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Vignettes Float Your builds on family tradition and a Boat Custom canoe business heritage of quality // By Heidi Coryell Williams T Merrimack boats are still made in a workshop, not on an assembly line, and each one is signed and numbered—just as a work of art should be. PhotograPhs Courtesy of obed river Canoe Works Paddle On // For the frst time in eighteen years, Merrimack Canoes has introduced a new style, the Merrimack Exotic Wood Collection. Part of the new eco-collection, these boats will allow consumers to eco-fy existing styles of the Merrimacks with one of four ecofriendly woods: purpleheart, teak, zebrawood, or yellowheart. FOr a list OF styles, visit merrimackcanOes. cOm. There was a TiMe, shortly after Merrimack Canoe legacy Randy Pew lost his father nearly two years ago, that the artisan woodworker could not walk into his workshop; it was even longer before he could pick up a tool. Almost every implement was something his father had taught him to use, and his father before him. Palming a seventy-fve-year-old spokeshave, Pew will use the antique instrument to level and shape a hunk of wood, preparing it for sanding. It's part of the handcrafting process that has been handed down for three generations of his family— each step of which is committed to exquisite design and superb woodworking. Just as the tools used to make these canoes are heirlooms, so are the boats themselves, each one a perfect combination of form and function. The result is a strong yet lightweight boat that is "as much a pleasure to look at as it is a pleasure to paddle," Pew claims. Now in their ffty-ninth year, Merrimack canoes are made by Pew's business, Obed River Canoe Works in Crossville, Tennessee. The original wood-reinforced fberglass hulls boast the same design originally developed by Pew's grandfather, L. H. Beach, in a modest carport in Merrimack, New Hampshire, more than a half century ago. Reinforced the old-fashioned way with solid wood ribs of select cherry, Merrimack canoes have the capability of modern hull materials, including carbon-graphite, Kevlar, and fberglass. Merrimack boats are still made in a workshop, not on an assembly line, and each one is signed and numbered—just as a work of art should be. Kevin Costner has no fewer than six Merrimack canoes in his personal collection; other customers have hailed from as far as Guatemala, Latvia, and Sweden, among other places. "I have always been interested in working with my hands, whether it was drawing or working with wood," Pew offers of his connection to the family business. For a brief time, Pew and his father tried to increase production. But it's hard to supervise high-quality craftsmanship during the day and still fnd time to cast a line when the mood strikes you. "We didn't enjoy it," Pew says simply. So, they went back to the way things used to be, which might only net them a couple of canoes in a week. But it ensures the quality of their craftsmanship, and it lets Pew make time for a fshing date with his twelve-year-old grandson (and rising ffth-generation boat builder). "I'll come back and work in the evening, instead," Pew says. "Maybe I'll work Saturday." Maybe. The design of a Merrimack canoe has been the same for going on 60 years. With solid-wood ribs and wood-reinforced fiberglass hulls, they are lightweight yet strong. Spring 2013 . Tempus-Magazine.com 19