The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I have a 1/2" thick soft pad for my Dewalt 5" ROS, but I don't like it ... it is too soft and the grit gets no "bite" unless I really lean on it ... so the pad has been relegated for use as a coaster for cold drinks in the garage. An expensive coaster, mind you, but I gotta keep ...

sluggo wrote: I can't say that my mortise was pretty or perfect,

Doesn't need to be, since nobody will ever see it.

I always strip with the bead up and I have overcome the glue application problem. I made some small pieces of plywood with a notch in them. I screw 3 or 4 of them to the station forms and I can rest a strip in the notches. With a strip in this position, I just walk along the boat applying a bead of...

You don't need a drill-press or a plunge router ... a hand-cut mortise is actually not that difficult ... especially a small one as you'd use for a canoe seat ... do a google search for some pointers, grab some scrap wood, and make up some practice joints ... you could drill out (freehand) most of t...

As others have confirmed, cedar decking works fine. Its what I used. The "5/4" decking available around here is actually 1" nominal thickness, so you do wind up with either some wide strips, or some waste. I've seen knotty decking that would be absolutely useless for strip-building, a...

rabblerouser wrote:I am on the mississauga/oakville border

Hmm ... me too ... you're welcome to try my Endeavour, when we can get our schedules to line up ... contact me through the "PM" button.

No matter which strip-built kayak design you choose, the hull and deck would remain separate until after you've glassed the insides, and you would only bond the deck to the hull sometime later ... so that needn't be a consideration in deciding on a design. Also, although each designer obviously has ...

I have perimeter lines on my kayak primarily for that reason. ... I've never had occasion to use them for rescue, self or otherwise, but to me it just seems safer to have them, when out on big water. I've never experienced anything close to the conditions you describe in your blog.

I used 6 oz glass from Noah's, and I ordered RAKA epoxy (127/350) directly from the supplier. I had no problems or complaints with either, but I have nothing to compare them with, since it was my one and only experience working with fiberglass/epoxy. I gather from reading other people's comments tha...

Haven't tried that ... I had a length of 4" diameter ABS pipe already lying around (I think it was left behind by the former owner when I bought the house) and used that ... it worked perfectly.

If I were to build a baidarka, I'd build it skin-on-frame. Morris' book describes methods for several designs, including a baidarka.

I built a kayak, not a canoe, but FWIW, here's my $0.02. * I put a second layer of 6oz glass over the "football" on the bottom. Judging by the pattern of scratches on the hull, this provides greater protection than a narrow keel strip would have. * I did not extend the extra cloth to the s...

I have been thinking of setting up some kind of delivery drop in the Buffalo or Niagara Falls area to have packages shipped to, but I haven't sorted out any logistics yet. I have also found certain items are either priced far lower in the US, or are not easily available at all in Canada. In the mean...

Hi Dave; I've ordered from Raka twice ... can't remember the precise details but IIRC, the customs brokerage charge was in the vicinity of $35 Cdn, on top of the cost of shipping by UPS ground (not excessive). Including the cost of currency exchange (back before the recent runup in the Cdn$$), it st...

I've been told, by the people at Cedar Roof Ontario (thinkcedar.com) that their cedar is VERY knotty. I haven't been down to take a look personally, I just took their word for it. A couple years ago, I got some nice clear white cedar planks from a local micro-mill, but I've never found any clear boa...