Turning Pianos Into Canoes

October 7, 2021 5:15 am Published by

While British Columbians developed new hobbies over the pandemic, one Surrey man decided to jazz up three pianos destined for the dump, and turn them into a canoe. 

 

George Klassen, who has been a piano technician for over 40 years, says he found himself with an unplanned two-month break from work when the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented last year. 

 

Coming across some cedar strip canoes listed on Facebook ended up prompting an odyssey of discovery for Klassen and his family. 

“Every day old pianos are just going to the dump. Nobody wants them, and they take up a lot of room,” he said. “I just wondered whether it’d be possible to use the wood [from old pianos] and meld them into strips.” 

 

After more than 350 hours in his workshop in the course of 15 months, Klassen’s canoe was ready for its first voyage in Pitt Meadows on Saturday.

The canoe was christened Middle Sea, a reference to the middle C note on a piano.

 

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This post was written by Dave Palmer