In reply to: I think of it as buying a piece of art and the buyers are posted by Raoul
Henry Ford by comparison. They make 1-2 a year as well all by hand.
From their website:
MY PARTNER AND I HAVE SPENT OUR ADULT LIVES HONING THE SKILLS IT TAKES TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE LIFE IN THE FOREST WITH A FEW IRON TOOLS AND A LOT OF ELBOW GREASE. A CHAINSAW IS USED ONLY TO CUT LOGS TO LENGTH BEFORE SPLITTING AND RIVING. BIRCH TREES ARE PEELED WITHOUT FELLING. VICTORIA DOES THE STITCHING, WHILE I DO THE WOODWORK.
WE CAN NOW BUILD A BOAT OR TWO IN THE SUMMER. WITH 2 PEOPLE WORKING, IT TAKES ABOUT 2 WEEKS TO FIND AND GATHER MATERIALS, 2 WEEKS TO PROCESS THEM, AND 2 WEEKS TO ASSEMBLE THEM INTO A WATERCRAFT, AROUND 500 HOURS OF WORK.
WE LIVE IN THE BUSH WITHOUT MODERN CONVENIENCES IN A 2-300 INCH SNOWFALL REGION OF RUGGED GRANITE HIGHLANDS CARPETED WITH A NORTH WOODS FOREST. WINTER TRAVEL IS ON TOP OF THE SNOW, ANOTHER FORM OF WATER TRAVEL. PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH COMMUNICATIONS. WE HAVE VOICE MAIL AND OUR AMPLIFIED CELLPHONE WORKS SPORADICALLY. USING PRECIOUS SOLAR ELECTRICITY, IT CANNOT BE LEFT ON AT ALL TIMES. WE GO INTO TOWN EVERY WEEK AND CAN WRITE A GOOD LETTER. EMAIL IS BEYOND OUR REACH.
expensive canoe" sort of way ... $7,000 for the full size version unless I misunderstood. Would that I could conceive of a place to keep it.
As with Van Dam, these are works of art but in a different style all together.
them for museum displays and then smaller ones for people to put above their fireplace. They really are special and artistic. I agree that $7K for a real birchbark canoe doesn't seem outlandish.