HOULTON, Maine – A father and son canoe paddling duo revived a family tradition last weekend by racing in a hand-crafted canoe that has been part of a family tradition for generations.
Matt Swallow and his son Dan, raced in the Meduxnekeag River Canoe Race in the cedar strip canoe he and his dad built together in their Houlton garage 44 years ago.
“After years of retirement as a trout getter at camp, it made its return to the whitewater after restoration to the outer gunwales and seats,” said Dan Swallow, who the week before the race, restored it while on baby leave from work. “The canoe was named Swallow & Son when Dad and Gramp built it. Before the race I added an “s” to the canoe. Now it’s Swallow & Sons.”
Less than a month ago, a new Swallow son, Henry was born, making five generations of Swallow fathers and sons who raced or will race in the canoe crafted with quarter-inch cedar strips. Dan and his wife Samantha gave birth to Henry, who will one day carry on the family tradition of father and son racing in the canoe together.
For Dan, Saturday’s race was a sentimental journey paddling with his dad and knowing he and his son will continue the tradition. While three-week old Henry Swallow was a bit too young for the race this year, he did get to sit in the Swallow & Sons and his face lit up, Dan said.
“He was digging it, he absolutely loved it,” he said, adding that he will certainly have him strapped to his chest for a paddle in the canoe next year at the family camp.
Matt and Dan Swallow placed first in the Open Canoe-2, long class on Saturday with a time of 2:32:26. But it was a tough eight-mile run for the Swallow men, like it was for most of the 60 paddlers in Saturday’s race.
The course was bony with barely three-feet of water in some spots. The Swallow & Sons canoe took on leaks and Dan and Matt had to stop and dump the water several times before continuing.
“We took a lot of damage to the whole boat,” Dan said. “It definitely got a few cracks from having us bail the water out. The boat is in need of restoration once more.”
Canoeing all started for Dan with his great grandfather, Mike Swallow who they all called Hammie.
“We have a hunting camp that we always go to every fall and that is where I first started getting in that canoe,” he said. “I’ve paddled that canoe countless times racing and fishing up there.”
Matt Swallow was in about sixth or seventh grade when he built the canoe with his dad Formann Swallow, said his mom Barb Swallow.
“It took a long time,” she said. “It was something they wanted to do together.”
The 19-foot canoe build began with plans from the famous Gil Gilpatrick book, Building a Strip Canoe. Gilpatrick is a well-known canoe designer and builder and a registered Master Maine guide from Skowhegan
According to Formann, they had to start by building a ladder back or strongback (a table for building the canoe) and tracing the patterns for the stations also known as cross sections that define the shape of the canoe. The cross sections are generally placed at about one-foot intervals.
“You need to buy cedar boards from a cedar mill and cut them lengthwise, a quarter-inch to half-inch wide and tack those to the stations,” Formann said. “You glue as you go and then after its set cover it with fiberglass. I used two 10-ounce layers and one 6-ounce. You have to put the resin on, the whole nine yards. It’s a major project.”
Formann could not recall exactly how long it took them to complete the Swallow & Son but some home strip canoe builders estimate it takes about 200 hours.
At the end of the Houlton canoe race on Saturday, Dan Swallow won a door prize which was a hand-crafted wooden eclipse paddle made by Clint Cushman, the oldest paddler in the race.
“He is one of those special guys you look for at the race and to have him make the eclipse paddle and racing in your old boat, that’s special,” he said.
The next day Dan Swallow raced in the Aroostook River Spring Runoff in Caribou with a solo boat gifted to him by well known Maine paddler Fred Ludwig.
“He’s won every race you can imagine to race with that boat and to have raced the previous day with Dad was a good weekend overall,” Dan Swallow said.
