Although I've never met canoe builder, Philip Greene of Woodsong Canoes, I think I would like him a lot. Coming out of the navy where he was a sonarman on submarines he started building wooden canoes. But not just any canoes mind you, very beautiful and expensive canoes. Working from his workshop in the delightfully named town of Round O in South Carolina, Greene spends up to a year making each canoe. Many of which never make it to the water however, as they are purchased as works of art or family heirlooms, to be passed down from generation to generation.
Did I mention that they are expensive? If you want to order one be prepared for a wait as it seems that there are more than enough well heeled paddlers beating a path to his workshop. If you want to place an order a $10,000 deposit will be required but expect to shell out anywhere from $70,000 to $155,000 in total for the boat of your dreams.
When one considers the time that goes into making these exquisite works of art the cost does not seem too bad. No seriously, think about it. If it takes 6 months to make the cheapest canoe which is 1,100 hours of work time, which equates to $63 per hour from which you then have to deduct the cost of materials, workshop overheads and so on it's really not overpriced. Even so I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.
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