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If you dream of paddling or sailing a handsomely crafted canoe or sail boat then it's time you met Matt Durnford! He is a gifted canoe and boat builder with a lifelong love for traditional wooden water crafts.

A retired navy man, Durnford moved to Riverport, Nova Scotia, eight years ago and set up Cormorant Canoe and Boat Works Ltd. He had first seen
cormorants near Pictou, Nova Scotia, and admired their tenacity and nest-building skills. And when he sighted cormorants close to his new home in Riverport, he interpreted their presence as a good omen (hence, the name of his business).

In the old oversize barn that houses the Cormorant workshops, the heady smells of cedar, oak and pine permeate every inch of the structure. Approaching the upper level, the colour of the air turns hazy, tinged with golden specks of wood. Guitar or bagpipe music is apt to weave in and out from the shop radio as lumber is stripped, sanded and molded into new creations. 

One of Durnford's favourite creations is the Cosine Wherry. It is based on the old style rowing and sailing boats used in England and on the seaboards of the United States and Canada in the early 1800's. This boat can range from 14 to 24 feet and is made of eastern red cedar with an ash trim. "It rows beautifully. There are three oarlock positions, depending whether you have more than one person," Durnford said. He has made eight but has not been able to hold onto one for himself. However, he's promised not to sell the next one but to give it to his helper and wife, Jane!

He also builds a 10 foot Pal  based on a 1920's Peterborough Canoe Co.
sailing dinghy. There were four styles. In the early years, they were
made of shiplap plank construction. "I acquired one of the [smallest]
originals about five years ago and restored it. Then I took the lines
off of it because I thought it would make a nice strip boat and sailing
dinghy." Another boat that he likes to make using a strip [wood epoxy]
construction, is the Cat's Paw -- a 13 foot dinghy which traditionally lent itself to carvel-built and  clinker-built [lapstrake] construction.

The biggest boat Durnford has built to date is the Tom Kyle II, a handsome 21 foot Cape Cod Catboat. In the mid 1800's, fishermen used the Catboat in the Chesapeake Bay area. Later, it became popular not only as a pleasure boat but as a racing craft as well. 

Although building wooden boats is a big part of his business, he spends
the same amount of time and energy making strip canoes. "Canoes have
fascinated me for over thirty years. They are one of the most versatile
and prettiest water craft that you can see in the water." 

Sixteen years ago, Durnford made a mold based on the lines of a Chestnut Prospector from Ted Moores' book "Canoecraft." Since then Durnford has made about 20 canoes, all of  which have endured a rigorous manufacturing process. First, he prepares strips from 17 foot eastern red cedar. Then he molds and glues the strips. Next, the wood is sanded to a 120 grit. After the hull is faired, a coat of six ounce fiberglass cloth is put on it with four layers of epoxy resin over the cloth. "Once it's cured, it's sanded down to a 440 grit finish - as smooth as you would find on a car body." The canoe is then removed from the mold, and a similar process starts on the inside ... sanding, adding a layer of cloth and a coat of epoxy. The final task is the application five coats of varnish.

Durnford's expertise doesn't stop here. He also has a passion for collecting and restoring old canoes.  He has amassed an impressive collection of  Chestnuts, Hurons, Tremblays, Peterboroughs  and the odd American  Kennebec and E.M. White. Several of the 30 canoes have historical significance. He chuckles, "My son thinks I'm opening a museum." He laments, however, that because of his commitments to his customers, he has had little time to indulge his passion by devoting his talents to his personal "fleet".

The importance of making time for himself really hit home after Durnford embarked on a year long project restoring a 23 foot Bluenose Class Sloop. The boat was over 50 years old and was owned by an elderly gentleman who was very fond of it and yearned to have it back in the water after a 6 year hiatus.  

Everyone was looking forward to the spring launch. "He passed away in February. That was sad ... gives you chills and wakes you up." After a pause, Durnford added, "Reminds us that we have to do a little more for today, rather than for tomorrow." Undoubtedly this prompted his decision to keep the next Cat's Paw for his wife and to get crackin' on those old canoes.

Passion. Panache. Persistence. Ingredients of a successful craftsman.

Sandra Phinney is a writer living in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Sandra is a frequent contibutor to Outdoor Nova Scotia. Look for her column, The Country Gardener.

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Matt Durnford: Boat Builder Extraordinaire by Sandra Phinney, first published April, 2001. Designed & maintained by Outdoor Nova Scotia, Liverpool, N.S. BOT 1KO Material protected by copyright. Last revised: December 29, 2001