The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Hi Rick If I was going to use the Hiawatha as a tandem, scaling it up to 35" width, and stretching it by adding a half to an inch to each station would be my choice. You would have to play with the stem forms to get the hull to fair. That's just my two cents worth. On the other hand, if I was g...

Hi John Years ago I went to a print shop in Ames Iowa. They were able to take my plans and enlarge them slightly, and make copies. College towns , and I'm sure Omaha should have something. One of my first canoes was the Hiawatha, early edition. I wished I would've set it up as a solo, I loved it ! A...

Just a difference in opinion, but I've epoxied my gunnels to the hull for years. This seals them and prevents moisture from getting inbetween the hull and gunnels. No more cracking and creeking while the canoe is in motion. To date I have'nt needed to replace any gunnels. I've built 19 strippers and...

Nice Canoe Sboutang !
I see you left a small weep hole in your decks ! Good Idea ! I've been doing that for years !
People get a kick out of my canoe weeing, but it does a great job of draining an upside down canoe for storage !
Jim

My Hiawatha was from the earlier edition.
I always thought to add tumblehome to the design, and turn it into an AWESOME solo.
Again nice job, and enjoy !
Jim

Did you build from plans in the "Canoecraft " book, and if so, was it the early edition?

Nice job on the Hiawatha !
I remember my Hiawatha. I set it up as a tanden, but it made a much better solo !
I enjoyed mine, and I can see you're enjoying yours !
Congrats!
Jim

Nice job Jimbo ! It seems you are the first to post tackling this design. I have the plans, but am intimidated by the shouldered tumblehome. I know the plans state the front edge of the seat is to be 10" aft of center. This seems too far astern for my thinking. Where is yours set ? And how does...

Staining before sanding will not work . As stated, try a test strip first ! I've seen a hull that was completely stained before epoxy was applied. The builder used a black or real dark stain. It made the hull look as if it was carbon fiber. Thus hiding the beauty of the strips. My concern was the bl...

Follow Glenn's advice, or do what I did. I purchased a stripper that looked very nearly the same, in Minn. for $50, cut it in half and made it into a book shelf, turned out great. Interesting tid bit, when I was heating the old gunnel screws to remove, I could smell the fish oil that had dried on th...

Sorry ,Too late!
Jim

Put your center form back in until your ready to glass. I put a strap to hold the hull against the form. Sand around as much as you can, then take it out and finish sanding at the end. What happens if you don't, you will stress the glass that you've put on the outside, and this will show in time ! O...

Nice job !
I'd love to throw a few of those strips in my next canoe !
Love contrast !
Jim

Hi Sherm Mechanical bonds I believe hold up as well as chemical bonds, but I believe the appearance of the two differ. I apply bias stips of cloth to my stems for strength and abrasion resistance. I have put them on after I was done glassing, and the epoxy had cured. Now I put the bias strips on whe...

Nice job Larry ! I like the look ! Dawne are you talking about the 3 or 4in letters ! Do you also have to put "OR" on back for capacity ? Here in Iowa, the "OR" stands for Owner Responsiblity. I've had really good luck with a sign shop, making Vinyl numbers. They hold up real wel...