Dave's interest in canoeing developed from a young age as a Scout growing up in Duluth, Minnesota, near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. His interest in building canoes was piqued when his father purchased a redwood strip canoe, built at a local school, in the early '80's. He soon was building his own, and over the years developed a technique that evolved from cedar and redwood strip canoes, to cold-molded fiberglass, carbon fiber, and Kevlar canoes with vacuum bagged foam cores. Missing the warmth and beauty of the cedar and redwood hull, he developed a process to vacuum bag a wood strip core into the hull...something that hadn't been done yet. The result was a beautiful balance of wood and composites that had a high-tech look, with an old-school feel. Wanting to enjoy the beauty of the canoe year round Dave developed a process to make a half-canoe fireplace mantel for his home. He was awarded the design patent on that idea in 2007. Dave, and his beautiful wife Dawn, have 6 children between them, and reside in Farmington, Minnesota.