The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Hi Gabe I have the 93 copy and just one error caught me out.It gives the wrong number for the west system hardner in the text.The one you need is the 207 special coating hardner. I bought the 206 (which was in the text somewhere)which doesn't give a clear a finish and Ive still got some although it ...

Hi Folks I've had my canoe on the water about three months now and am still loving every minute. Unfortunately my seats have both collapsed.They are made using plastic cane sheet held into a routed groove by a strip of tightly pressed in and glued cane.After very little use( as i spend most of my ti...

I think one disadvantage may be that if an oak paddle gets wet (i.e water gets through whatever varnish or oil finish you give it)it may turn an unsightly black in colour. The grain can be coarse and the splinters can hurt as they contain tannic acid! I dont think this should stop you using it if yo...

Thanks for your replies guys I am thoroughly hooked to this canoeing thing now and all my spare time is spent on the river hence my slow reply! I did find myself in a heavy downpour which even then resulted in just half an inch or so of water in my canoe so it was fine. On another occasion I found s...

Hi Frugal Thankyou for your reply I was thinking about the effect of the canoe filling up with water and possibly sinking?? As in If i'm canoeing solo I won't be able to bale out water and paddle at the same time! Which leads me to another thought.If it did capsize would it sink to the bottom of the...

Hi every body, I finally launched my Peterborough Canoe Last Sunday for the first time. This was on the river Nene (which incidentally flows through Peterborough In the UK). I had a fantastic time and am now aconfirmed canoeing addict. On sunday night I travelled up to yorkshire where I am currently...

Hi Danny
Looks great, I'm just one step behind you with my canoe.I`ve just put my final coat of varnish on!
I notice you don't have a keel band.I`m still hunting for a uk supplier but I think i may have found one if you want to add one to yours.

enjoy!
Alick

Hi Matt Before you make a mess removing the wood plugs or cutting around them try this.Locate the wood plug either by sighting along the gunwale edge with a carefully placed light or using a metal detector.Then put a (no 4metric or no 6 imperial) twin threaded woodscrew into the centre of the plug w...

Does anyone know of any brass stemband suppliers in the uk?I am having trouble locating this stuff at my local chandelry or hardware suppliers even on line!
Regards
Alick Burt

Hi Stephen Do not despair.I learn't a couple of things with my repairs to bubbles.If you do sand through the cloth they will disappear if you clean out the dust well and then drip a little resin into the hole and cover it with masking tape.I had a lot of these to do and some came out better than oth...

Thanks Guys I'm in the process of filling my bubbles and it seems to be working.I did some yesterday with masking tape to stop the resin running.I peeled the tape off this morning and it seems they will be good after a little sanding.I'm working with the canoe tilted to keep the area I'm working on ...

I've had another sanding session and although the epoxy and glass is now flatter I am left with a lot of holes/bubbles.(shown in the picture below.) My questions are as follows 1.should I cut the cloth over those bubbles where it is still covering them? 2.Do I need to remove all the dust from inside...

Thankyou folks Once again you have saved me from panic and despair!Looks like i'll start with a long sanding session. I've just bought a couple of syringes with the thought of using them to pump resin into the bubbles.Has anyone had any success with this?I intend to prick a small hole for the air to...

Yesterday I finally got around to glassing the inside of my hull.To say I struggled with it would be an understatement.once again (as my cloth isn't wide enough) I had to use two pieces of cloth with a join along the middle. No matter what I tried I just couldn't get the cloth to behave.I kept getti...

For me the whole point of making my canoe is to make something where I'm not under pressure to complete it in a hurry.I've not been logging my hours or counting minutes on my canoe.It would make it feel too much like work! Also I had a big break in production as I completed my stripping late autumn ...