Beaufort couple brings aluminum canoes back to Missouri
They set out looking for more kayaks for their float business. They ended up bringing a storied canoe company back to Missouri. The path that led Jennifer and Scott Paulsen to where they are today is almost as full of twists and turns as the Bourbeuse River, Missouri’s most crooked float stream, where these Crawford Electric Cooperative members operate a float business.
The story begins with Osagian, which began building iconic aluminum canoes in Lebanon in 1976. It was a logical location for one of many companies that earned Lebanon the nickname “Boat Town.”
It wasn’t long before the double-ended canoes with a distinctive logo on the bow started appearing on float streams, at summer camps and on farm ponds across the country. In 2003 Osagian was bought by the Carr family. In time, they partnered with a Danish firm, which assembled canoes for the European market from parts made in Lebanon. But in 2019, Osagian was sold and moved — lock, stock and barrel — to Denmark.
One of Osagian’s most loyal customers was a Bourbeuse River float business called Devil’s Back Floats with a Leslie, Missouri, address. Owners Lester and Dolores Swoboda turned the business over to their daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, Scott, who saw business increase to the point where there weren’t enough watercraft on hand to meet the demand.
“Most of our canoes that we used on the river were Osagians,” Jennifer recalls. “My parents bought probably some of the first kayaks that came off the line and put them into our fleet.”
She says that when COVID-19 hit in 2020, many more people discovered the outdoors, prompting the need for more watercraft — and the search for more Osagians. One hallmark of Osagian was the 12-foot aluminum kayaks first 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 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.
In the first year after bringing Osagian canoes back to the U.S., the couple built 160 boats, ranging from the 12-foot kayaks to 17-foot, square-stern fishing canoes with three keels. Each canoe is hand built and no two are exactly alike.
Besides setting up a website, Jennifer and Scott haven’t had to do much marketing. The Osagian name seems to sell itself. “I think there’s different reasons for different people,” Scott says of the brand’s allure. “One thing is a lot of people grew up with them, and there’s a nostalgic aspect to it. You know, ‘I remember going on fishing trips with Grandpa and the old Osagian.’ They want to do the same thing with their kids or grandkids.”
He adds that durability is another selling point. He points out many of the Osagians Devil’s Back Floats rents are 30 or 40 years old and are still in great shape. That’s prompting sales to many canoe rental businesses across the country. They’ve also sold canoes to individuals from locations as distant as Massachusetts and Washington state. And an entire container of canoes made their way from Beaufort to French Guiana in South America.
The canoes range in price from $975 for the solo kayak to $1,840 for the 17-foot, four-person Fisherman.3 canoe. The biggest canoe is the 18-foot EXP.4, which can haul 1,000 pounds and sells for $1,415.
Shipping remains the biggest issue. The Paulsens personally deliver many of their canoes across the country, although many buyers opt to pick them up in Beaufort.
The success of the venture has prompted Scott to turn in his notice so that he too can devote his full attention to building canoes. In time, they hope to restore the Osagian tradition, one shiny canoe at a time.
You can learn more about Osagian canoes by calling 636-234-4994 or at www.osagiancanoesusa.com. To book a Bourbeuse River float trip with Devil’s Back Floats, call 573-484-3231 or visit www.devilsbackfloats.com.
