The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I don't see why you couldn't raise the ends while still keeping the prospector full in the ends and get the look of a traditional Canadian canoe with the performance of the prospector. Nobody has convinced me that it can't be done yet. I made a few changes to my Hiawatha, some intentional and some b...

David James,

If you can post the photos somewhere like http://photobucket.com/ I'd love to see them.
Then we can all enjoy your hard work. Let us know if you can post them somewhere or if you need help.

A sandwich panel needs both the tensile and compressive strength of its skins and a little bit of compressive strength from its core. If you slit the glass there is going to be a weak area there. The structure will tend to flex most at the weakest point. Meaning you'll get the most flexing where you...

I sanded the first outer stem down to size, and things went fine. There are a number of different oaks that can be labeled as red oak. Jim, the board I used had no evidence of splits at all, I've laminated the stem in seven 3/16" strips, and will eventually be encasing this all under epoxy, fib...

I'm too proud to kneel. Actually it just doesn't sound really comfortable for extended periods. I'd just like to sit in the stern seat without the front two thirds of the canoe up in the air like in the cartoons. What does that do for performance? I went solo in the back of an otherwise empty double...

Thanks Steve. It is great to get the answer right from the source. I was attracted to the traditional aesthetics of the Hiawatha's sheerline. The other canoe I considered building was Carrying Place's 'Grey Owl'. In the end their plans cost $70 Canadian and Canoecraft cost $16 US. My wallet told me ...

I also have a question about "unstable" models. I'm building a Hiawatha. I have If I recall correctly a 2003 printing of Canoecraft. It says that the Hiawatha was redrawn in 1999 by Steve Killing to provide more stability and other refinements. In the chart at http://www.bearmountainboats....

Can you give me a real close up photo of part of the whitened damage area? I might be able to diagnose it better. Also I would recommend that you call your epoxy manufacturer and share the photos with them. Their engineering folks should know the most about their product, and its limitations. It is ...

I agree! I spent way too long looking at those trailers. I was already figuring out the design for what I'd like to build when I finally came to my senses. I remembered that I have neither the time or money to finish my canoe right now, much less start an even larger and more expensive project. I wa...

Here I am building my simple strongback. It really is as simple as it looks. http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l103/ME-262/CopyofIMG_0150.jpg Here it is finished with the forms for a Hiawatha canoe on it. I put some plywood on the ends to anchor the stem form to and brace the strongback. The plywood...

Glen Smith wrote:The woody is absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you. I'm a handsome guy! But, you should be saving the compliments for your new bride. :eyebrows

I ended up sanding some Red Oak last night. I made clouds of dust, didn't wear a mask, and had no problem. My irritation seems to be limited to the cedar dust.

I built a very simple and easy strongback that looks like a ladder. The hardest part was picking through the lumber at the big box store to find two straight 14 foot 2 X 8s. It was very inexpensive and easy to build. I realized the thing could be 14 foot even though my canoe is over 15 foot. I can't...

Congratulations! Best of luck to you two.

That looks great. I'll bet it is a lot of fun.
Do you have any photos of the layout inside?