Five canoes, one van. Earlier in the day it was seven. So happy with how nesting these has worked out for transport and storage....
Blog
Intro videos for my video courses are my nemesis
Intro videos for my video course are my nemesis. Even my normal instruction videos usually take a couple dozen takes to get things right, but when it comes to the intro videos I get seriously picky about every 1/3rd stop of light, every millimeter of microphone placement, every spoken syllable. I’ve always been envious...
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Video: The Parks planer devouring some reclaimed fir
With a steady diet of silica and tannic acid working with bending Oak and reclaimed Douglas Fir is a mouthful for any planer. This direct drive 1942 Parks planer chows down....
All ten canoe prototypes on the beach
As an early celebration of the upcoming canoe plan and video release, we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and took all ten prototypes down to the river for a group paddle. Now it's head down for a few weeks of video and plan edits to get these launched....
I never take for granted the quality of the wood that I’m privileged to work with
I never take for granted the quality of the wood that I’m privileged to work with. The Oregon white oak I use is in my opinion, the king of steam bending woods, it is tough, rot resistant and bends like butter after a short steaming time. I buy this stuff from Zena Forest Products,...
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Anybody can make something that’s pretty and curvy looking, but how does it perform?
Anybody can make something that’s pretty and curvy looking but my passion is focused on how it performs in the water. When it comes to understanding something there is simply no substitute for experience. This is the 12th canoe I’ve built since May. It’s built with white oak ribs, red cedar gunwales and upper...
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Video: Trimming the fabric
Trimming the fabric. The sound on this one is kinda neat!...
Skinning day
Skinning day is such a beautiful part of the skin on frame process. So many gorgeous visuals....
Allowing for height and angle adjustability in canoe seats
One of the cool things about these new skin on frame canoe designs that I’ve been working on is that the solid laminated gunwales provide a beefy enough surface to hang seats the same way you would in any canoe. This allows for the same kind of height and angle adjustability that you normally...
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Today is World Mental Health Day
Today is World Mental Health Day, and we’re proud to be supporting The Weight We Carry in their mission to carry canoes to unusual places to raise awareness and funds for mental health treatment centers. We’re sending two canoes to Nepal to support their quest to carry canoes all the way to Everest Base...
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Latest full-size single blade canoes
The canoe evolution continues with the latest full-size single blade canoes. Pictured is a 14’ long 29lb full size canoe next to an 11’ long 17lb pack canoe. Check out the YouTube channel for the latest video on the design evolution of these boats. Closing in on having plans and instructional videos ready for...
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Custom built F1 kayak, headed home with its new owner
Custom built F1 kayak, headed home with its new owner....
Coating the skin
Coating the skin. I use a 9oz ballistic nylon skin on most of my boats, coated with a 2-part polyurethane - aka "goop". It takes a few hours to apply a few coats of goop, cures for 24 - 48 hours, and done....
There’s no substitute for repetition…
If you’re trying to design something truly good there’s no substitute for repetition, but with 11 canoes built in the last 4 months, one more starting tomorrow, and two more scheduled for the end of October..... I’m running out of room at the house!!...
Video: continuous lashings
People often ask me if the continuous lashings I use are vulnerable to breaking. The answer is that in 17 years of doing this I’ve never had one break, but it wouldn’t matter if it did because the coating essentially glues the skin to the frame effectively trapping and isolating each lashing. Nothing wrong...
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