The Giesler History

In the year 1920, with the increasing popularity of the automobile, “Barney” Giesler’s blacksmith business was slowing down and he had more time for his favorite past time, fishing. Unfortunately, he lacked a good boat. After one unforgettable fishing trip on Lake Nipissing, upon which he learned just how rough the lake could get, he decided to build himself a good seaworthy boat. Once built, he launched it on Lake Nipissing near a popular tourist resort. One of the tourists, impressed by the quality of work, offered to buy it and Barney went home to build another boat. However, before he was finished building it he had an order for another one and in 1921 B. Giesler and Sons Boat Builders was founded. By the 1950 ‘s, along with his four sons and a staff of experienced boat builders, Barney had two models ( the “18” and the “16”) and built over 400 boats per year. Today it is operated by Barney’s four sons, along with the same staff of experienced boat builders and two of Barney’ s grandsons. For over seventy years and three generations Giesler Boats have been known for their sound design and solid construction. What started as a desire to own a good fishing boat is now a proud tradition of providing others with a seaworthy boat at a very good price. We now build 20 models of boats and canoes. All of them are built with western cedar planks, copper nails, and a pride in quality. “ We don’t just build them pretty, we build them pretty good".