Ladybug
1999 – “The Ladybug” 26 ½ feet long, 54” at the beam, cypress strip canoe, will seat 8-12. Ladybug is the Queen of the Lower Mississippi River, having safely and successfully guided over 10,000 people on the biggest river in North America in the past two decades. Ladybug was completed under the mentorship of Ralph Frese, and is fashioned from Louisiana Bald Cypress using the “monocoque stripper method” (cypress strips strengthened with high-tech custom marine epoxy resins & fiberglass weaving).
King Beaver
2001 – “The King Beaver” 16 foot dugout, carved from a single sweetgum log, which was retrieved off the Mississippi River at Old Town Bend. Beaver head and “pineapple” or “pinecone” shaped tail with angled bow and stern lines (not rounded).
Water Ram
2002 – “The Water Ram” 17 ½ foot dugout, carved from a single cottonwood log, which was felled in Coahoma County, Mississippi, and used on the Ruskey & Clark Missouri River Expedition. Seats 2. Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep carved in basso relief on bow, Celtic spirals on stern.
Double Eagle
2003 – “The Double Eagle” 11 foot cottonwood dugout, commissioned by the Carnegie Public Library. Eagle heads and wings incorporated en profundo (deep relief carving on body). Reading & storytelling prop, to sit on the floor of the children’s room as a functional work of art.
Mato Chante
2005 – “Mato Chante” 26 foot Ponderosa Pine dugout carved in two weeks and paddled 490 miles from Orofino Idaho (Clearwater River), down the Snake River and the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, commissioned by Tom Eier for the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Expedition “Corps of Rediscovery.”
Wanblee Dancing Eagle
2006 – “Wanblee Dancing Eagle” 32 foot Western Red Cedar dugout carved for the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Expedition “Corps of Rediscovery” and paddled down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, back up the Columbia, portaged over the divide and then paddled down the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers following the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial schedule.
Tenas Leloo
2007 – Apprenticeship with Chinook elder & master canoe builder George Lagergren (now deceased, then 94y/o). Grandfather George asked John to renovate 2 of his traditional Chinook dugouts “Tenas Leloo” and “Chinook Tahmahnawis” which are now ceremonially housed in tribal headquarters, Wilapa Bay Washington.
Froggie Loggie
2008 – “Froggie Loggie” 10 foot Sycamore dugout for the St. Louis Public Library from a log that fell during the St. Louis straight line wind storms of that Summer.
Alligator
2009 – “Alligator” 16 foot Louisiana Bald Cypress with KIPP schools of Helena, AR
Junebug I
2009 – “Junebug I” 29 foot Voyageur Canoe fashioned from Louisiana Bald Cypress using the “monocoque stripper method” (cypress strips strengthened with high-tech custom marine epoxy resins & fiberglass weaving).
Junebug II
2009 – “Junebug II” 29 foot Voyageur Canoe fashioned from California Redwood using the “monocoque stripper method” (strips of redwood strengthened with high-tech custom marine epoxy resins & fiberglass weaving).
Wanbli Dugout
2010 – “Wanbli Dugout” 14 foot cottonwood dugout canoe carved by 146 students from the KIPP Delta College Prep Charter School of Helena, Arkansas.
Tyee
2011 – “Tyee” (King Salmon Canoe) 33 foot long western red cedar dugout carved in coordination with the Community of Kettle Falls Washington, including hundreds of native children from the Columbia River Valley.
Grasshopper
2013 – “Grasshopper” Canoe 29 foot Voyageur Canoe fashioned from Louisiana Bald Cypress using the “monocoque stripper method” (cypress strips strengthened with high-tech custom marine epoxy resins & fiberglass weaving).
Kingfisher Canoe
2014 — “Kingfisher” 22 foot Lake Style Canoe fashioned from Louisiana Bald Cypress using the “monocoque stripper method” (cypress strips strengthened with high-tech custom marine epoxy resins & fiberglass weaving).
Cricket Canoe
2015 — “Cricket” 24 foot Voyageur Canoe legendary for having been the only canoe paddling the Mississipi during the Great Flood of 2011 with Hampton Sides and Christopher LaMarca from Outside Magazine. Cricket is fashioned from Louisiana Bald Cypress using the “monocoque stripper method” (cypress strips strengthened with high-tech custom marine epoxy resins & fiberglass weaving).
Catfish Dugout
2017 – “Catfish Dugout” 14 foot cottonwood dugout canoe carved by 144 students with the Spring Initiative Program of Clarksdale, MS. Under construction.
Dragonfly
2018 – “Dragonfly” Canoe 29 foot Voyageur Canoe Louisiana Bald Cypress with Redwood strips as accents. Under construction. Completion Date: May, 2018.
The Queen Beaver
2019 – “The Queen Beaver” 17 foot dugout, carved from a single sweetgum log, which was retrieved off the Mississippi River at Old Town Bend. Beaver head and “pineapple” or “pinecone” shaped tail with angled bow and stern lines (not rounded).
Wood Duck Moon Goddess Lexie Dog
2020 – “Wood Duck Moon Goddess Lexie Dog” (in progress) 20 foot cypress dugout carved in coordination with thousands of participants in a year long live-streaming workshop for surviving pandemic, BEAM = Backyard Expeditions Arkansas Mississippi.