Paddling his own Canoe

Glen Kelly dived in at the deep end to built his canoe, writes Michéal O Scannail

DCU alumnus Glen Kelly who graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor in Education, has handcrafted a breath-taking wooden canoe despite having no woodwork experience.

The project, which took 18 months, was initially a hobby for Glen, and while the process was slow and arduous, the result was more than worth his time and effort. The 16-foot-long canoe glides beautifully through the water, he says.

“It took me around 18 months altogether. I didn’t think it would take that long, but it was slow process."

“A lot of it was the case of, glue stuff down and wait for it to dry and then do a little bit more. I was lucky enough that I could just do it myself at home. I bought a book and I was just following it step by step, he says.

“I put it in the water just before Halloween and it was brilliant. All I wanted was that it would stay on the right side of the water, to stay afloat. It’s brilliant. It sits nice and it cuts the water really fast which is exactly what I wanted. The shape works really well, so I was delighted with it in the end.”

Glen, a primary school teacher, had never worked with wood before undertaking this project. His only trial-run was a paddle for the boat, but having seen the results of that, he was compelled to craft the canoe.

“I’ve never done any woodwork at all, but I just decided I’d like to make something, and this is the project I came up with.”

“I made a paddle and it turned out brilliant. I made that first to practice putting together the wood and that was the only practice I ever had really,” he says.

“My friends are amazed with how it turned out. It nearly has a mirror finish to it and the epoxy I used on the outside of it really brought out the colours of the wood. It’s really bright and you really wouldn’t see anything like it in the water.”

The project cost Glen €1,500 to make, but the design is unlike any in Ireland. Similar crafted canoes have sold in North America for six-figure sums, but Glen won’t be parting with his.

“You don’t really buy them from shops,” he says

“They’re a really unique item. There are lads in the States that can make them and they put a lot of effort into it. I would have no woodwork experience at all, but they could sell them for a hundred thousand.

“I don’t think I would sell it though. You wouldn’t have the market for it in Ireland, so you wouldn’t get the price to be worth the hours put into it. It’s a Canadian canoe so it would have a lot more value over there.”

Glen has been involved in canoeing since he was 13 when his neighbour Aiden McHugh introduced him to the sport. Having stayed active in the sport, Glen has competed in several Liffey River events and plans on using his boat rather than keeping it as an ornament. 

“I wouldn’t like to leave it as an antique,” he says.

“It’s made of cedar wood and I put some white parts around the edge made of ash because it’s more of a hard-wearing wood, so if it does come across rocks or anything, it won’t take too much damage.

“I’d like to give it a bit of use. I won’t be messing around now hitting rocks or anything, I’ll take good care of it, but I will be using it.”