DOWN EAST magazine • June 2025
In the 1920s, someone showed up in Grand Lake Stream with a curious new bit of technology, an outboard motor, and that gave Beaver Bacon an idea. Typical canoes are double-enders, tapering to two points, elegantly symmetrical. Beaver drew up a design for a wooden canoe — heavier than bark or canvas — that looked as if one end had been sawed off and boarded up flat. On that square stern, an outboard motor could be mounted. Guides would be able to shuttle swiftly around lakes, hitting multiple fishing spots without needing to paddle great distances or catch a steamboat ferry. At least a few other Grand Lake Stream guides built similar canoes around the same time, and the matter of who completed one first is seemingly lost to history. The style of canoe that became known as the Grand Laker had been born. Quickly, it turned into the area’s preeminent guiding boat.