Search found 18 matches
- Sat Apr 11, 2020 12:35 pm
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Strip size
- Replies: 20
- Views: 16908
Spooner canoe Memorial Day Annual Festivals
I've attended each year, but the first one ten years ago was my most memorable. My son-in-law, a mason had just finished up a northern white cedar Prospector in my shop and wanted to exhibit it at the show. Unfortunately, he got an overtime work assignment for the Saturday of the show, so I said I'd...
- Thu Apr 09, 2020 7:29 pm
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Strip size
- Replies: 20
- Views: 16908
Full-length strips vs half strips
I live in norhern Wisconsin, close to the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (https://wisconsincanoeheritagemuseum.org/index.html) in Spooner of which I am a charter member. That dedicated wooden canoe museum also has arguably the largest and most well-equipped canoebuilding workshop in the nation. We ...
- Thu Apr 09, 2020 9:43 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Sanding varnish
- Replies: 10
- Views: 8963
Never sand spar varnish
There's no need to sand soft spar varnish on a cedarstrip hull....because you should never use it there. This post is going to be a little long as it's going to save savvy builderrs hours and hours of uncomfortable agony in a sweaty sanding mask. Take your epoxy-coated and 220-sanded hull to your lo...
- Wed Jan 02, 2019 3:23 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: New tool eliminates noxious epoxy sanding dust
- Replies: 1
- Views: 4284
New tool eliminates noxious epoxy sanding dust
I think the worst job in building a cedarstrip canoe is dry sanding the epoxy coating on the hull exterior to get a smooth, fair, ripple-free surface in preparation for brushing on spar varnish or spraying 2-part polyurethane clearcoat. So I've switched to wet sanding the epoxy on my hull exteriors ...
- Sat Dec 22, 2018 6:10 pm
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Need sail made for 20' sailing canoe
- Replies: 4
- Views: 6630
Re: Need sail made for 20' sailing canoe
When I acquired the 1931 20' Old Town, it had the usual canvas and cracking paint. I tore off the canvas and weighed it. 22 lb! This battleship's heavy enough without putting 22 lb of canvas and filler back on it, so I'm using 3.9 oz Dacron like Pam Wedd uses on her lightweight cedar/canvas canoes. ...
- Fri Dec 21, 2018 3:30 am
- Forum: Boat-Building Tips & Techniques
- Topic: NewSpring Clamps for Bead and Cove Stripping
- Replies: 17
- Views: 93514
Re: NewSpring Clamps for Bead and Cove Stripping
Jim, Here's another system of using spring clamps to hold strips together to ensure hairline joints. Harbor Freight sells an immensely strong little spring clamp for under two bucks with serrated rubber ends that really grips the strip below tightly without marring. Couple that with pieces of 1/4&qu...
- Fri Dec 21, 2018 3:01 am
- Forum: Boat-Building Tips & Techniques
- Topic: stemless
- Replies: 20
- Views: 42063
Re: stemless vs ash stem test
I like Jim's idea of having a test to see which bow/stern construction method is stronger, stemless with alternating strip joints, or inner and outer stems of white ash. Jim sailed a canoe off his vehicle at 60 mph and the hull was destroyed but the stem survived intact. That's his entry in the test...
- Fri Dec 21, 2018 2:25 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Need sail made for 20' sailing canoe
- Replies: 4
- Views: 6630
Re: Need sail made for 20' sailing canoe
Jim,
Todd would be my first choice. I've read his book and he lives less than 300 miles from me in Madison, WI. That's driveable, even with a 20' canoe–which I'm making a special trailer for.
Gary
Todd would be my first choice. I've read his book and he lives less than 300 miles from me in Madison, WI. That's driveable, even with a 20' canoe–which I'm making a special trailer for.
Gary
- Thu Dec 20, 2018 5:21 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Need sail made for 20' sailing canoe
- Replies: 4
- Views: 6630
Need sail made for 20' sailing canoe
I am setting up a 20' Old Town Guide canoe for sailing. I need a knowledgeable sailor and sail maker to help me find the center of effort for the canoe so I can locate the mast and leeboards, then I need a sail made. I live in northern Wisconsin about three hours north of Madison. Gary gary@canoecra...
- Wed Dec 05, 2018 8:15 pm
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Help with Oil-canning
- Replies: 4
- Views: 5533
Re: Help with Oil-canning
Add a full-length wood keel to give the bottom more longitudinal strength.
- Wed Dec 05, 2018 8:06 pm
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: How many strips to build a canoe?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 10008
Re: How many strips to build a canoe?
I just finished a Prospector and counted the strips. This is a deep canoe (15") so the higher sides require some extra strips. The outside dimension of the hull amidships is 56". My white cedar strips are milled from 7/8" planed boards, a little thicker than most builders use. So that...
- Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:36 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Varnishing
- Replies: 6
- Views: 6784
Re: tips for great varnishing
I learned long ago that to get a perfect varnish job, you need to prepare the surface perfectly, use a tack rag, strain the varnish and heat it up to about 120 degrees F. I don't care how well you've vacuumed the sanded surface, there are still tiny particles that only a tack cloth will pick up. If ...
- Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:28 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Ash bottoms for tough river?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 9046
Re: Ash bottoms for tough river?
Keep in mind that graphite is black so absorbs lots on sunshine if left outside overturned on a rack. It has no inherent UV protection so will get very hot in direct sunlight. Epoxy softens at about 150 degrees so the black epoxy/graphite/silica will definitely soften in summer sunshine in southern ...
- Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:13 am
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Keel Screws
- Replies: 1
- Views: 4267
Re: Keel Screws
I glass over the keel screws to ensure watertightness. I don't use decorative cups for the screws though I now it's traditional with Old Town and other makers. The cups were used by cedar/canvas canoe makers to distribute the force on the screw so they wouldn't pull through if the keel suffered a ca...
- Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:58 pm
- Forum: Builders' Forum
- Topic: Water-based stain under epoxy?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 7581
Re: Water-based stain under epoxy?
With Jim's advice in mind, I've made up two test panels. One for a trial of water-based stain on white cedar strips, and the second a test of a new epoxy I haven't used before (Clark Craft). I had to make up a test panel anyway for the epoxy so making another for the stain test was no problem. I'll ...