Wrapping up our 2025 summer canoe sweepstakes

Aug 25, 2025
hand-built cedar canoe floating on pristine BWCA lake

This summer, hundreds of supporters entered our Save the Boundary Waters summer canoe sweepstakes for a chance to win something truly special: a handcrafted cedar canoe, painted with the iconic Minnesota loon.

Runner-up prizes included a Granite Gear Portage Pack and a pair of Keen shoes, both ready to outfit an upcoming adventure.

Thanks to the generous support from all participants, we raised over $32,000 for the Boundary Waters through this summer sweepstakes. These funds will go towards the fight for permanent protection for America's most visited Wilderness. 
 

Meet the builders: Barry & Jerry

Behind this one-of-a-kind hand-built canoe are two friends and longtime Wilderness advocates, Barry Christenson and Jerry Fruetel. Both lifelong paddlers, they’ve spent decades exploring the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and know firsthand why it must be protected.

“We both wanted to build another canoe but since neither of us really needed another canoe, we decided to build one and donate it to Save the Boundary Waters.” – Barry Christenson

For Barry, the loon design was essential from the very beginning:

“Loons are an iconic representation of Minnesota’s waters—especially the Boundary Waters. The call of a loon on a quiet wilderness evening is the quintessential sound of the Wilderness to me. They’re an important part of my life, as I studied loons in Maine for my Masters.” – Barry Christenson

For Jerry, the canoe reflects a lifetime of adventure:

“I’ve paddled in the BWCA for over 50 years, and firmly believe it must be protected for the next 50 years and beyond… A BWCA canoe trip is unmatched in anticipation, adventure, and lifetime memories.” – Jerry Fruetel

The canoe-building process

Barry and Jerry dedicated countless hours to shaping raw cedar, cherry, and canvas into a vessel that’s both art and adventure. Here’s a glimpse into their process:

Steam bending and installing cedar ribs over a solid form

Steam bending and installing cedar ribs over a solid form
Steam bending and installing cedar ribs over a solid form

Tacking cedar planks to the ribs to shape the hull

Tacking cedar planks to the ribs to shape the hull
Tacking cedar planks to the ribs to shape the hull
Tacking cedar planks to the ribs to shape the hull

Installing triangular cherry decks, thwarts, and seats (with a birdseye maple inlay for the deck)

Installing triangular cherry decks, thwarts, and seats (with a birdseye maple inlay for the deck)
Installing triangular cherry decks, thwarts, and seats (with a birdseye maple inlay for the deck)
Installing triangular cherry decks, thwarts, and seats (with a birdseye maple inlay for the deck)

Stretching cotton canvas tightly over the planked hull

Stretching cotton canvas tightly over the planked hull
Stretching cotton canvas tightly over the planked hull
Stretching cotton canvas tightly over the planked hull

Varnishing the interior for a smooth, durable finish

Varnishing the interior for a smooth, durable finish

Filling and painting the canvas exterior in marine enamel blues

Filling and painting the canvas exterior in marine enamel blues
Filling and painting the canvas exterior in marine enamel blues

And then came the final touch: the loon. Their friend Tom Richards of Prior Lake designed and painted the elegant bird on the hull, giving the canoe its unmistakable character.

Tom Richards paints iconic loon on bow of canoe

A canoe with a purpose

This isn’t just a canoe–it’s a story. It’s the product of friendship, tradition, and passion for protecting the Wilderness. After all, as Barry said:

“If we as Minnesotans and Americans want to protect and preserve this treasure for future generations, we must do all that we can now, individually and collectively. Building this canoe for Save the Boundary Waters was the best Jerry and I could do today.” – Barry Christenson

We’re grateful to Barry and Jerry for turning their passion into action, and to everyone who entered the sweepstakes for supporting the fight to keep the Boundary Waters wild.

---

 "There is magic in the feel of a paddle and the movement of a canoe, a magic compounded of distance, adventure, solitude, and peace. The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten. It is an antidote to insecurity, the open door to waterways of ages past and a way of life with profound and abiding satisfactions. When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known." - Sigurd F. Olson


 

""