The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Jeff, I do it like Glen with a cheap, throwaway foam brush. I thin the varnish(Epiphanes) then brush it on and spread it around. Then I tip it with another dry foam brush to level it and remove any runs or bubbles, then walk away. Sand between coats with 220 or a scotchbrite pad and do it a couple m...

Eric, Depending on wether you build with staples, or stapleless, you might want to leave some material below(actually above) your sheerline. If you go without staples, it is much easier to fill in those areas at the bow and stern if you have that extra material for your clamps and jigs. I cut my mol...

Jarret, As others have stated, there is a "gap" between stations when using a batten. It will work itself out as you go, provided that you keep your strips tight to the forms. The "cheek" in the canoe at that location is one of the trademarks of the Prospector design. Anyone can ...

Mark,

Nice looking canoe! I too am waiting for snow to melt. I am going to take my canoe out of the cellar for the first time this weekend.(Hope it fits through the door) :frightened

Mark, The varnish process will reflect(no pun intended) how much care you put in your boat. It can make or break the whole package. I urge you to be as clean as possible. Vacuum, wipe with a damp rag, wipe again with some lacquer thinner, then varnish with strained varnish and a new brush or roller....

Ed, I cut mine with my band saw. Worked great. I just used the throwaway brushes for tipping off. Much less expensive!

Mike,

I experienced the same thing with my canoe. It did "flatten out" somewhat with additional coats of epoxy. This is one of those areas of the building process which will improve with subsequent boats.

Ed, I have had good luck using diamond sharpening stones. I "file" the flat side first, then do the beveled side, leaving a small burr on the edge.

Thinning will only help penetration on bare wood, not on wood covered with cured epoxy.

Jerrett, You will only be wasting the extra length if you intend to build with full lenght strips. For full length, you will need 17' strips until you get to the top(when upside down) of the stem, then shorter strips will do, so you might want to buy some shorter wood as well to help prevent waste. ...

Todd, Welcome! The beauty of a strip boat is that you can use pretty much what you want as the final hull will be encased in fiberglass and epoxy for strength and protection. The choice of wood makes for interesting color, and can have an effect on the weight of the canoe, but any clear wood should ...

I also made a "clean room" in my cellar for varnishing by using plastic sheeting over and around my canoe. It makes a huge difference in keeping the dust down. I didn't get to anal about it all, as sooner or later it is going to be used as a canoe and the first scratch will more than make ...

Nice looking boat, Knute! I must admit to being partial to the Prospector though. I too am waiting for some water.

Farmpunk wrote:Cool, thanks. Looking like Tuesday will be glassing day.

Have fun! Glassing is one of the most exciting parts of the building process.

FP, I would go ahead and start the outside. You will be busy enough for a few days with this. The inside can wait until you get back. If your boat is like mine, it will take a while to get the inside ready for glassing, but as long as your work environment is dry, it will not hurt to leave the insid...