Unfinished

I was approached a couple months ago about a project that was never completed. This person's father started this canoe project some time ago, I'm not sure of the time line, but he passed away before he could finish it. When his children settled the estate they set aside some funds to finish the project so that they can enjoy this floating final memory of their father. 

As you can see from the photos, things are a bit rough but I am certain that we can make this boat shine like it was intended to. A few rookie mistakes were made but nothing that is not possible to smooth out and make solid. Fiberglass solves a lot of issues...

I will have to create some forms to bring the hull back into shape, then maple gunnels, black walnut seats and thwarts and decks should  make this project outstanding.

Canoe Seats Complete

If you are not into kneeling in a canoe then you need a place to sit. With me being hard pressed for time and wanting to finish the twins as soon as possible, I asked my neighbor to whip up a couple of seats for the twins. Because these are solo double bladed canoes what better way to paddle leisurely than with this?

Pointeee ends..

I used a method called stemless construction to build the twins. It saved me a little time and effort and has an attractive look as the strips interlock on each end. However, what to do with the pointy ends? They are extremely difficult to push fiberglass into without making a huge mess...

 


So I decided to do and end pour. Basically a cup of epoxy poured into the ends to hold it solid and give me a nice end to tuck the fiberglass into, also a solid block to drill through if I decide to connect a line through the end. Epoxy gets hot as it cures, and I was a little concerned about the wood, but it cooled off before spontaneous combustion could occur.

Inside Fairing

An hour..... one whole hour... that is how much time I spent with the 60 grit paper in my orbital sander to fair out and smooth one half of this canoe... I am starting to wonder just how many hours I can put on the RA sander before it goes into critical melt down....

On other projects..... this is the first attempt to make a caring yoke for canoe #2. Cut from a black walnut stump I had laying around.