The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Just finished up a Rob Roy with a friend of mine. It's a beautiful little boat. Couldn't wait to get it in the water today for the maiden voyage. I have several years of experience paddling canoes and kayaks. I built a Bear Mountain Cottage Cruiser canoe and a Resolute kayak which have both kept me ...

Thanks for the links/pics/movie! Very nicely documented and organized. Beautiful kayak... I'm looking forward to more time in my mine next summer. Been hoping to go back to Quetico since 2006. Maybe this year

I can say without a doubt that I enjoyed building the canoe more. I would always take the canoe over the kayak when I want to go out paddling but sometimes it is just not practical when I am on my own. South Dakota is a very windy state and I can cover a lot more distance more safely and comfortably...

Thanks everyone.. it turned out pretty well but I had a few minor issues with it during the build. I had a hard time getting good clear boards of cedar. I kept the knots out of the design areas but the wood was really dry and brittle. Stuff just really wanted to keep splitting and breaking on me. Ev...

Just a quick note to say I put a new boat on the water today! This is my second stripper... the first boat was the Cottage Cruiser canoe and then I started the kayak, Resolute, in July of 2010. It has taken me longer to get this one completed -- probably because there are too many nice days to be ou...

Very very nice! Congrats again! I hope you get some nice autumn days for paddling

Karin,
Beautiful work! I'm excited to hear your report of how it feels in the water. Congratulations!
Dawne

Hey John, Thanks for the update on your Cottage Cruiser. I wouldn't fret too much over time spent building. I had a lot of preassure to complete mine over the winter before our basement flooded in the Spring (which it ALWAYS does!). I knew I had to get it out of there by March so I worked like a foo...

@mtpockets: Voyageurs is beautiful! I have gone in twice. Once at Crane Lake and the other time at Ash Falls and Ash Falls was by far my preference. There were a lot of big boats making big wakes - which were impossible to avoid going thru the narrows after leaving Crane Lake. Most people are curteo...

Just a quick update on the Cottage Cruiser that I finished a year ago (April 2010): I am VERY happy with this boat! I was a little concerned about stability based on an earlier post but I moved both seats a litte more towards center with a 4" drop from the gunwale and the boat is quite stable. ...

Hey thanks! Best thing in the world on a hot day is to be on the water! Enjoy your canoe and thanks for the nice comments on both my boat and photographs!

Gorgeous canoe! Very beautiful.

I just wanted to post a short follow up on the repair that I asked advice on last month. It went very well and after several hours and miles it is holding up fine. I would post a picture of the repair but you really can't see where I made it. I think that it must have been a spot of uncured epoxy in...

Congrats! What a beautiful job you've done! How did you do the gold stars? Is it metal inlay?