The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Dave,

For my Prospector I needed about 70 strips, but not all were full length. A lot will depend on the length of your strips to start, as you will need short pieces for the football and for the ends where the sheerline rises to the stem.

Tom, Welcome! I too waited a long time to build my first canoe. I started about a year ago on a Bear Mt Prospecor. I finished it just in time to watch the lakes and rivers here in northern Maine freeze up for winter. Now I'm working on a pair of snowshoes that I will finish in the summer. Go figure!...

Danny, Glad you are making progress. I cannot however take credit for any jigs you see in my photo's. Everything you see, I "stole" from somewhere, likely another forum member, or from "Canoecraft". I may have adapted them for my own use, as we all have done. Please help yourself...

Danny,

Time to get creative with tape, bungie cords, braces from the ceiling, etc! Sit back in your moaning chair and visualize the problem area. Chances are you will come up with a solution. Do what you can to keep those strips against the form.

Peter, Welcome to boatbuilder's annonymous! As has already been said, there is not much to be done at this point except finish the hull. If someone does notice the glue lines, they are either a fellow builder, or are looking too close. You can always try to tell them it is a design feature. Keep up ...

Mark,

Glad to hear your moving ahead! If you have cut out the glass over the bad spots, I would put in a small patch and feather it in. I think it woud be less visible. JMHO

David

Mark, Sorry you're having such a hard time on the inside. I feel your pain. I would hesitate to sand all the way to the wood during your repairs. I would try to just get through the glass and feather it back, then apply a small patch over the larger areas. On the smaller bubbles you may be able to s...

Mark,

Great progress! Yes the inside is more of a challenge, but it is better than paddling a generic plastic canoe.

Keep up the good work, the finish line is in sight.

Dave

Rick, I built a Prospector 16 which does have some concavity at each end. I agree that the canoe will tend to fair itself somewhat when removed from the form, but I still think all should be done while stripping to keep it symetrical. In the end, these small corrections will likely be only appreciat...

Danny, If you cannot find the cause for your 1/8" gap and correct it properly, I would cheat a little and try building up the mold in that area with some tape or something until you get things in line. I would not build up the full 1/8" thickness, but just enough so that things "look ...

Tom. Thanks for the kind words. In regards to Gilpatrick, he takes a no nonsense approach to conoe building. His canoes are 100% functional with a little lacking in the spit and polish area. His coaching and instructions are priceless, much like that found on member sites. Definitely worth the price...

Tom, I purchased my cane from HH Perkins, also the synthetic. It is the "medium" size. I did my seats to Martin Step's Green Valley plans. The spacing is not symetrical, so I can't help you there. As Scot already mentioned, the caneing process is not difficult, it just takes time. The sati...

Robert, It has been my experience that epoxy will exagerate color differences between strips, so be as diligent as possible if you want it to look like some sort of pattern. You can get a good visualization by wetting the strips with laquer thinner and comparing them. Once they are glued up as part ...

I cut the tenons for my seats with a router and a straight bit. When gluing seats that are not square or rectangular, watch out when you clamp them that they remain square. You may need to get creative to keep everything true while the glue sets.

Hoosier,

I started with about 60 board feet for my Prospector, and I had quite a few strips left over.