Two women take dugout canoe around Lake Michigan

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Mary Catterlin with her completed dugout canoe. She built it herself. Photo: Lake Michigan in a Dugout

A dugout canoe isn’t a normal method of travel on the Great Lakes.  But that hasn’t stopped Mary Catterlin and  Amy Lukas, both 23, from paddling one around the perimeter of Lake Michigan this summer.

The two left Indiana July 1, heading northwest in Mekeba, an 11-foot dugout canoe that Catterlin built in her parent’s backyard.

“I decided to make one because I couldn’t afford one,” Catterlin said in a phone interview while ashore for the night in Kewaunee, Wis. “Hollowing it out of a tree made more sense to me.”

Catterlin researched canoe building. Then she carved a few models to get a feel for how it would work. Finally she moved on to the 2,600 pound cottonwood tree she got from a family friend clearing out his property. She carved it into a boat with an adze, an ancient tool used for smoothing wood. It took her four years to complete.

Lukas helped Catterlin attach rigging and a sail in the final month of building.

The canoe weighs close to 300 pounds. Catterlin and Lukas lay PVC pipe on the beach to roll it in and out of the water.

“We get some looks,” Catterlin said. “It’s always interesting when we pull up to a beach, campground or marina and explain ourselves.”

Dugout canoes aren’t without quirks. Catterlin calls hers a constant repair job.

“When they are introduced to water, they continually expand and separate, she said. “Cracks open up.”

She and Lukas use a special epoxy to fill the cracks when they beach for the night.

It’s a part of their daily routine. They get started at sunrise while the water’s calm and there’s less boat traffic. Then they spend about 8 hours on the water. At night they set up camp on the shoreline wherever they can find a spot.

So far they’ve traveled about 250 miles. They expect to finish the journey sometime in September.

Marinas are a place to shower. And do laundry. Catterlin and Lucas could only pack a watermelon-sized bag of clothes because there’s no room for excess storage on the dugout. They mailed packages with food and sunscreen 70-100 miles apart to conserve space.

People they’ve met along the way lend a hand when they can.

Catterlin and Lukas working on the rudder in Kenosha, Wis. Photo: Lake Michigan in a Dugout

A service manager at Southpoint Marina in Kenosha, Wis., gave them invaluable help.

“He donated a new rudder for our boat, took care of us and fed us dinner,” Catterlin said. “In Racine we met great people

who offered us a place to shower and invited us to a dinner party.

“People have been amazing.”

For safety Catterlin and Lucas log in to a GPS system that updates their location to a secured website. They parents can check in on them every day. The GPS also has a help button that alerts the coast guard and local authorities.

Readers can follow their progress on their blog, Lake Michigan in a Dugout.

Here’s a video about building the canoe.

http://youtu.be/00lkZg3my0s

For a look at other people doing interesting things on the Great Lakes, read here.

 

5 thoughts on “Two women take dugout canoe around Lake Michigan

  1. Any chance you could make a presentation about your Lake Michigan adventure to our Hoosier Sail and Power Squadron organization on Monday evening, February 4, 2013?

    Em

  2. Wow ladies what a day!! As much as Canon,Kodak,and I would have loved to have had you stay here, can see why you went on. Longest one day yet and you got to someone who will take good care of you. Hope that you saw us waving. Safe travels my friends.

  3. Met Amy and Mary on their trip through Wisconsin and found them to be fun and full of life, just what you’d expect from some adventurous 20-somethings! On the morning they left, they had to wade into a coating of some of the worst algae I’ve seen this year (it was green soup, right after a blow). http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/greatlakes/cladophora.html

  4. Attention to the great lakes, one of the worlds largest bodies of fresh water is never unnessary. Until we stop dumping our run off into the lake to keep a couple of basements from overflowing and take action to eliminate invasive species that could wipe out the gl/ ecosystem it is never enough. These two brave women that are doing something i bet they were told they couldn’t do are braving heat, storms, and their own endurance to get off their butts and do something about it. Most of us talk a good talk, but they are making the walk, or paddle,. My hat is off to you ladies on a job well done. From conception to reality you two did it. Keep the wet side down.

  5. Of all the people who want to walk, bike, sail or otherwise traverse the Great Lakes — this is by far the most interesting endeavor.

    Most of these adventurers say they’re doing it to raise awarenesss of a Great Lakes issue. Fine but unnecessary. The lakes get plenty of attention.

    Catterlin is doing it to satisfy a long held desire to experience Lake Michigan.

    Way to go!

    Gary Wilson

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