The Nahanni is a very special Osprey. To begin with, it is stretched to 15' 6" to accommodate a large paddler and heavier loads. The hull is select western red cedar with walnut stems, planked without staples. The outside of the planking has been stained to a darker shade of cedar. The gunwales are cherry, with continuous grain across all four pieces, and with Martin's trademark wrap around ends at the stems. The inside of the hull is finished with Sikken's Anti-Slip Deckpaint in beige. This unusual treatment brightens up the inside and sets off the woodwork nicely, plus providing the added safety and durability of a non-slip surface. At it's first showing at Guelph Lake, the reaction was at least 10 to 1 overwhelmingly positive! All other surfaces are varnished with high gloss Epifanes marine spar varnish.
The trim includes a sliding caned seat, in Martin's special design, executed in white ash and using plastic cane for long term durability. The thwarts are in cherry, the decks are bookmatched in solid black walnut with cherry trim. The tie-off provision is by means of a neat, clean hole in the deck, lined with a stainless steel ferrule. There is a Nexus 70 compass mounted under the port gunwale. The canoe is also rigged for sailing on downwind runs only using a small spinnaker. There is a mast hole in the forward thwart and a walnut mast step below, and cam cleats to secure the rigging. The backstays pass through stainless steel ferrules in the gunwales aft of the rear thwart and secure with cam cleats mounted under the gunwales.
The thwarts, seat slider rails and compass are all installed with Martin's trademark 'Hidden Hardware' system, which used stainless steel socket head cap screws installed from underneath, leaving absolutely nothing visible, not even wooden plugs! However, each component can be quickly and easily removed with only a 5mm Allen wrench.
This special canoe, although quite durable, at about 60 lbs it is not a featherweight craft suited for long portages and wilderness treks. It is a beautiful, heirloom quality personal watercraft that will give the owner many years of paddling enjoyment.