The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Leather seat is by Azland Traditions, IT ROCKS!! i could not believe how comfy it was... still cant, this is an absolute must for any boat i will own for the rest of my life. If you get sore knees or butt, this is the way to go hands down. The wood is cherry for the decks, gunnels and yolk, all oil ...

I would like to thank everyone especially Glen for all his time in helping me. Here is a small album of photos i took this week end. (i put the bow stem band on right after taking the pics, will put the stern band on tonight... if i dont make it out for a paddle today) http://usera.imagecave.com/Eri...

Thanks Bryan....

.... I am feeling like a little kid... excited.

Bryan, since i am about to launch my boat this sunday (weather permitting) i am obviously chomping at the bit, and am a little nervouse. My only experience was in my last boat, prospector 16'-6" langford, it was very stable... and i am worried about how the Freedom 17 will feel (especially when...

I could not find the original thread, but i though that i would share with everyone that i found a Behr product at home depot this morning that is a no slip additive for wood coatings. It is on a couple tester peices now, it looks as though it will dry completely clear in the varnish. The cost was u...

David, I think you saw a different Eric's freedom. I will have a ton of pics of my boat early next week, ill be assembling it this week end, and i intend to do an internet photo album deal so that i can share the pics. I think i have put some extra creativity into this boat, hopefully it will compen...

Hi David, welcom to the Freedom club wich i will soon belong myself (just finished varnishing last night!!) Just keep going, what you did was right. I thought the same thing and i spoke with a builder who has built several of this hull, he does the same thing that you and i did. There will be about ...

Thanks Glen.

i am finishing my varnish tonight and will be ready to put the stem band on in a few days. I have cove back band with no screw holes in it, and i am going to give epoxy a shot with no screws.

My question is this, should i sand off the varnish under the band before applying the epoxy?

Ahhh, yes, stain weighs less than mohagany!!

I oiled with tung oil my gunnels and decks on sat. 24 hour full cure on the oil, so i can go ahead and varnish the hull now. My question is this: although i masked very carfully all around the gunnels, it was basically pointless becasue there are lots of drips here and there, and places my rag would...

easy: http://www.rawhidelace.com/ I ordered my lace from dave, he hand cuts it from the type of hide you wish. he helped me calculate the lengths that i need, and he cut to suit me. I had previously ordered from north bay canoe and kayak, and the stuff came in it was HORRIBLE, it was tiney and very ...

On this page http://www.greenval.com/FAQvarnishing.html you see two pictures, the one on the left is an incredibly dark hull... any one know or care to guess at what the wood used was?

I was thinking it must be mohagany or something, but wouldnt it weigh a ton?

I am wraping up my freedom project this week, and have a couple final questions. How long after the final coat of varnish before i can paddle her? What has to happen for the hull to be comprimised? If you hit something and the outter layer of fiberglass is punctured, is that game over on a trip? or ...

I'm less worried about keeping clamps in place (plan to use draggon's teeth) but was pondering keeping the deck itself in place. It appears that it will have a tendency to slide out as the hull is squeezed in from the sides. I guess a block of wood clamped to the hull just behind the deck (on each ...