condition.

 

Yes i just met him on the net. He has a problem with the strips, he has many and they are half round. My canoe has 4 total, sort of flat. The 4 strips were an option offered by the importer Charles André at a cost of 100 francs.
Pat

 

Beautiful canoe! My thought about the name is that it might be the initials of family members who originally owned the boat. I knew a cottage named "Hugo" which was named for four family members and have known other boats named this way.

Kathy

 

Hello, you're probably right, could be first two letters, like Lucie and John, Luke and Jodie, Lucien and Josette, endless combinations. I guess I'll never know. The farming estate in Pezenas, Soutern France, Lujo came from was huge and old, the canoe was kept in the stables, over two stalls. The building was a very large, ancient, massively built barn, with stone walls and heavy timbers supporting the roof. They litterally had a hundred peacocks roaming the grounds. The house itself - mansion maybe - was old, with thick walls, and a bell you'd ring with a piece of cord. A few hounds in the courtyard. It was hot, but you could feel the walls were so thick it had to be cool inside. I am not making it up, it was fascinating. The guy was clueless about where Lujo came from, and did not care.
My wife was aching to get invited inside, but we weren't. He helped us load the canoe and waved us good bye.
Pat

 

Beautiful work on that canoe. If there were enough canoe work in France for me to make a living at it I'd be very tempted to relocate my atelier!

 

Canoeing in France

Well, some Canadians have relocated, albeit only temporarily. Becky Mason and Reid McLachlan, for instance. We just had 3 days of classes with them on the Cher river at Chenonceau, a lovely 16th century castle build on a bridge over the river. Lujo was launched on Friday, not the slightest leak, a great canoe. Here it is
Reid and Becky near the castle, Becky did a solo demo in the moat.

Patrick

 

Salut Patrick

Tout frais ici pour moi.

 

Lujo means luxury in Spanish ie. De Luxe en francais

 

Thanks Rob, it makes a lot of sense since I found the boat not very far North of the Spanish border, in the stables of an ancient manor house.

 

I have noticed that in photos of a number of the beautiful all-wood canoes that have been shared by members from France and Great Britain the canoes are equipped with bilge keels or bang strips as they have been called. The strips appear to have been optional from the suppliers but I am wondering why they seem to be popular in those countries. Were the beaches or shores rocky and destructive or was it just a popular add on?

R.C.

 

It's true that at least in France there's an over abundance of bilge keels. Some of the most popular rivers, like the Drôme, or the Ardèche, both in the South of France, are quite shallow especially during the summer and it makes sense to try and protect your boat. I went to the Open Canoe festival held on the Drôme a year ago, and my cedar rib stayed on the bank, too risky. There are rocks just a few inches below and in some places you just can't avoid them. On my boat Lujo there are 4 bilge keels in total, a very reasonable number, offered as an option by the importer Charles André in the 1910's - 1930's. My other cedar rib Nin0 has 8 on each side! It's a wider boat, model 90, but still...I have seen boats with even more banging strips, nearly up to the gunwhale, I personnally think it's quite ugly, and adds lots of weight since most of the time they are made of oak or some hardwood.

 

Thanks for your explanation PatBig. I should have looked at the French website first to see all the water hazards. From man made concrete check dams to the natural sloping rock ledges you must spend a good bit of time on canoe trips carrying and handling the canoe down hazards. However it does look like wonderful canoeing adventures with great castles and country houses in the background.

R.C.

 

We have some tame rivers too, like the Laïta in my native Brittany. It's a tidal river, you paddle down from the old city of Quimperlé to the sea with the outgoing tide, and come back with the incoming tide. About 20 miles total, in a day if the tide schedule is right. The pictures were shot last November, the first time I took my cedar rib Nin0 after the restoration.