Canoe Project - 1

The Prospector 16, courtesy of Bear Mountain Boats:

I have been dreaming of building wooden boats for years.  Finally, I am going to actually build one!  I figured I would start small, so I chose a 16' wooden strip canoe and obtained the plans from Bear Mountain Boats. My personal boat will be built out of basswood with black walnut accents and trim pieces. As a way to bring new and exciting projects into my classroom, I will also be having my introductory students build a second boat right alongside of mine.  Their boat will be built from sassafras with black walnut accents.  So now the adventure begins as I try to stay one step ahead of my class.

First three hours of work: Building the strongback, basically a platform to hold all of the molds.  Three hours down, countless more to go.  Two sheets of plywood and many board feet of lumber to cut and install.

Strongback Completed - Ready for the forms

                The Material - All cut and ready to go