Waterloo man unveils homemade lightweight canoe

On any calm morning in downtown Kitchener, it's not unusual to spot man in a clear boat paddling across the still waters of Victoria Park Lake.

It might look too fragile to carry weight — because it almost is.

"It's pretty darn light. It's 12 and a half feet long, and just over 11 lbs [five kilograms]," said Waterloo craftsman Matt Morris, admiring his homemade canoe.

Built from ash, pine, western red cedar, and covered in a sheet of clear vinyl, Morris says the Pheather2 took months of research and construction before it hit the lake.

It's the third boat Morris has built since he began the pastime approximately five years ago, since then it's become quite a personal project.

"The decks are made of various little pieces of wood," Morris said, pointing to the front and back of the boat. "Everything from the bed of my wife's grandmother to a piece of the floor of KCI [Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate], where I taught for a number of years, and there's even some pine from a porch that Supertramp used to walk on."

The canoe may look delicate, but Morris says it's surprisingly strong, if only meant for docile waterways. 

"This boat is absolutely only made for calm, urban waters like this," he said, gesturing to the glassy surface of the lake. "Nice and calm from my little boat."

Morris is mostly known in the community for his elaborate snow sculptures each winter. But when the weather is warm and sunny, he can be seen towing the Pheather2 down the Iron Horse Trail to Victoria Park from his home near uptown Waterloo. He attaches it to the back of his bicycle using a custom-built hitch, dragging the canoe by an old set of longboard wheels mounted to the bow.

Morris began boat building during the early days of the pandemic after he noticed signs in Victoria Park didn't prohibit boating on the lake.

"I saw a sign and it was a boat without a line through it. They had a line through fishing, no fishing, and some other things, but boating seemed to be allowed," he said.

"So I called the city and they said yes, definitely it's allowed." 

That sparked the creation of his first vessel, a three-piece nesting rowboat. Then came a 25 lb canoe. Now, with Pheather2, he's pushed the limits of buoyancy even further.

And people online are noticing.

"This boat in the last few days has over 1.3 million views and I've had many many comments," Morris said. "One gentleman said that my boat is lighter than his cat."

Not everyone is convinced. 

"There's always going to be detractors on the internet. That's the world we live in," he said.

But Morris said most responses have been positive and curious.

"Even in the park right here with all the benches right around the water and me paddling down the middle, I get lots of smiles and lots of conversations," he said.

Morris, a teacher by trade, said he delights in the learning process. From researching boat designs in the off-season to testing materials for a makeshift canoe seat, he said "planning and building the boat is half the fun." 

"It's been a really fun process."