Hull or High Water

CONJURE AN IMAGE OF CANADA, and it will look something like the one you see here: glassy lake, morning fog, solitary paddler. The canoe is a part of our national DNA, used and beloved by indigenous peoples and European traders, summer campers and weekend warriors, painters and prime ministers. That tradition is what drives the good people at Abitibi & Co., a small Quebec company that specializes in custom-making some of the prettiest — and, thanks to their fiberglass or Kevlar outers and solid wood gunnels, most capable — canoes north of the 49th parallel. And given that the country is celebrating a milestone this year, now’s as good a time as any to make that image in your head a reality.