Finished and delivered!

I finished the canoe! I really need to catch up and post the final series of pics, but I'll get to that later.

I put the finishing touches on the canoe last week and was ready to get it out to the water for a test drive before I turned it over to the client. The first thing I noticed was just how much bigger than my Bob's Special that this Prospector 16 is. It is immense! Even though it's only a foot longer and a couple of inches deeper, it really seems huge.

I took it out to Northeast Creek to launch at Camp Brewster aboard Camp Lejeune. When I set the unloaded canoe into the water, the first thing that stuck out to me was the fact that less than 1/3 of the hull was in contact with the water. I performed a wet launch, and when I climed in, the stability of the craft was impressive. Even with me climbing over the gunnels, the canoe was incredibly stable and, at no time did it seem like it was going to capsize.

I then knelt in the center of the canoe and heeled it over and the responsiveness was pleasing. I paddled it sideways, forward, and performed turns with the greatest of ease. This is one amazing craft! It will go any direction you tell it to go, and go with ease. I look forward to building one (or two) for my own use soon. But before I can build my own Prospector, I have a couple of other projects to attack.

I will be building a pair of loft beds with desks and dressers next, as well as a set of book shelves. Those projects will show up here as they progress. I also have to get my workshop in order now that I have cleared out some space. I am also currently engaged in building a small cabinet in cherry for a half-bath in my house to hang above the toilet, and will also get pics of that up here as well. Hopefully, I will be able to begin my canoe around October and be ready for launch in the spring.

How about some pictures???

I don't really have enough pics on here. If you want to see more, check out my pics here!

Fitting and attaching the outer stems.

So, now that I have all of the strips on, I need to trim the ends of them to be flush with the forward edge of the inner stem so that I can attach the outer stem and get a good fit with no gaps. As long as the strips are cut flush and perpendicular to the centerline of the canoe, the outer stem will fit and look really good.

After the strips are cut, I use the outer stem to layout the mortise at the keel. This is so that there is not a hole through the hull and it also helps to give a cleaner look to the canoe where the stem meets the bottom.

Shot of the mortise for the outer stem

Closeup of the mortise

This is the outer stem being dry fit

Another view of the dry-fit of the outer stem. Looks good to me, I'll glue it in

This is the stem after gluing in

You may have noticed the black screws that are holding the stem on. Those are temporary. After the epoxy sets, I will pull the screws and plug the holes with wood pegs. I believe what I am going to do is drill out the holes to 1/4" and insert a dark colored wood dowel. I spaced the screw holes the same on each stem so that will be a design element. Subtle, but very deliberate. I think it'll look good. I just hope that the wax I put on the screws allows me to pull them with no problems.

After I get the holes plugged, I will cut the sheer line and begin fairing. I hope to be able to begin 'glassing by next weekend. We shall see.

Completing the hull

With the bottom completed, I can start to work toward the sheer of the canoe. That's the top edge that the seats and thwart and decks are attached to. I need to install some "filler" strips above the first strip I installed when I started planking. (this is actually working toward the ground in the following pics) Once all the filler strips that I need are in place then I can get to work trimming the ends of the strips in preparation for the outer stem.





Well, that takes care of the sheer line; it just needs to be trimmed to look like a canoe. I will do that later after the outer stems are in place and it's time to begin fairing.

Back from CA. Let's get to work!

Just got back from California (traveling for my day job) and now it's time to get serious about getting this thing ready for 'glass. I really wanted to get the hull complete before the 1st of March, and probably could have met that milestone if I didn't lose four weeks to travel. I really shouldn't complain too much though, at least I have a job.

Any way, when I returned from CA, this is what I was working with. The bottom still needs to be closed up and this is very time consuming due to the amount of twist and bend and the multiple directions that it all goes as well as the clamps and wedges and tape that has to be put on.

Let's get started

A few more strips

Nearing the end. Only two more to go.

This is it with the last strips in place.

Close up of the last strips

Now I need to work on getting the sides of the canoe built up to the sheer line at the ends. That should bo fairly quickly since the strips are pretty much straight with a little bend. Once that gets built up, I can trim the ends of the strips and cut the mortices for the outer stems and get them installed, then it's fairing and fiberglassing time. Check back soon.

Going back to Cali

So, I finally got the strips on the first half of the hull. Now it's time to cut to the centerline and then start fitting the strips on the other side. Let's get started, shall we?

Here is where we begin.

Cutting the centerline with a sharp chisel.

I started cutting the centerline using a very fine saw. That wasn't working so well, so I went back to the book, Canoecraft, for guidance. Mr. Moores discusses using a razor knife and straight edge for the initial cutting to within 1" of the centerline, then following up with a chisel and either block or rabbet plane. I don't have a rabbet plane (maybe I'll build one after this canoe is out of the shop) and I don't have a straight edge as long as the keel line of this boat, so I just used a chisel. I was surprised at how well it did the job. As long as I worked from the center toward the stems, the chisel was cutting across the grain and keeping the bevel of the chisel toward the cut gave me excellent control. I was able to make the entire centerline cut in about 2 hours.

And this is what I finished with.

More planks going on!

The planking went surprisingly fast. I still had to wait for the glue to set pretty well between each strip, but the weather was very nice and the glue was cooperating nicely. I was looking at about an hour between each strip before I could take out the wedges and staple the planks and not worry about them pulling out of place or away from the molds.

Tape is a great clamp.

The picture above shows several strips of tape across the hull. That is to keep the two sides of the hull lined up while the glue dries there. I had hoped to complete the bottom of the hull before taking off for California, but after working all day and getting within 10 strips, I was spent. The following picture shows where I left off. When I get back home, I will hit it hard and get the hull complete and ready for 'glass within a week (maybe a week-and-a-half?) hopefully.

I have to leave it here.

Making Progress!

I've really been slacking on getting this canoe done. I would really like to have the hull complete and ready to glass by the first week of February. I really Haven't done anything since bending and gluing the stems.

Steaming the stems. Say that 3 times fast!!!

Pulling the stems from the steam.

Let them dry.

So after a week of just noodling around in the workshop, I finally got back in there today and got serious. I was able to complete setup of the mold on the strongback. I also got the stem molds and stems in place and was able to begin shaping the stems. This is something that I should have approached a little more tentatively. I was a little aggressive and cut them to the wrong angle, and had to adjust. Sorry I didn't post a pic, but I was more concerned with correcting the problem at the time than documenting my screw-up!

The completed mold ready for the stems to be shaped and the strips started!

And so, the excitement builds. I was able to attach the first strip to the hull today also. Unfortunately, it's around the low 40s and so my glue isn't setting as quickly as I would like so I have to wait for that to set up in order to place the first strip on the other side. I will try that first thing in the morning before church, but if I don't wake up early enough, then I will get it after the first service.

First strip!!!