I Want Your Outdoor Job is a new series I have started that finds people in the outdoor industry who are making a living doing exactly what they love to do, and asks them how they did it.

First out of the gate are friends of the site, Fiona Westner-Ramsay and Mike Ramsay, owners of Badger Paddles based out of Huntsville, Ontario.

When not working on their canoe paddles, Fiona and Mike are the primary caregivers for their autistic son, Makobe and actively work on autism awareness in Ontario.

1) How long have you been in business and what got you started?

Fiona: Mike and I met over 10 years ago while working at the Toronto Sportsman Show in the Swift Canoe booth. Mike was working for Swift and I was the guest paddle painting artist. We married a few years later. We always had a dream to work in the outdoor industry and own our own business. With my father (a.k.a. Poppa Badger) being a wood worker and finisher as well as inherited owner of the family business, Badger & Son (he was the grandson), we naturally spent time around his shop learning the ropes, working with wood, mostly fine furniture. My parents were avid canoeists, as are Mike and I, and it was just a natural progression for us to take our passion for working with wood and mix it with our passion for paddling. When my dad retired and shut down his business, everything just fell into place and we decided to carry on the Badger family name for a 4th generation. Sharing a shop with a friend in the beginning and only working on weekends, we started Badger® Paddles in Spring 2009 and have never looked back since.

Mike: We have been in business about 3 years now. It was just always something I wanted to do. I knew it wouldn't be easy but I still wanted to do it. We are at it full time now and I couldn't be happier.

2) What’s the best part of your job?

Fiona: One of the best parts of my job is when you put a coat of finish on a paddle and with each coat; you see the depth and the beauty of the wood truly come to life. It's almost mesmerizing at times especially when you work on a birdseye, quilted, curly or burled wood and the grain looks 3-dimensional. You can get visually lost in it.

I also really like the conversations with the customers and people we interact with in the industry, on Facebook, and Twitter, etc. It's so much fun!

Mike: Test paddling! Being able to make things with my hands that people will actually use and enjoy and is made from local natural resources is fantastic. It’s also a great excuse to fill the shop with tools.

3) What’s the most difficult aspect of the job?

Fiona: We don't really ever get away from our work because we mostly work from home - even when we go paddling we have Badger with us now!

Mike: One of the most difficult aspects is the production planning. Having everything timed right from the kiln to the expected shipping date.

4) What are two tips you can give to somebody looking to start their own paddle making company?

Mike: I would have to say that if you are trying to start any company, make sure you have a business plan but talk to other paddle makers first. They are a great group of people and are always happy to talk trade with a passionate wood worker and fellow paddler. Also, keep your fingers out of the saw.

Fiona: I like what Mike said. Definitely contact other paddle makers and make a connection. We count a number of paddle makers as friends. You also have to decide if you are going to do it all by hand or use machines. And make paddles for friends and family and get their feed back before you go out there with your product. When we walked into one store when we first started - the guy took one look at our paddles and let out a big sigh of relief. He then told us that they get people in trying to sell paddles all the time and when they show up with their goods - they are wonky and not consistent enough to sell in a store.

5) What about your job do you think would most surprise people?

Mike:  I think people would be amazed at how many steps there are in the process and the number of times that a piece of wood is handled before it's a finished paddle, ready for dipping in the water for the first time.

Fiona: I think people would be surprised at how difficult it can be sometimes, when you get a really nicely grained paddle that is light in weight, to hand it over to someone else and not ever get to use it yourself!

Photo Credits: Badger Paddles

Did you know that the city of Glasgow is planning to be the home ofScotland’s first purpose-built paddlesports centre?

Located in the heart of the city, the Pinkston Paddlesports Centre will be located on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

View Larger Map

The paddlesports centre will include an intermediate standard artificial whitewater course, two permanent and two temporary canoe polo pitches and a five metre deep diving tank.

There will also be a clean water basin for triathlon training, canoe & kayak lessons as well as host for races.

The long term plan is to also use the facilities for lifeguard training, swiftwater rescue training for local fire and rescue services as well as police diver training.

There is no word on opening dates as they are still fundraising for the project but after recently being awarded several large grants, the project is looking for secure.

More info: local.stv.tv and epduk.com

The Eddyline Restaurant and Brewing Company in Buena Vista, Colorado is looking the official photo for their new boater beer can. If you want to get in, post the low resolution photo to their Facebook wall and they will get in touch if they like it.

$200 REWARD!!! We need a perfect picture for our boater beer can! We need a picture of a crashing wave where the water is clear, the tongue leading into the wave is glassy and the top of wave is white and frothy! This needs to be a head on shot where the crashing foam pile takes up the top third of the picture. This pic will be the background of the Can'O'whitewater! In addition to the $200 we will let the winner help with the initial canning run, get two free cases of beer and will be famous to the Eddyline community! We would keep all rights to the picture. Post a low res version here, email us, or drop by and show us.

Big news from the outdoor industry. I just heard the sad news from Joe O'Blenis and Bryan Hansel that Quebec kayak manufacturer, Boréal Design has closed its doors and will be filing for bankruptcy on Monday.

From La Presse.ca:

Director of the shop, Frédéric Patry said that attempts by the company management to find new investors were unsuccessful. Forty-five people lost their jobs.

Realistic, Frédéric Patry nevertheless retains a slim hope that a takeover could save the brand.

It’s a shame to hear about them go under. Boréal made fantastic boats and their construction and craftsmanship was second to none for sure. Over the 20 years in business, Boréal expended their company by purchasing accessory company, Beluga. They also developed a fantastic partnership with Maelströmkayak to manufacture and distribute their high-end sea kayaks.

From a business perspective, their product lines were appealing to paddling shops as they were able to offer both boats and accessories for the entire spectrum of paddling; from absolute beginner on a slim budget all the up to the highest end.

I have no idea of how the bankruptcy of Boréal will affect Maelströmkayak as they are a separate company with a factory to build their boats. I reached out to them for comment but haven’t received a response yet. I will update this post if I hear back.

Update [Feb 4, 2012]: I receved an email from Charles-Alexandre Desjardins one of the owners of Maelströmkayak. He said, "We  learned about it the same way you did, which is unfortunate. That's about all I can say for now. Maelströmkayak is still very alive and we intend to continue our business."

Update [Feb 6, 2012]: I have written to Boreal Design looking for a statement as nothing has been posted on their website as of yet. I will post if/when I receive it.

Update [Feb 9, 2012]: Nikki Rekman Sales posted the following on her facebook page a couple of days ago: 

We received confirmation from BORÉALDESIGN President, Eric Blouin this morning that the company is indeed in the hands of the bank and has closed its doors. BORÉALDESIGN was founded in 1991 by Natalie Simard and Eric Blouin and made a fantastic product. It is with great sadness that our relationship with BORÉALDESIGN has ended and we think about Eric, Natalie and all our friends who no longer have their jobs.

Flickr Photo Credit: Pub de Boréal Design? Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Back before everybody and their brother had small, waterproof GoPro cameras strapped to their head, film makers had to get creative and build their own camera rigging if they wanted to get that unique shot while on the water.

Here is a photo of filmmaker and instruction video pioneer, Bill Mason using a home-made rigging to get overhead footage for his 1977 film and companion book, Path of the Paddle.

I tried to find evidence that Bill used the rigging for overhead footage for his whitewater instructional segments but it doesn’t look like he did. Imagine how awesome it would be to see that monster going down the river back in the day.

Instead of overhead shots for the whitewater elements in his films, Bill borrowed this head mounted camera which was originally designed for skydiving. Apparently the camera was really heavy due to the lead counter weight and could only shoot a maximum of 90 seconds before the film ran out. There is a story in Ken Bucks book, Bill Mason: Wilderness Artist: From Heart to Hand that talked about the time Bill nearly drowned the first time he jumped in the water with the camera. From then on they had to put two or three life jackets on him to provide enough flotation for the camera to stay above water.

Today, filming on the water is considerably easier with any of the small waterproof cameras that have flooded the market like GoPro, Contour or Drift over the past couple of years.

But even with the right camera, getting that unique shot angle can still take some thinking but thank goodness there are more commercial options now then before. One affordable option involves getting an adjustable pole from kayalu.com. Prices range from $89-$249 and can fit most cameras on the market. Kayalu has a good reputation for their well-built equipment that holds up in both fresh and salt water.

If you are working with a higher budget and looking to get more dynamic footage, then a camera mounted cable built by Sea to Sky Cable Cam is the only way to go.

For approximately $36,000 you can get the equipment needed to shoot footage similar to below:

Looking at the demo reel you might recognize some of the footage. That’s because this equipment was designed by sea kayaker,BryanSmith of Eastern Horizons fame and Matt Maddaloni who has been a sponsored rock climber for the past 15 years.

Bill Mason Photo Credits: BIll Mason Productions