The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I think you'll be just fine. Just review the filling the cracks sections of Canoecraft (pg 141) and John Michne's builders site and you shouldn't have any troubles.

Ouch!!! The strength of hull comes mainly from the fiberglass and epoxy, and they will fill the cracks....Couple of questions...is the hull still on the molds and does the hull retain it's shape?

About using a straight router bit...you have to immobilize the gunnel to make sure that the trailing edge of the router cut doesn't tear out the edges of the gunnel. That means that the piece has to have a backup so when you hit the return edge, solid wood backs the piece and you don't tear out the ...

I gave the sheer strip a little arc on my Bob's and it didn't cause any trouble. The moaning chair(and a beverage) is a good idea with that first strip. It takes awhile looking at the upside down hull with the first strip to decide if its just right!

I used Gilpatrick's method in his book. It's a good way to use leftover strips. Also, Bearmountainboats has a video on paddle carving.

For a novice paddler, even the Bob's Special can seem tender the first time out. I don't think you should really be too intimidated about that, other than you need to recognize that none of these canoes is going to handle like a Coleman mass produced special....You have thought alot about this decis...

If you can reach up underneath to the inside stem, be sure to add a piece of tape to act as a dam. You want to minimize the amount of glue running out through the joint onto the sides of the inside stem where it is hard to clean up. Is the gap big enough it would be worth putting a sliver of wood in...

I've only built one canoe, so this is a "for what it's worth." I tried on the inside of my Bobs to get the uniform two coat finish described in Canoecraft. Due to my inexperience with epoxy, it did not give the uniform appearance I was looking for.ie. some areas were glossy and some areas ...

I ordered silicon bronze bolts from Jamestown Distributors. Pretty reasonable and quick. The difference, I think, is the color. The brass or silicon bronze blends better and is more traditional.

Really, really nice..What did you use for the finish?