Hegarts

29/04/2026

"It was a truly great experience building on my own wood and canvas canoe together with Josef in his workshop in wonderful Forsvik. Seeing planks of locally harvested spruce and ash be cut, steamed, formed, tacked, sanded, coated, and canvassed into a canoe was all very special. Josef’s craftsmanship and passion, together with his storytelling and guidance, made the whole process of building so very rewarding. I can’t wait to take out my canoe on its first adventure this summer." / Fredric

Big thanks to for the kind words and this beautiful video! Fredric joined me in the Forsvik workshop to build his Hegarts wood and canvas canoe. Much appreciated!

If you also want to build your own canoe - check out the canoe building course on www.hegarts.com

13/04/2026

Meet Dietmar and find out his favourite question!

Dietmar is the German boat builder who dreamed of a wood and canvas canoe. He did his research (I think he visited three canoe builders in three different countries) and decided on a Hegarts' Solo Wilderness canoe.

He built it with one on one guidance (and a lot of Swedish fika!) and the result is amazing. I'm always fascinated by how we start out with planks, tacks and some canvas and end up with a canoe after seven days - regardless if you're an experienced woodworker like Dietmar, or a total beginner.

So, the favourite question?
- What's the optimal number of canoes?
- The amount you already have, plus one.
We'll see if his first, and self-built, wood and canvas canoe will finally satisfy his need for boats. He's picking this beauty up in Summer.🛶☀️

30/03/2026

06/02/2026

Day 1 – Luxury Canoe Building Course, February 2026

As usual on the first day of the building courses, the main goal is to bend all the ribs—and it went perfectly.

Dietmar has come all the way from Hamburg, Germany, to Forsvik and Hegart’s workshop to build his canoe. If he continues to work as well as he did yesterday, this canoe is going to be stunning.

24/01/2026

Not many people get to see the whole process of preparing the ribs - so here it is!

There are quite a few steps from a thick plank to 42 thin, beautifully tapered ribs on the Prospector 16' solid form.

The customer joins in just before the bending (step 1 during the canoe building courses is marking the centre section of the ribs) - as you can see Hegarts has been through a number of steps before that!

Not shown is procuring the wood at local sawmills. Skaraborg, Sweden (the region where Forsvik and Hegarts workshop lies) is such a treasure trove for deciduous trees, such as ash, linden, birch and other wood species Hegarts use in canoe and paddle making!

Any questions about the process in this reel? Just comment below!

23/01/2026

The spruce ribs are ready for the upcoming canoe-building course. They will become a Solo Wilderness 14.5′ canoe, a model I like very much 🛶.

As you can see, I taper the ribs. This creates the illusion that they are standing straight, even when they lean toward the center of the canoe. It’s a small detail that makes the canoe more beautiful and also saves a bit of weight. My Canadian 🇨🇦 canoe-building friends would say it’s unnecessary extra work, but I think it’s worth it.

15/07/2025

Paddling the sky

04/07/2025

Nenne picked up her beautiful canoe that she built during one of the 2024 canoe building courses.
The colour combination with the light blue/purple and the lemon schellack is stunning. Nenne and Hampus (who also built a few days with Nenne) will premiere paddle it in Tiveden. Happy paddling!

29/06/2025

Two Canoes Completed
After a total of 9 build days in June, two Prospector 16' canoes have now left Hegart's workshop in Forsvik. One is heading to the west coast of Sweden and the other to Linköping in the eastern part of the country.

I'm very pleased with both canoes, and the customers also seem happy – not just with the canoes themselves, but with the overall experience of building their own canoe during Hegart’s Canoe Building course.

There’s still a bit of painting and surface treatment left to do, but the customers will take care of that at home.

Thank you so much for coming to Forsvik and building canoes – and good luck with the paddling!