So we decided to do something different this summer for our vacation. Heading to the BWCA for a week, getting the kids away from the phones/ipods/video games/etc... But, since we don't have a canoe I decided to make one. Another bucket list item. Finished it up last night and we leave next Thursday so I didn't finish any too soon. Hope to actually put it in the water tomorrow and see if it floats. not sure if I'd do it again but it was a fun/frustrating project.
Summer project
- Thread starter elf
- Start date
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Deleted member 10829
Guest
That looks great! Let us know how the trip goes, great area up there!
No, no kit. I bought a book though that had the prints for the forms in it. So all I had to do was trace those onto plywood and cut out the shapes and then mount those on the jig. Then I bought the cedar boards, ripped them to 1/4" wide, shaped both sides so the strips fit up and started gluing.
The canoe is 16' long and weighs about 60 lbs so it is rather heavy.
very nice job.......I would be taking my shoes off before I got in that thing, and putting a blanket or something under my bags before I put them in that canoe 
Kinda of like the new car.....hate to be the first person to put a scratch into it!
any idea how many hrs you (the family) have into it?
nice job "dad" for getting the kids out of the house and away from all the electronics for a week..........even if that canoe breaks your back form the weight (I personally have no idea what a light one weighs) you should be sitting up a little taller that week!!!
Kinda of like the new car.....hate to be the first person to put a scratch into it!any idea how many hrs you (the family) have into it?
nice job "dad" for getting the kids out of the house and away from all the electronics for a week..........even if that canoe breaks your back form the weight (I personally have no idea what a light one weighs) you should be sitting up a little taller that week!!!
L
lenny
Guest
very nice, you ought to take it on a canoe trip and put a "made in China" sticker on it, nobody would believe it. You are talented!
Thanks for all the compliments. As I said before, it was a fun but frustrating project. Having never worked with fiberglass before, which wraps both the inside and outside of the canoe, I made my fair share of mistakes and was cutting out areas and reglassing spots several times. There are still a couple spots I want to make better but I will have to wait until after the trip to repair. The actual wood working and glueing up was relatively easy, just real slow.
In regards to hours, I'd hate to even know but I'm sure its well over a 100, couple hrs almost every night since April along with more time on the weekends. The cost of the cedar and fiberglass supplies was about $700. Hopefully, with proper maintenance, it will last for a long time.
In regards to hours, I'd hate to even know but I'm sure its well over a 100, couple hrs almost every night since April along with more time on the weekends. The cost of the cedar and fiberglass supplies was about $700. Hopefully, with proper maintenance, it will last for a long time.
skiroule
Well-known member
Looks really good Elf....Beautiful AND functional. I think your 100 hr. estimate may be a little conservative. You know how time flies on these projects.
I'm with Scott, the footwear would be coming off or the little plastic booties would have to go on. And no beaching this on the rocks.
I'm with Scott, the footwear would be coming off or the little plastic booties would have to go on. And no beaching this on the rocks.
You are probably correct on the hours. A better way to estimate would have been to count the beer bottles in the recycling bin. A beer/hr, simple math. 200 bottles = 200 hrs. That was the biggest cost in the whole project. Had to restock the shed fridge many times!
So we and the canoe survived the trip. Over the time we were gone we paddled about 28 miles, the majority of which were on our 3 main travel days. Day one we headed in on Saganaga Lake and went to Long Island where we camped. Got a little lost on Sag, lots of islands so I got a little confused, but we ended up about 7 miles that day. Day 2 we just paddled into Red Rock Bay to do some fishing, got into the smallmouths pretty good. Day 3 we lounged around mostly and fished from our campsite. Day 4 was the big day, broke camp and headed for Alpine Lake. So we had to portage from Red Rock Bay into Red Rock lake and then another portage (60 rods or 1000 ft) from Red Rock into Alpine. All of our portages we had to make 2 trips, my wife and I each hauled a canoe the first trip while the kids hauled gear and then the 2nd trip was the rest of our gear. Once on Alpine we paddled to the opposite side to a campsite and set back up with 8 miles of paddling for the day. This area had burned in 2007 and the blue berries were incredible. Everywhere you looked and incredibly thick. Day 6 was the big push out. Paddled across Alpine to the portage to Sea Gull lake (100 rds or 1/4 mile) that one sucked! Then about 6 miles back across Sea Gull to the truck (well, at least the landing as I had a 2 mile walk to where we left the truck yet). Great trip!
The wood canoe performed perfectly. When paddling it seemed to require much less effort to go than the alum canoe I borrowed. Also seemed much more stable. Got some great compliments on it at most of the portages but the first question was always how much does it weigh. When I told people 66 lbs i think they were all willing to stick with their lightweight kevlar canoes. Got beat up in a few spots, some scratches and dings, nothing that can't be fixed.
Kids did not think the trip was that great, too much time away off the grid for them. We packed way to much food and clothes, probably should have brought more comfortable camp chairs and air mattresses. Beautiful country though, even the areas that had burned over. Some beautiful sunsets, listening to the loons at night. Not that many people around. I thought it was a great trip and would do it again.
The wood canoe performed perfectly. When paddling it seemed to require much less effort to go than the alum canoe I borrowed. Also seemed much more stable. Got some great compliments on it at most of the portages but the first question was always how much does it weigh. When I told people 66 lbs i think they were all willing to stick with their lightweight kevlar canoes. Got beat up in a few spots, some scratches and dings, nothing that can't be fixed.
Kids did not think the trip was that great, too much time away off the grid for them. We packed way to much food and clothes, probably should have brought more comfortable camp chairs and air mattresses. Beautiful country though, even the areas that had burned over. Some beautiful sunsets, listening to the loons at night. Not that many people around. I thought it was a great trip and would do it again.
skiroule
Well-known member
It sounds like it was a great trip and successful maiden voyage. It is an incredibly beautiful area. I can just imagine the sunsets.
Seems like one always packs too much food and clothes - not sure why that happens. I'm not surprised that the kids were lukewarm on the trip. Give them 20 years and the story will be different.
By the way, your beer tally is a much more accurate way of tracking hours. It's pretty much the system I use.
Congrats again on an excellent job!
Seems like one always packs too much food and clothes - not sure why that happens. I'm not surprised that the kids were lukewarm on the trip. Give them 20 years and the story will be different.
By the way, your beer tally is a much more accurate way of tracking hours. It's pretty much the system I use.
Congrats again on an excellent job!