Rural Missouri - May 2024 - 20

launched in 2012. That's what the couple went looking for,
only to discover Osagian had moved overseas and wasn't
quite ready to start production again.
No problem, the Paulsens could wait. But then the
owner, a man named Claus Nielsen, introduced another
twist to the tale. Shipping a finished canoe from Denmark
to the United States is extremely expensive. But shipping
a container full of canoe parts to the U.S. and assembling
them here was a much better option. He asked if Jennifer
and Scott would like to become partners, just as he did
with the Carr family before the move.
" We prayed about it, " Scott says of the decision. " We
thought about it a lot, definitely crunched the numbers
and prayed about it again. "
" Because at that point, I was still a teacher out at
Spring Bluff School, " Jennifer adds. " And, you know, I
loved teaching. I'd had, I guess at that time, 20 years in. It
was a great school, great kids, great administration, great
parents, great community. But I think God was saying,
'You're done.' "
The two decided Jennifer would quit teaching, while
Scott would continue his job with the Washington School
District where he is the district's warehouse manager.
Their decision made, they traveled to Denmark and
learned how to build canoes.
" We spent two weeks over there, " Scott says. " And it was
some long days. We put some canoes together over there,
which made me nervous because those are ones he's trying
to sell, and he's watching so we can't screw up. We went
over there as potential business partners. And we both
agree on this: We left as friends and as partners. "
Back home, Jennifer took a course in welding from the
nearby American Welding Academy. They built a small
shop behind their home in Beaufort, designing it from the
ground up to build canoes. When the first container of
parts arrived they set to work perfecting their technique.
Their plan was for Jennifer to join the two halves of the
hulls with the fully welded seam that makes Osagians so
strong. These would be set aside until Scott came home
from work and could help with riveting the keels and end
reinforcements, a two-person job. Then Jennifer could
complete the boats by riveting the seats and supports into
the hull.
" I did marry the mountain man's daughter, " Scott says
with a grin. " That's my joke around here. I learned very
quickly that she can do anything she puts her mind to.
And since she was a little more anxious to leave her career
than I was, by a slim margin, that's what we did. "
There are as many as 500 rivets in an Osagian canoe,
and the Paulsens get to know each one personally. They
drill hundreds of holes, then use an air-powered riveting
gun to set each rivet perfectly so there will be no leaks. Ear
protection is a must when they go to work.
When the final rivet is set the hull goes to a water tank
Top: Scott and Jennifer check for leaks on the hull of a double-ended
canoe in a water tank. They hit each rivet with a blast of compressed
air and look for bubbles. Center: Jennifer clamps a seat in position
before riveting it to the hull. Bottom: Scott carefully applies an
Osagian decal to the bow of each canoe, the last step in the process.
where compressed air is blasted against its parts. Any
bubbles that appear mean a leak, and the offending rivet
will have to be drilled out and replaced. This rarely happens
these days.
Foam floats are placed in each end, a cover is riveted in
place over the foam, seats are installed and the thwarts get
riveted on. Gunwales are added to the sides. The final step
is to carefully align the Osagian decals on the bow.
20 RURAL MISSOURI | MAY 2024
Rural Missouri - May 2024

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