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Redbird Woodstrip Canoe

Project by lobbster posted 387 days ago 711 views 1 time favorited 20 comments Add to Favorites
Redbird Woodstrip Canoe Redbird Woodstrip Canoe Redbird Woodstrip Canoe Click the pictures to enlarge them

I built this canoe over a 3 year period while we lived in the desert of Southwest Texas. It was inspiration to get out of the place we were living and to the Pacific Northwest where I could use the thing.
At the time, Redwood was readily available at Home Depot in 1×6 stock. It was the best lumber I could find at the time short of custom ordering cedar or spruce. I bought what I needed and milled up the 1/4×3/4 inch strips for the body. The gunwales are ash. The bow and stern pieces were made by steaming 3 strips of ash and bending them over a form. The decks are oak. The moon and star carvings were a gift I received when traveling in Eastern Africa. The symbol is one that is displayed on the sides of Dhows (traditional Arab sailing vessel). I took many trips by dhow while I was traveling. The seats are canvas. The canoe is 17’6”.
The whole canoe is sealed in fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin then finished with spar varnish.
I have to say I knew little about woodworking and even less about boat building when I started this project. I was with my wife at Barnes and Noble perusing the woodworking books when I came across a book called Canoecraft. It has several different canoe designs as well as kayaks and rowers. My mother taught me at a young age that I could do whatever I wanted and there was probably a book to tell me how. That was one of the best lessons I ever learned.

-- lobbster, Oregon, www.michaellobby.com


20 comments so far

View Todd A. Clippinger's profile (online now)

Todd A. Clippinger

2671 posts in 637 days


posted 387 days ago

An excellent project. Truly beautiful and well executed.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

View Peter O's profile

Peter O

695 posts in 412 days


posted 387 days ago

I love strip-built boats, and this one is absolutely beautiful! Great work!

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com

View TomFran's profile

TomFran

2371 posts in 532 days


posted 387 days ago

Wow! Nice job. That looks like it would have been a complex woodworking project to say the least.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

View Karson's profile

Karson

13834 posts in 938 days


posted 387 days ago

A great looking boat. What does it weigh and how does it handle.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

View lobbster's profile

lobbster

23 posts in 398 days


posted 387 days ago

It weighs about 55 pounds, I can easily portage and lift it on to my truck by myself. I had no idea what I was doing as far a the shape of the boat and it’s performance. If I do it over I will make the bottom more flat for a more stable ride. When I paddle alone I’m fine ‘cause I’ve learned how it handles. My wife and I, on the other hand, have discovered that it’s best we don’t canoe together. With two people, one always thinks the other is leaning or tipping too much. It is fast though.

-- lobbster, Oregon, www.michaellobby.com

View Karson's profile

Karson

13834 posts in 938 days


posted 387 days ago

Thanks. Especially for the size. A husband and a wife in a canoe really tries a marriage.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

4593 posts in 756 days


posted 387 days ago

Beautiful canoe! I’ll bet the neighbors in Texas thought you were crazy building a canoe in the desert.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View mrtrim's profile

mrtrim

1548 posts in 418 days


posted 387 days ago

its so sweet id have a hard time useing it afraid id scratch it very well done

View SPalm's profile

SPalm

742 posts in 420 days


posted 387 days ago

Beautiful job. Good for you for having the confidence to try whatever you wanted to.

Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

View dennis mitchell's profile (online now)

dennis mitchell

3048 posts in 852 days


posted 386 days ago

View miles125's profile

miles125

992 posts in 543 days


posted 386 days ago

That just looks like it would be fun to build. I don’t know about availability of Redwood in other parts of the country, but here in Alabama its not too difficult to carry a thousand dollars worth in your arms!

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

View PanamaJack's profile

PanamaJack

4452 posts in 615 days


posted 385 days ago

FANTASTIC job! Wonderful placement on all those grains of wood.

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

View Thos. Angle's profile (online now)

Thos. Angle

3434 posts in 500 days


posted 384 days ago

Just great! I love these canoes and some day I’ll make one as well.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

View mot's profile

mot

4859 posts in 574 days


posted 384 days ago

Wow!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

View Chip's profile

Chip

1058 posts in 630 days


posted 384 days ago

Beautiful.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

View Copperjock's profile

Copperjock

90 posts in 336 days


posted 302 days ago

I think your canoe turned out awesome… (I also just picked up my copy of canoecraft.) A tip about stability: In the plastic canoe I have I put sandbags in the bottom center (140 lbs total) and that brings the center of gravity way down to the point I can easily stand up while another person is in the canoe. And I should mention that it really doesn’t paddle any different with the extra weight.

-- It's not that a craftsman never makes mistakes, he just makes it look like it.

View Billp's profile

Billp

201 posts in 737 days


posted 285 days ago

Holy Cow, thats one sweet looking canoe. Looks like it will glide through the water.

-- Billp

View HallTree's profile

HallTree

650 posts in 305 days


posted 284 days ago

Very nice. Well done. Those of us who have built canoes know that we have to take very good care of them. If anyone is thinking of building one, just remember that you cannot handle these canoes like an aluminum canoe and run them up on the shore and then step out on dry ground. You have to get your feet wet and then lift it out of the water

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

View trice's profile

trice

33 posts in 93 days


posted 93 days ago

Very nice, I am very interested in boat building and construction. One of my goals is to build a small wooden cat boat similiar to a beetlecat sailboat and teach myself to sail.

View Cov's profile

Cov

31 posts in 85 days


posted 84 days ago

Very nice – I want to build wood strip boats too! I think I might start one this Fall – great job – she’s a beut!

-- Ben, Loomis, CA, http://www.covingtonwoodworks.com

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