Canoes

Different trip, different canoe

Based on the Native birch bark design, the canoe used in the fur trade was a symbol of pride for voyageurs. It was their means of transportation during the day and a shelter at night.

Trading companies chose which type of canoe to use according to its features and the waterways it needed to navigate.

The Montreal canoe, or canot du maître

Brigades plying the route from Lachine to Lake Superior used the Montreal canoe. It measured 11 metres long and from 1.2 to 1.8 metres wide. Six men were needed to carry the craft, which weighed up to 680kg when empty.

The Montreal canoe had the advantage of better resistance to waves. With a typical crew of eight to ten, it could hold as many as 14 people and carried up to 3,800kg fully loaded. The Montreal canoe generally covered about 2000km in six weeks.

The north canoe

This craft was used for transport on the waterways between Lake Superior and trading posts in the North West. It measured 8.2m long and held a maximum weight of 1,360kg. With a crew of five or six, its smaller size made for easier portages on routes less well maintained than the eastern part of the trading network.

The "bastard" canoe

This term refers to a hybrid between a north canoe and a Montreal canoe. It measured up to 10m long and carried six to eight people. A smaller version also existed, measuring between 5.4 and 7.3 metres long, with a crew of two to four men.

The express canoe

Small, light and fast, this canoe was important for company communications, carrying mail and personnel between trading posts. Any company canoe could be used as an express canoe - with extra crew and less cargo, they made extraordinary mileage, averaging 100km a day.

The York boat

The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) also used bark canoes but is better known for using the York boat. This long and flat-bottomed vessel had three times the capacity of a north canoe. A sloping stern made it easy to pull up onto beaches and riverbanks, and the lack of a keel allowed it to navigate shallow waters.

Native techniques

The technology of the bark canoe is of Aboriginal origin. The large Montreal canoes in particular were modeled on the Algonkian style of canoe manufacture. Canoe construction began by laying out and staking the bark around a building frame. The bark skin of the canoe was lashed to the gunwales, and then the cedar sheathing and ribs were fitted into the interior. North West Company officials obtained their canoes from workshops in Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Fort William.

Canoe decoration

Images of animals or Native heads adorned the stern of some canoes. The place of manufacture sometimes appeared on the sides of the craft. While the HBC directors were known for having the most ornamented canoes, it was the express canoes, especially those used for transporting company dignitaries, that were the most decorated.

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