The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

So I was wondering is there some item, tool, etc. that is a must for building a canoe that he may not already have?

The most important item I bought for building my canoe was a copy of Canoecraft.

My Bobs Special has sat unfinished for a year because I dread scraping and sanding the inside of the canoe. After reading some threads here about the Pro prep scraper, I have decided to try it. For those of you that have used the pro prep, instead of sharpening the blades with the DMT diamond stones...

I am supposed to be sanding the inside of my Bob's Special right now. It is going on a 2 year project. I need to get it out of the basement and back into the garage to finish.
Jim

Instead of bothering with spreader sticks, why couldn't you just place the station molds into the inside of the canoe at their original locations?
Jim

I used a 4' piece of 4" PVC capped at the ends with removable PVC caps. Viewing the pipe horizontally, I drilled 1/4" holes through about 8" in from either end. I placed 1/4" dowels in through these holes so any wood I steamed was up, out of the condensate. I drilled a small hole...

I will be glassing the outside of my canoe tomorrow. Temp in Syracuse expected to be high=72, low=42. I will heat the garage all night tonight thru Monday AM. I am using West 105/207. I think I will be OK with the temp. My question is regarding what to do about wrinkles around the stems. I cannot im...

FGII, Just an FYI, I used 10cc oral syringes. ( I am a Hospital Pharmacist and got some from work, but a retail Pharmacy should stock them). I would remove the plunger and load the glue. This worked great. I could reuse the same syringe for th entire boat just by washing it with soap and water after...

TGC,
I did temporarily attach my outer stems to the inner stems using screws. I countersunk the screw hole and waxed the screws. After the thickened epoxy had set, I removed the screws and filled the screw holes with Ash plugs I made using the drillpress.
Jim

Bill, I am going ahead with glassing the outside this Saturday. I Think I will build a tent and start heating the garage the night before. I just took a look, and if I remove the railing on the cellar steps and move the refrigerator, I can slip the canoe into the house via the kitchen window and rig...

Bill, I 'm in the same boat as you (sorry). I live in Syracuse, NY and am planning on glassing the outside this Saturday when the high temp is forecasted to be 55 degrees. I had hoped to get the 3 coats on the exterior (in my unheated garage) then hang the canoe in the garage until I could finish th...