The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I made a jig for routering the strips by using two chunks of 3/4" plywood ( about 24" square) sandwiched together with filler pieces the thickness of my strips. I left a slot through the width of the strips. A hole drilled through the plywood for the router bit and bolt on the router and v...

I started with my RO but I picked up a soft rubber disc for sanding from Home Depot that chucks in a drill. It was plenty flexible to take the hull shape, and I could use different grits as I progressed, and it worked like the cats meow. It went much faster and was easier to control...for me anyways.

WDLockwood dyes are used by the woodenboat guys and from what I've seen experienced, it does hold up extremely well.

Has anyone tried the Epoxy from Progressive Epoxy? Any opinions?
His web site is, well, let's say different and somewhat hard to navigate...but the product is supposed to be good.
Thanks

I used walnut for my inner and outer stems...didn't find it particularily difficult to shape the inners. I did preshape them close and then finished them off when I put them on the molds.
Mike

I used Black Walnut for inner and outer stems, gunnels, and seats in my boat. It does add some weight. It is plenty strong and very rot resistant. That said, I used it primarily because I have a bunch of it...plenty purty but the price was right :smile
Mike

Yeah, keels are generally not looked on the greatest by avid canoeists...often they were put on poorly designed boats to stiffen them and also to help folks who can't paddle that well to go straight easier. That said, if you are going to be putting a motor on the back of your square sterner...then i...

Tim, I'd put them where they look nice to your eye and look good for lashing in your gear. It doesn't really matter much...unless your hull was super flexy and didn't have a seat. As for the seat placement, 6" back from center is a good starting point, but in most of my solos, it seems closer t...

I have a soft 4 1/2" rubber sanding disc (I found at Home Depot) that chucks up in an electric drill that I used to sand the inside of my boat (except for the ends where I still used my scrapers) and to knock down sags in the epoxy after I had epoxied the inside. I found this to work remarkably...

When I made my strips, I made a simple jig to rout both edges at the same time. It consisted of two 3/4"- approx. 2' square- pieces of plywood with some 1/4" plywood sandwiched between them leaving a slot was left that was as wide as my strips (3/4") running through the center portion...

If you do go with the center seat, I'd mount it 6-8" back from the center. If you ever wanted to paddle the boat solo, it'd be set-up for that. I don't think you have to worry about dropping the seat making the boat less rigid either. All the canoes I've had with center seats, it never was a pr...

Thank you. The English 20 is a 16' canoe and approx. 31" at it's widest. It was a racing hull designed in the late 1800's. It was in Ted's first book. I was always fascinated with the lines of this canoe having seen an old William English cedarstrip boat. I thought it was a design from the turn...

I completed my English 20 this spring and have a link to some pics. I added 1 1/2" to the depth and softened the sheerline curve. It has proven to be a really nice boat. Remarkably stable, quite fast, a pleasure to paddle. Here's a link to the pictures...hope it works :eyebrows http://community...

Tim,
You need only to drive over to Baker Lumber in Grand Haven. They were stocking long lengths and clear lumber...WRC and Redwood.
Rycenga's in Grand Haven can have some okay stock if you dig through their piles.
Mike