Bending in ribs for two full-size solo canoes for The Weight We Carry. Unlike the double-paddle pack canoes I’ve been working on up to this point, these are both longer and wider – meaning taller gunwales, thicker ribs, and more stringers. It’s a good opportunity to check the scalability of the build system I’m...
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Video: Last step before sending a new boat out the door
Last step before sending a new boat out the door...
Wide angle view down the center of one of the canoes
Wide angle view down the center of one of the canoes. You can see the continuous lashings holding keel and stringers in place....
Video: Finishing the frame for the smaller of this set of nesting solo canoes
Finishing the frame for the smaller of this set of nesting solo canoes. This one is 11 feet long and 26 inches wide. Frame is red cedar, white oak and fir. Haven’t weighed it in yet, but expect the completed boat to be about 17 pounds....
Oiling one of the canoe frames
Oiling one of the canoe frames. This one uses fir for the keel and lower stringers, for greater durability, which contrast nicely with the dark red cedar of the upper stringers....
Timelapse: Steam bending ribs for a pack canoe
Steam bending ribs for a pack canoe while shooting the video for the new building course. I free bend all my boats this way - it takes about 20 minutes to rib a 12-foot canoe....
Keels on, ready for ribs
Keels on, ready for ribs....
Canoe deck in the studio
Canoe deck in the studio. This autumn light is making shooting the instructional videos a pleasure....
Stems, gunwales, stringers, keels
Stems, gunwales, stringers, keels, plus the forms needed to build the decks. Add the ribs and that's all the wood for two canoes....
Laminated canoe gunwales mortised and ready to go
Laminated canoe gunwales mortised and ready to go. Today we assemble the decks. This build is moving more slowly as we film the instructional videos for canoe building and develop the plans and worksheets to accompany the build. If you’ve built one of my kayaks, you know that I develop systems that allow the...
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Curved, laminated gunwales fresh off the saw
Curved, laminated gunwales fresh off the saw. We're filming this build of two nesting canoes to prep for the new instructional video course and plans. Excited to be releasing the canoe build system for beta testing soon!...
Do I really need that many clamps?
Back in the shop, laminating boards for the gunwales for a new set of canoes. People always ask if they really need to buy that many clamps. The answer is yes, buy the clamps. They’re a buck apiece at the big box stores, and good clamping makes all the difference in a successful lamination....
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Brittany in the shop, building keyhole kayak coamings
Brittany in the shop, building keyhole kayak coamings....
Video: Oiling paddles in the summer sun
Oiling paddles in the summer sun...
Canoe build 2, Prototypes 6 and 7 complete
Skin-on-frame build 2, prototypes 6 and 7 complete. 11' long, 26.5" wide and 11'-8" and 28.5" wide, weighing in at 17 lbs and 19 lbs respectively. Getting closer to dialing in the measurement system to be scalable to any size....