Strip Canoe #1: Canoe

I have been interested in building a strip built Kayak for many years. It is one of the things that draws me to woodworking and finally setting up my basement shop. I look forward to following your progress.

Keep up the good work & posting!!!

-- Randy-- I may not be good...but I am slow!

PIP WHAT A GREAT JOB IT IS WAY COOL KEEP THE VIDEO COMING—————- FIREHOUSE

-- duke 66 ocala fl.

Thank you for the blog, Pip. Those photos look just fine from your phone.

-- - Eric Indianapolis, IN

Welcome. Thanks for sharing and I will look forward to more. Neat project.

-- Duane, Iowa

Not the best pics but waaay better than many I’ve seen. LOL Nice place to work! Looking forward to see where your woodworking journey takes you.

Thanks for your inspiration.

-- Cau Haus Designs, Thomas J. Tieffenbacher

I’ve always wanted to build one myself but my garage is only 14X18. Maybe an extension is in order…..hummmm.

Keep them coming. I’ll be reading

I’ll be watching. I love these projects.

-- Dan I.G.N.

Having made a couple of canoes myself, ..what a fun project but I have a question

At the bow and stern, there is often a stem piece that becomes part of the canoe. A laminated curve where “2” are made for both ends. They are made at the same time to ensure a perfect fit. The first goes on the bow and stern template/form before the strips are laid, after the strips are laid, the end cap is fit.

Did you do it this way ?

Cheers

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso

What an ambitious project you have started. From my novice eye you seem to be off to a great start. What type of stapler are you using – mechanical or pnuematic? Why are you building the canoe are, you a canoer or just want a challenging project?

Ron

-- Ron, Eugene, OR, "Curiosity is a terrible thing to waste."

This is a great project. Thanks for the detailed documentation.

-- Rick, Tennessee, John 3:16

Thanks for doing the blog, I’ll be watching it.

-- And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23

This is on my list for “someday …” ... thinking cedar strip would look cool. For now I think I’ll settle in and watch your work progress! Great project!

-- Eric M. Saperstein, Master Craftsman www.artisansofthevalley.com

northwest29- I’m using a mechanical stapler and wishing I had a pnuematic. My dad had two fiberglass canoes when I was younger. We would canoe around Kentucky Lake and creeks in W. Kentucky. I’ve really been want to get back on the water these last couple of years.

-- Well, I'll be screwed, glued, and tattooed!

You could have had to use a small hammer and small copper tacks so a hand stapler isn’t that bad

I mean really, what a fun project regardless of the tools at hand.

Just a personal choice in the way the cup of the bead that connects the strips together, and you doing it an easy way and the trough is easily filled with glue. I understand why its easier to fill a glass with water when it stands upright rather the upside down but the same rules that apply to trim, when looking into a room, apply to building a canoe in that the way the eye focuses on a joint, the joint should always have the point,……..point away from the eye. …………..it tends to hide the miter/coping joint better and water is more likely to drain

what about the stem pieces ? ………….25 + years ago. I made the same mistake. Never made it again : ))

there is something about making a boat, a canoe, that raises the bar, that is humbling yet forever rewarding.

Cheers

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso

Hi Pip, thanks for the information. I, like some of the other folks above, have always wanted to build a canoe as well. I think it would be a great summer activity on the lakes around me. I will be checking in to see how it goes with your canoe – maybe it will give me the confidence to give such an envolved project a shot myself.

Just an after thought – maybe with a pneumatic stapler the staples would be much harder to get out?

Thanks for taking us along on your canoe building journey.

Ron

-- Ron, Eugene, OR, "Curiosity is a terrible thing to waste."