Canoe Project - 9

Finished Stripping !



All the strips done, detail strips carefully added with points matching.  By the way, I will never do the details on the bottom again.   Keeping all the points lined up was a nightmare!





Both sides finished now time for the outer stems.



Outer stem glued in place and ready to be shaped.

Hull planed and gaps filled with color matched putty

Now that all of the planks are installed and the rough shaping has been completed it is time for the real work too start. Hours and hours of sanding are sure to follow.  I can't wait !

Canoe Project - 8

And the stripping continues...  The long weekend proved to be very productive. Then, I had a very busy week and completed very little canoe work.  I had plans of working today, but college football and my lovely wife received the bulk of my attention.  One side is completed, and the ironically-named process of "closing the football" has begun.  Hopefully I can complete the stripping tomorrow and begin the arduous process of planing, sanding, filling, sanding, wetting and still more sanding next week.

24 Strips - Getting close to the top now

29 Strips and the stem has been covered.
Now the fun starts!

Starting to "Close the Football"

Football in progress!
Now to go watch my Auburn Tigers, WAR EAGLE!

Halfway There - That center line was (NOT) fun to cut by hand.

Finally Finishing the Football.
Note: each piece is beveled to the center line, by hand.

Just thought this one was cool!

Canoe Project - 7

And the stripping continues, as everything takes shape I can see the beautiful curves of the emerge as the strips of creamy basswood begin to skin the backbone of the canoe.  At this stage a picture says a thousand words.

The beginning

The skeleton

Two strips

Accent Strips Added

Six more strips added - notice it's dark now

Yup, I've officially lost count.

Now that looks like a canoe!

More stripping to be done, I'll update you all soon.

Canoe Project - 6

I can sit back and imagine the water at last.  Well, actually I hope I don't experience the water in this way.  The molds are completely cut out and mounted to the strong back; curves are fared and the stems laid out.  The upside down shape of the canoe is now revealed.  With this step completed, I can finally start to imagine its final shape.

The Upside Down Canoe - NOT the desired position for actual use

And the Stripping Begins

Canoe Project - 5

Date Night!

Saturday Night in the Shop

Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined Amelia would have gone for it, but hey it was worth a try.  So I took the leap and suggested that we go on a date to my shop and work on the boats.  Wonders of all wonders, she agreed!  Well, maybe we have a new definition of Saturday night dates in the Stehouwer household, either that or she is scared of becoming a "boat widow".  All kidding aside, with temperatures in the upper 90's and no air conditioning, my shop quickly reaches 110 degrees every day, so evening work sessions have become critical in my quest to stay ahead of my students on our boat building projects.  So Saturday night was spent with a hand plane and chisel, shaping the inner stems in preparation for stripping.

Steam-Bent Walnut Stems - Glued and awaiting shaping

Inner Stem - Shaped and Ready

Canoe Project - 4

The canoe seats.  Yes, I know it's a little early, but I figure with four seats to be made, finished and caned, I better get started.  So it was time to cut up the beautiful piece of black walnut sitting on the shop floor.  After cutting, planing, sanding, and finishing, they are now ready for caning.

Finished Seat Frames

Up, down, up, down ... Left, right, left, right ... Up, down, up, down, ... and now that's enough for tonight. Based on the first evening of work, I am glad I started early. Maybe by Christmas, I will have four seats ready to install. But they sure look beautiful.

Caning Started

Canoe Project - 3

Well even the most patient people sometimes can't wait.  After two weeks of waiting for the computer-generated, full-size plans to arrive, I couldn't wait any longer. So, now for my first stab at lofting.  After reading Canoe Craft and multiple Internet searches, I reached the naive conclusion that this couldn't be that difficult.  "I'll be done in a couple of hours, dear."  The words still ringing in my ears after an entire weekend spent at the kitchen table (Sorry, Amelia!), I had my very own set of full-size plans.  Finally I could start building the molds. On that exciting note, I left for school Monday morning hoping to spend the evening building the molds.  Well, after the almost forgotten staff meeting, 110 degree day and unfinished work, I left exhausted without cutting a single mold.  And guess what was awaiting my arrival home . . . the long-awaited plans.  Well, I guess it was a good exercise in boat building skills, and I have a cool set of line drawings.

The Prospector 16 - Table of Offsets

2" Full Scale Grid Drawn - Now time to start plotting points!

The Completed Drawings