Canoecraft on the Water Winner: André Martel's Endeavour 17

Our next featured post in the Canoecraft on the Water series belongs to runner-up André Martel, who submitted a entry about his Endeavour 17 kayak. It includes some excellent workshop photography, while the quirky music and captions convey André's sense of humour.

Though the peppy intro keeps the feeling light, this was actually the culmination of a long-standing ambition. According to André:

"At the age of 16, during a summer camp, I rebuilt a sailboat with pieces of two abandoned and disparate sailboats. I then jumped on the lake with a downwind and had to deal with the headwinds to get back to the base. The learning was then done by trial and error. I survived this journey very well. In the 80s, I owned a sailboat shop. The future gave me another path in telecommunications and during all these years, I took the opportunity to attend several cabinetmaking courses; all this, to know the wood, the tools and finally start the construction of wooden boats when I arrive my retirement. The Endeavour 17 kayak is my first project."

To judge by the video, it was worth the wait. For his efforts André has earned a one-year subscription to Canoeroots and a Bear Mountain t-shirt. You can watch his entry in the embedded player above, or check out the whole playlist on YouTube.