Every time I sharpen my tools I have the same two thoughts: ‘jewelers rouge and leather cuts metal way faster than it seems like it should’ and ‘I should probably do this more than twice a year’. I really am a tragic excuse for a woodworker but luckily skin on frame building is pretty...
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Experimenting with tumblehome
I like skin on frame construction because it’s the only type of boat building where it’s practical to be an experimental designer. I can build something, try it, and then build another one the next week and try that, and then build another one two weeks later, until eventually I build some thing that...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 12
The seat that I’m fitting here is the contoured laminated ash seat sold by Northstar Canoes. At 55 bucks these extremely well-made seats are a fantastic deal. The lamination enables the contour but also adds significant strength. The quarter inch hex head bolts holding the seat are a bit rough looking but because the...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 11
Skin on Frame Canoe Time Lapse 11 The coating I use on all of my boats is the two-part polyurethane sold by skinboats.org. I’ve written about this extensively in previous posts so I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but basically I like this stuff because it’s relatively tough, non-toxic, inexpensive, and...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 10
Skin on Frame Canoe Time Lapse 10. Continued from yesterday, I always put the skin on in a single day because once the fabric is wetted it must stay continuously wet until the process is finished. The reason for this because the first time that raw nylon dries out it shrinks powerfully and will...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 9
Skinning the canoe happens on a single day, but I’m gonna break it into two separate videos so I can show all the steps. I’ll post the second half tomorrow....
Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 8
With the frame complete I drench it in oil, dry it off, and let it dry for a couple days. This isn’t a particularly interesting part of the process so mostly this video is just here to show all the steps and keep track of the time....
Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 7
Skin on Frame Canoe Build Time Lapse 7. With the frame mostly complete we are down to the finishing touches and cleanup work. Whether it’s a house or a boat, this is the time on any project where time starts to dilate in direct proportion to how little you have left to do. Anyone...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 6
Skin on Frame Canoe Build Time Lapse 6. With the stringers tied on I can relax a bit and just let the natural tensions of all the framing members balance the shape of the boat. Rocker loss is just a fact of life with skin on frame building (which is why I never build...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 5
Skin on Frame Canoe Build Time Lapse 5. (there’s music!). I like to have all the ribs pre-cut and prepped and the stringers ready so I can start bending ribs first thing in the morning. Doing it this way means that I can get the ribs in and the stringers on the boat on...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 4
Skin on Frame Canoe Build Time Lapse 4. When working with my rib length formula, it’s always a good idea to do a set of test ribs to double check the shape and also to get comfortable with the steam bending process before committing to the entire boat. Inspired by Gabe at Tufts &...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 3
This canoe is one of a two nesting canoe set. It’s going to be 15 feet long, and 30 inches wide, and 12 1/4 inches deep. On my last build I went for a symmetrical plan view and sheer line. This time I’m swinging in the other direction and going more asymmetrical than I’ve...
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Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 2
As I mentioned yesterday for this build I’m recording the actual time spent on each task. If you’re taking my canoe building class doubling these numbers should give you plenty of time to watch the video and complete each step....
Time lapse: Skin on frame solo canoe build, Post 1
For this week’s solo canoe build I’m doing something a bit different. Instead of going day by day, I am recording the actual time spent on each task along with the total working time at the end of each day. This way we can see exactly how long the woodworking takes and also how...
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Time lapse: Coating the canoe
We finished re-shooting the coating section of the skin on frame canoe building course yesterday, completing a month long work push to reshoot the entire course. I’m looking forward to getting back to the more creative side of things in the coming months! The coating I’m using here is the two-part polyurethane sold by...
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