For paddlers living in the big city, paddling trips are often reserved for long weekends and vacations. Rather than make the regular trek north to Algonquin, one Ontario paddler took matters into his own hands, designing the perfect custom build for his neighborhood paddle.
Matt Morris’ Custom Canoe
Five years ago at his local park in Kitchener, Ontario, Matt Morris passed a small waterway along his local bike path and noticed a sign next to a lake. The sign clearly showed that there was no fishing allowed, no swimming allowed but below those messages was the image of a sailboat. Morris had never seen a boat on the small lake and decided to call the city and inquire about boating on the lake.
Not only, the city told him, was boating allowed, but it was encouraged.
“I said man, if I could design a boat to then tow behind my bicycle and enjoy this beautiful piece of water, why not?” shared Morris.
Morris then set to work, making two crafts designed for him to bike to the park and then paddle his local waterway before arriving at the Pheather 2, his most recent canoe. Designed to be lightweight and easy to transport, Morris tailored the Pheather 2 to his specific local paddle with the aim of getting out on the water as part of his lifestyle, rather than a rare trip.
In addition to keeping the boat lightweight and bike-ready, Morris also opted for a clear hull to give him a view of what’s happening beneath the surface.
“I now ride down the trail with a super light boat. I pop it on the water, go for a little paddle, and then ride home,” shared Morris. “I can do the whole thing in under an hour.
Morris also shared that in summer 2025, he was able to get out on the water 90 times.
Finding urban waters to paddle
While one may not typically think of a city as a place to paddle, that doesn’t mean it’s a place you can’t hop in a boat and take it for a spin. Morris shared that the biggest piece in him finding a local urban paddling route was to inquire about typically overlooked waterways, as you don’t know what’s allowed until you ask.
Even now as Morris is a regular paddler on his local urban lake, he shared that he’s often still asked by other park users if he’s allowed to paddle there.
“I’m now actually meeting with the city as they now redo our big park in Waterloo to explore ways of getting more people on the water, whether it be canoe rentals or paddle boats or whatever” said Morris. “To use the water in the core of a city is so often overlooked.”
As for paddlers seeking their own urban adventures, Morris recommends starting with being bold.
“Ask questions, call the city, get permission,” shared Morris. “If you have a canoe, go to the trouble of tying it to your car and driving the two kilometres or two miles down to the water and throw it in and see how it feels. You might be surprised at what a neat opportunity it is.”
Building a custom canoe for your custom local paddling route
For Morris, the biggest aspect of creating a canoe he could bike to his local urban lake was keeping the weight of the paddlecraft low. The Pheather 2 weighs just over 11 pounds.
“I really noticed the lightness of the lighter canoe,” shared Morris. “[It’s] much more enjoyable for the cycling part.”
For Morris, the second biggest challenge was creating a mechanism to attach his canoe to his bike.
“There’s a number of ways to attach a canoe to wheels,” shared Morris. “I used longboard wheels, which I found very workable. There’s never an issue with stability.”
Morris added lights on to the back end of his setup for additional safety, and wears a PFD as he cycles. He secures his paddle to the inside of the canoe with a bungee, and his safety kit snaps on to his handlebars.
For the construction of the canoe, Morris used a mix of woods for his custom build, with maple from a tree cut down in the park he paddles in today, local Ash, mulberry from a park in Waterloo and, notably, pine from a porch at the house the band Supertramp used to stay at when they were in town.
“My boat is made partly with the pine that Supertramp walked on,” said Morris.
For the clear skin of the boat, Morris used vinyl.
Find Morris on social media, or view his website on the Urban Boat Project.
