Build a canoe?

[Flysmallie]

In all seriousness, what kind/how much wood did you get? I've been wanting to do this for years.

Well since this is my first one I decided to go cheap on the wood. That way if I screw a sheet up it won't be so bad. I purchased 4 sheets of 1/4 Birch plywood from my favorite Lowe's location. It was 19.95 per sheet. I had a hard time deciding between the oak and the birch. But the birch was what I had originally wanted and was noticeably lighter. The only problem with the birch was the amount of filler in the sheets. I was able to dig through and find 2 good sheets, 1 okay and another deemed for the bottom. Of course this makes no difference if I decide to paint it. Still not sure what I want to do there. Really wanted a wood finish canoe, but I may paint this one and save the wood finish for the kayak plans I have been looking at. Plus it's a lot cheaper to paint.

[WebFreeman]

Keep us informed. Nothing would be cooler than floating a river in a boat you built yourself, I think. You could always paint the bottom and stain the sides. My thing was a white bottom/floor and natural sides and white trim. The white floor would be helpful to find hooks/split shot/flies when you drop them.

[Crippled Caddis]

May I suggest that those interested take a look at 'Uncle Johns' pirogue kit? http://www.unclejohns.com/boat/default.htm

For less than $60 you get all of the difficult to make parts and full plans. All that you need to add are a couple of sheets of good exterior plywood, glue and your finishing materials which can range from W-M exterior latex to fully fiberglassing both interior and exterior. (but only if you want it to last ;o))

The Cajun pirogue is neither more nor less than a modernized version of the Southern aboriginal dugout canoe simplified so that it may be built with readily available current materials.

Readily available and freely dispensed advice on building a pirogue with a LOT of expertise concerning the Uncle John kit specifically is almost instantly available at http://www.neilbank.com/phpBB2/

I would advise asking serious questions on the 'Serious Boatbuildong Questions' board on that site since the preponderance of BSers that hang out on the site make even this forum seem deadly serious. ;o) CC

[Crippled Caddis]

Fly wrote:

<Of course this makes no difference if I decide to paint it. Still not sure what I want to do there. Really wanted a wood finish canoe, but I may paint this one and save the wood finish for the kayak plans I have been looking at. Plus it's a lot cheaper to paint.>

True but it lasts a LOT longer if glassed. The difference can range up to decades! Properly applied glass allows the full glory of the woodgrain to show----including any 'oops' by the builder.

Web wrote:

<You could always paint the bottom and stain the sides. My thing was a white bottom/floor and natural sides and white trim.>

For durability a glassed bottom finished out with 2-3 final coats of epoxy resin containing @ 20% graphite powder by volume will make it slide over rocks like the slickest plastic boats. It also makes the bottom black---it is after all graphite! Go to the site I recommended in the post above and look at some of the pirogues finished out with clear glass and graphited bottoms up to the waterline. I think they are very handsome indeed. CC

[brownieman]

I don't know how to build a canoe or a dog house but, I have built a few of these.

A friend playing one I built.

beautiful work gf...what kind of wood did you use?

My father and I have been craftsman our entire lives...made a little bit of everything...paddles, couple of jons, re-done some canoes... several guitars, most unusual being an electic bass, made the fretboard and all...that was kind of a touphy, lol...used knobs from a 48 buick for the tuning knobs, even made the keys.

All the guitars we bought the hardware.

Think the neatest thing we've made is a fiddle...the back is walnut, sides cherry, top white pine and the neck is mullberry...took 147 hrs.

I love that old f hole pattern ( no comments on that one now, cmon) have my grandfathers old f hole acoustic. Just wanted to tell ya thats sure nice work...if you kept track, how many hours on the mandolins?

The old wooden canoe we fished from since I was a child was ribbed...sure was a dandy but hard to pick up hooks and stuff when ya dropped em, lol

[brownieman]

CC...the old wooden canoe we used since i was little had to weigh about 150 lbs. Too much repair over the yrs.

She had a few broken ribs over the years...many coats of glass, gunnels replaced several times.

Guess the prettiest one I have seen was made from cypress strips...there is a misconception concerning the durability of cypress...but this was indeed a nice piece of work.

I asked and they told me...forget how much time they put in on her.

They said they hated to use it but felt they should...was a boat you know, lol

[Crippled Caddis]

<the old wooden canoe we used since i was little had to weigh about 150 lbs. Too much repair over the yrs>

Boy am I familiar with the problem! Had an 18' wood & canvas Old Town Guide model for a while. (wish I had it now!) It was just manageable for two people to load on a roof rack when well dried out but getting it back on top after a weekend overnighter when it had taken the opportunity to soak up a load of water would rupture Olympic weightlifters. ;o( Sure was a superior fishing canoe tho. If I still had it it'd be on a trailer these days but it wound up as a display 'antique' for the Bennigans/Steak & Ale chain. CC

[gonefishin]

OK, GF... you can build me one of those...

No problem. Just need a down payment.

You'll appreciate this one....

I was in Boyd Music Store in Little Rock one day and got to talking to Mr. Boyd about bluegrass. He told me that he was backstage one time when Bill Monroe was doing a concert (in Barton I think) and Bill broke a string on his mandolin. He asked for someone to replace the string, and Mr. Boyd walked out and took it backstage to put the string on. He said he layed it up on a table, and started to take the bridge out. When he pressed his thumbs down to get the strings to relax, he realized just how super paper thin the face of that mandolin was. Now you have to realize that Bob Boyd played mandolin and probably had a couple of thousand or more in his hands at one time or another. He said this was the absolute thinnest he had ever come across.

Well, he proceeded to loosen the other strings, THEN take the bridge out, replace the string, tune it, and took it back out to Bill.

He said he asked him about that later, and Bill told him he had his own specs for the thickness of the face... and yes... it was "paper thin..." however thick that was... Said it was "key" to the Bill Monroe sound...

Bob indicated he estimated that event took at least five years off his life... but was thankful he didn't break it and get his life ended immediately...

I played Bills Mando twice while he was still alive. A exciting and fearful all at the same time kind of experience. I can't imagine the pressure the guy who repaired it for Bill was under when it was so badly damaged by those vandals. YIKES!!

His mando was certainly light. I never stressed the top but being a builder I did look it over and it was light. The edges looked like they were maybe .08 or .09 thick. It is in a museum but I wonder what that old mando of his is worth nowadays.

[gonefishin]

beautiful work gf...what kind of wood did you use?

So far all of my Mandos have had Flame Maple back, sides and necks, Ebony Fingerboards and Peg overlay, Mother of Pearl inlay and Adirondack Spruce tops. I tune the top and back plates, then tune the tone bars then and finally tune the instrument as a coupled unit. This is all wood tuning and has nothing to do with tuning the strings.

Think the neatest thing we've made is a fiddle...the back is walnut, sides cherry, top white pine and the neck is mullberry...took 147 hrs.

I bet that is an interesting instrument.

I love that old f hole pattern ( no comments on that one now, cmon) have my grandfathers old f hole acoustic. Just wanted to tell ya thats sure nice work...if you kept track, how many hours on the mandolins?

I have about 350 hours in a mando

I have also built fiddles, guitars and dulcimers.

[gonefishin]

C'mon doesn't anyone like my fancy canoe paddle.