Ribs and stringers in the solo boat today. I like to do this all in one push because the ribs are still pretty soft for few hours after steam bending and the stringers help to fair the shape and also it’s a good time to notice any out of shape ribs while the tools...
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Prepping the ribs for the new 14 foot solo canoe
As soon as I got the 16 foot canoe skinned, I just knew I was gonna have to build a 14 foot solo canoe to fit inside it, so that’s what I’m doing this week. I’m pushing the rib length system into slightly new territory and crossing my fingers it all works out! I...
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New build: Canoe # 17, a 14 foot solo
At boat number 17 feel like I’m just starting to get a toehold into understanding this whole canoe thing. It’s definitely intimidating heading into a whole new branch of boat design, taking the time to understand what shaping choices result in what performance features. The important thing is to stay humble and not look...
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Day 7, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe
Day 7, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe. Build time: 4hrs. Skinned the boat today. After my struggle with the 1050 nylon on the last boat I’m back to the 840 and glad for it. It really is a near perfect skinboat fabric. It was nice and sunny out so I had the dry time to dye...
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Day 6, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe
Day 6, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe. Build time: 6hrs. There is seldom a day in my life where I don’t pay some form of the ‘idiot tax’ fixing boneheaded mistakes that should have been obvious beforehand. After moving the center thwart reinforcement a very important 1.5 inches sideways, I added a carrying handle to ends...
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Day 5, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe
Day 5, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe. Build time: 7 hrs. Faired the stringers into the stems. I’m liking the new curved stem shape, it feels right on a full size canoe. I’m wondering if I could still nest a pair together? Wouldn’t make sense for a pack canoe where every inch counts, but for a...
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Day 4, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe
Day 4, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe. Build time: 6hrs. Tied the stringers on today, and then burned the rest of the day filming new and replacement videos for the building course. I’m getting ready to release a major update next weeks so we are scrambling to get all the pieces in place. One of the...
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Day 3, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe
Day 3, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe. Build time: 4hrs. A pretty easy and uneventful steam bend this morning. I had Liz fire up the camera to make a new bending video for the canoe course. I figure you can never have too many views of the process before you dive in. I will also post...
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Day 2, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe
Day 2, Skin-on-frame tandem canoe. Build time: 6 hrs. I sometimes think that the hardest part of working out a boat design is deciding on a stem shape. At some point you just have to commit because it’s impossible to get it right your first time. I’m working a bit of recurve into this...
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Day 1, 16ft skin on frame tandem tripping canoe
Day 1, 16ft tandem tripping canoe. Build time: 7hrs. While I’m deciding what I think of the row/sail canoe, I thought I’d take the week to build a straightforward Prospector-style tripping canoe. 16 feet long, 35 inches wide, 13.5 inches deep. 2 inch progressive rocker, 8 inch sheer, shallow arch hull shape, little bit...
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Le Tonkinois impressions
At the recommendation of someone on Instagram, I decided to try Le Tonkinois varnish on my last project and I wanted to take a moment to post my impressions. Cost: at 40 bucks a quart it costs about the same as any of the other medium grade varnishes. They sell a 2 1/2 quart...
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Day 14: Row/sail canoe, version 2
Day 14, Row/sail canoe, version 2. Build time: 5hrs. Woke up to beautiful light in the shop and started working out a flotation strategy. I want to have easy options from bare boat photoshoot/protected water rowing mode, to svelte grey pool noodle light air summer sailing mode, to big yellow repurposed inflatable fenders middle...
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How a simple material change can tip the balance between skin and frame in a skin boat
Compared to other forms of boatbuilding skin-on-frame is significantly faster, easier, and less expensive, so much so that it can feel like cheating at times. The big caveat is that there are formidable design challenges owing to the unpredictability of the materials. Unless you simply overpower the problem with extensive bracing, lamination, or oversized...
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Day 13: Row/sail canoe, version 2
Day 13, Row/sail canoe, version 2. Build time: 7hrs. A huge disappointment today, I’m having difficulties with the shape of the canoe due to the heavy skin I put on it. It’s worth a detailed explanation so I’ll tackle that in a separate post. Got all the pieces together today and started setting things...
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Day 12: Row/sail canoe, version 2
Day 12, Row/sail canoe, version 2. Build time: 2hrs. Webbed the canoe seat copying the commercial seats I’ve purchased. I have a compressor and a 1/4 crown pneumatic stapler so I was able to do it the exact same way as the pro seats. Not sure how you could do it otherwise. I set...
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