The Mary Oliver is a 12′ double paddle canoe that I designed and built for my friend Amy Melious in 2013. It was a trade for work she had done photographing, editing and publishing a book about my life in Art. We started by going out in my fleet of boats and finding out her needs and desires for the boat. Once we settled on facing forward and being able to lift onto a car by herself we had found the parameters. I made a model so that we could both visualize the boat and I chose glued lap 4mm ply for the build. I had the wood in stock, having bought a lifetimes supply in the early 70’s. I now have four sheets left and have switched to building really small boats as the average life expectancy age looms nearer.
The “Mary Oliver” weighs in at just under 38 pounds and has been on some lovely adventures on the Salish Sea and the lakes on Saltspring Island. She was launched on Saint Mary Lake under a full moon and seem drawn to moon events. Named for the poet she bring poetry to her voyages and it is delightful for me to see Amy enjoying her.