Finished fairing the stringers into the stems, tied them on, shaped and tied on the keel, installed some mounting blocks in the seat location, and just generally cleaned up the frame. About a half day’s work overall.
I really like the contrast of the pine against the oak. This is the first canoe I’ve built in pine, because I had some left over from another project. I feel like this or maybe spruce, or if you wanted to get exotic, yellow cedar is a good strength match for this size of canoe. Most of the canoes I build are western red cedar which makes a lovely light solo, but when you start getting close to 16 feet and thinking about putting two people in the boat I think a bit stronger wood makes sense. The stringers and stems here are Douglas fir which is significantly stronger and more rot resistant but also heavier and more difficult to work with. Again, I just used this because I happened to have some sitting around.
The finished frame weighs 31 1/2 pounds and I could speculate about how much it’s going to weigh when it’s finished but I’ll know that in two days so there’s no point.
People often wonder if they can build these as fast as I do, and provided that you get all your materials and tools ready before you start I think that’s doable. The two things that slow you down the most on any build is having to stop and get materials and also just sitting there scratching your chin for no good reason. Once your hands are moving it’s really just not that much work. I can usually finish a canoe in about 40-45 hours but first time builders generally have about 60-65 hours into the project IF they start with all materials and tools ready.
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