Joe Seliga has been hand building canvas-on-wood canoes in his Ely, Minnesota, workshop for more than 60 years. Seliga's work is considered the best-of-the-best among canoe aficionados and wooden boat builders alike. This all-color celebration of hand craftsmanship and rustic elegance details from start-to-finish the construction of Seliga's canoes, from selecting the right woods through the project's inaugural launch. Within these pages the legacy of this master craftsman is passed on for all to enjoy.

Art of the Canoe With Joe Seliga

Stelmok, Jerry

Sussex, Deborah

Biographies & Memoirs

Voyageur Pr

Born in 1948, master canoe-builder, artist, and author Jerry Stelmok spent his formative years on a 200-acre plot known as Maple Hill Farm. It was a family farm life that, for all its outmoded practices and seemingly endless work, Stelmok recalls fondly in this series of essays. Purchased by Stelmok's grandfather in 1925, the farm was tucked away in the pristine beauty of the Maine wilderness. It was home not just to three generations of extended family, but also to sumptuous vegetable gardens and orchards, an eighteenth century Colonial-style home with an attached barn, and a colorful cast of farm animals of nearly every description. But what made the greatest impression on Stelmok was how his grandfather ran Maple Hill. A Lithuanian immigrant, he clung to nineteenth-century ways, even using a pair of draft horses to power the entire operation until 1960. Stelmok recreates the world that was a constant source of wonder--the mixed herd of 40 cattle, the berry patches and gardens that boasted 3,000 tomato plants and supplied food for market and table, the woodlots that provided firewood and saw logs, and the surrounding forest. With family photographs, watercolors, and enchanting prose, Stelmok evokes a bygone time and an airy, sun-dappled farmstead whose true magic was not just in the idyllic surroundings but in the loving home that his parents created despite lives seemingly so hard.

Growing Up on Maple Hill Farm: A New England Farm Life

Historical

Maine's fine tradition of wood-canvas canoe building

Building the Maine guide canoe

Sports & Outdoors

Water Sports

International Marine Pub. Co

This rich history begins with the birchbark canoe, follows the turn-of-the-century canoe craze when builders such as Eve Gerrish, E. M. White, B. N. Morris, and others perfected the art of the wood-and-canvas canoe, then takes us step by step through the construction of an E. M. White-designed 18-footer. Fold-out plans are included. Detailed information is also provided on canoe repair, restoration, and maintenance. Jerry Stelmok builds new E. M. White designs and adaptations at Island Falls Canoe, and Rollin Thurlow builds, repairs, and restores canoes at his Northwoods Canoe Shop.

The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance

Thurlow, Rollin

Tilbury House Pub

Best known as a master builder of the wood-and-canvas canoe (and the author of a book about them, p. 17), Jerry Stelmok has now revealed an equally remarkable talent at storytelling. Through these six stories the author takes you up into The County, deep into the North Woods, to western Maine, and down along the coast (and in one instance along the desolate wintry coast of Lake Superior) with convincing familiarity. On the way he introduces you to mostly ordinary people caught in extraordinary, escalating events?forced to confront strange circumstances for which nothing could possibly have prepared them.

Not Your Average Bear: And Other Maine Stories

Literature & Fiction

United States

Tilbury House, Publishers

Building the Maine Guide Canoe

The Maine guide canoe is an emblem of the great wilderness of Maine - and of brilliant craftsmanship. In this classic book, master canoe builder Jerry Stelmok shares his vast knowledge and experience, taking you through the building process in clear, step-by-step progression with large photographs detailing every stage. 
For those who long for the grace, flexibility, and durability of the traditional cedar canoe, this book offers a unique opportunity to both own and build one.

Lyons Pr

The definitive guide to building this classic watercraft. (SEE QUOTE.)

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Crafts & Hobbies

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stelmok, Jerry. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Stelmok, Jerry

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stelmok, Jerry. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Art of the Canoe With Joe Seliga

Growing Up on Maple Hill Farm: A New England Farm Life

Building the Maine guide canoe

The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance

Not Your Average Bear: And Other Maine Stories

Building the Maine Guide Canoe

Building the Maine Guide Canoe