Hegarts

05/08/2026

This is 'Älvdans' (Riverdance), the canoe that Fredric built with Hegarts and is paddling right now. Follow his adventure, where he paddles 400 kilometers, at Fredric Ankarcrona It's a Solo Wilderness canoe (14,5') and the colour is vanilla white with a schellack below the waterline.

18/07/2026

Changes? I've been thinking about changing the name of the 'evening tour', since the most common word used by my customers is 'luxury' (lyx in Swedish). All gear is prepped, you just choose a beautiful wooden paddle and then we put the canoes into the water just next to Forsvik's cultural heritage site Forsviks bruk. After a short paddle the picturesque channels of Göta kanal meet the cliffs and forests of Tiveden🌲On a small island you get to relax, enjoy the evening sun (and take a swim!) while I prepare home made pie and coffe/tea. Yesterday all participants swam in lake Viken!
A nice bonus with the shop that I've opened together with Skaraborgs kulturella uttryck i hantverk och slöjd and Ingela at Ingela Berggren is that you can also buy gear (like mosquito repellant or a water bottle) or treat yourself to Ingela's beautiful pottery. Our best sellers are definitely the vibrant handcraft from Ingela as well as locally roasted, freshly ground coffee from 🌲OUTDOORFIKA 🔥🇸🇪 ☕

16/07/2026

The best way of knowing that the guided tours are something quite special? That I take my family and closest friends on the exact same tour when I want to enjoy the beauty of Forsvik and charge my batteries. For those of you who haven't experienced Forsvik from lake Viken - try it. 🛶❤️

16/07/2026

Swedish summer and a Prospector 16'

03/07/2026

This Prospector 16' was in a sad state when it came to my workshop a long time ago. But that's hard to tell now and that's why I enjoy restaurations! It was a sleeping beauty that just needed to be brought back to life.

On this particular canoe I also have a lot of video material that some day (when I got time) might be turned into a "from this - to this"-video. But that's for another day.

25/06/2026

Visit from Canada!

Two years ago, when I visited canoe builders in Canada Douglas Ingram took me to Carl's workshop to meet another builder in Manitoba. A short but pleasant visit. And now this week Carl and his wife came to visit me and my family in Forsvik.

Carl and I spent some time in Hegarts workshop over two days and started to plank a canoe. We also put gunwales and wooden stembands on another. But mostly we talked canoes, building and shared tips and experience.

Please follow Carl and his wonderful work at Carl Hrenchuk

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.