Project Information
Skin on Frame canoe for my fishing and camping needs. This is a sister boat to the Curlew kayak I made my wife for Christmas last year. Design by Kudzu Boats.
Frames are 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood stained dark walnut, stringers, keel and gunwales are western red cedar. Floor is also the Baltic birch plywood, which makes it heavier than it could have been; figured this floor weighs ~16lbs where if I had made it from WRC and used boards half the size, would have save 10lbs. The breasthooks and thwarts are black walnut. The skin is 11.9 ounce polyester painted with Rustoleum Pro Enamel. Everything is lashed together using artificial sinew, no glue or screws in the boat except for the gunwales, the spacer blocks and where the breasthooks mate to the gunwales. Over-all length is just under 15', weight is 45lbs and the floor is 10' over-all length.
The boat isn't quite finished, while cutting the tapers on the floor boards I had a table saw kick-back incident and it threw my aluminum angle gauge back into my wrist. I thought it was broken at the time but x-rays showed nothing broken and nothing in there (there was a puncture wound and lots of blood). Just a really bad bruise, it's been 2 weeks and I just getting full range of motion back on my wrist. The blade was damaged so it is off getting 2 teeth replaced so cannot make the rub-rails that will hide the top edge of the fabric and staples yet.
Picked up a couple new toys for the shop to do this one, an pneumatic stapler and canvas pliers to help pull the skin tight while stapling it. The bow and stern are protected with a 1/2" wide aluminum strips that are screwed into place and then painted to match the boat.
Frames are 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood stained dark walnut, stringers, keel and gunwales are western red cedar. Floor is also the Baltic birch plywood, which makes it heavier than it could have been; figured this floor weighs ~16lbs where if I had made it from WRC and used boards half the size, would have save 10lbs. The breasthooks and thwarts are black walnut. The skin is 11.9 ounce polyester painted with Rustoleum Pro Enamel. Everything is lashed together using artificial sinew, no glue or screws in the boat except for the gunwales, the spacer blocks and where the breasthooks mate to the gunwales. Over-all length is just under 15', weight is 45lbs and the floor is 10' over-all length.
The boat isn't quite finished, while cutting the tapers on the floor boards I had a table saw kick-back incident and it threw my aluminum angle gauge back into my wrist. I thought it was broken at the time but x-rays showed nothing broken and nothing in there (there was a puncture wound and lots of blood). Just a really bad bruise, it's been 2 weeks and I just getting full range of motion back on my wrist. The blade was damaged so it is off getting 2 teeth replaced so cannot make the rub-rails that will hide the top edge of the fabric and staples yet.
Picked up a couple new toys for the shop to do this one, an pneumatic stapler and canvas pliers to help pull the skin tight while stapling it. The bow and stern are protected with a 1/2" wide aluminum strips that are screwed into place and then painted to match the boat.