About Chesuncook Canoe Company
I first discovered the exceptional Scott-built Sporting Canoes in
Medway, Maine, over ten years ago. A fellow named Barry Davis was
selling the Freighters on his front lawn. Barry now sells in the
neighborhood of 50 Freighters a year. People have discovered that
they will do as much as boats costing ten times more.
I was
really impressed by their displacement hulls and their weight to
cargo ratios. A Scott 250 lbs. Hudson Bay Canoe can carry 2,000
lbs. of boat, motor, and gear, yet doesn't require a huge motor.
They reminded me somewhat of the old Grand Laker canoes, but with
some interesting changes. They have a coved stem which cuts down
on drag, and when you are pushing off from shore stem first this
cove gives you some extra lift. They are equally at home with motor,
paddle, or oar. They have flat bottoms with ribs and multiple keels.
I'm
over 200 lbs. and I stand and move about in the Hudson Bay Canoe
with ease. My 130 lbs. dog, who is a poor sailor but can't stand
to be left behind, has plenty of room to pace about. They are reminiscent
of the pirogues that are mentioned in Thoreau's Maine adventures.
I have seen pictures of a Hudson Bay Freighter loaded with a bull
moose and two hunters. At a regional boat show I met a fellow from
Canada who was surprised to see Freighters so far south. "Ah,
the freighter canoe." he said, "They are good. You spit
on the ground and paddle over it."
I own
a camp on Chesuncook Lake in Maine where we fly in, or boat in,
for 18 miles or so. It seems that the weather never cooperates.
We can leave for town for groceries in a dead calm and when we return
the wind is up and the lake is rough. Freighters are made for adverse
conditions like these. Scott Canoe makes them for open water and
large bays. Several years ago my wife had neck surgery and had to
wear a neck brace. She wasn't looking forward to the trip in to
camp. We loaded a Hudson Bay Freighter with our dog and gear and
four adults and headed off. After that ride my wife decided that
I could sell Freighter canoes.
-- Bill Haggerty, Owner, Chesuncook Canoe Company
