First canoe of 2021. 14’ long, 28.5” wide, 10.5” deep. 26lbs with no outfitting. Symmetrical. Gunwales, stringers, and stems are western red cedar. Ribs are Oregon white oak from Zena Forest Products. Keel is Port Orford cedar. Rub rails are Ash. Skin is 840 Xtra Tuff nylon with 3 coats of 2 part polyurethane. For my students: I’ll have full details on this boat in the canoe examples section within a week.
The goals for this canoe were to explore the effects of adding more volume to my rib length formula, to re-shoot the entire Canoe Building Course, to explore the aesthetic of adding riser blocks with angled stems, to explore symmetrical (fore/aft) hulls, and finally to see if I could build a canoe that perfectly straddled the line between double paddle canoe and single blade canoe for my body size.
The rib length adjustments went really well and the shape is actually flatter than I even need or want it to be. At this size I would probably leave the riser blocks out next time. It doesn’t really make the boat look any better with angled stems (they look great with recurve stems though). Although on a smaller pack Canoe I might keep the one in the bow just as a little bit of insurance against the occasional taller wave.
I’m going to spend today outfitting the various bits and pieces and then I’ll let you know how it paddles.
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