Conclusion

Whether they are canoes or PWCs, Canadians today own and enjoy recreational boats as never before. Indeed, it has been estimated that there are about 2.3 million small boats in Canada (a number twice that of the U.S. on a per capita basis), with around 50 per cent of the nation participating in watercraft recreation every year. (Statistics cited are from Michael Vollmer's "Boating," in The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, p. 245, published by Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, Alberta, 1988.) Given Canada's great natural wealth of coastal and inland waterways and our historic dependence on marine navigation, Canada's long and vibrant association with boats and boating should not come as a surprise. Nor, on reflection, should we find it anything but natural that this country's contribution to the technology of recreational watercraft should prove as rich and varied as it is and, no doubt, will continue to be.

About the Author: Garth Wilson is Curator of Marine Transportation and Forestry at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. This Collection Profile combines two of his most abiding preoccupations: boats and recreation.

For more information, contact:

Garth Wilson
Curator, Marine and Forestry
Collection and Research Branch
Canada Science and Technology Museum
P.O. Box 9724, Station T
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1G 5A3

Fax: (613) 990-3636