Finished canoe

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:04 am

I would like to thank everyone especially Glen for all his time in helping me.

Here is a small album of photos i took this week end. (i put the bow stem band on right after taking the pics, will put the stern band on tonight... if i dont make it out for a paddle today)

http://usera.imagecave.com/ErikN/

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:24 am

Wow!
Looks good!
Nice use of colours.
What woods did you use in it? (stained?)
Cool deck.
Let us know how the leather seat works.

Happy paddling
Doug

.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:38 am

Leather seat is by Azland Traditions, IT ROCKS!! i could not believe how comfy it was... still cant, this is an absolute must for any boat i will own for the rest of my life. If you get sore knees or butt, this is the way to go hands down.

The wood is cherry for the decks, gunnels and yolk, all oil rubbed with tung oil.

THe seats and thwarts are hard maple (very hard, and some really really crazy grain and flamming and birdseye)

there is no stain on the cedar it is just the wood that i picked out i wanted as much of the colour changing strips (dark at one end and light at the other) as possible.

the decks were designed for an ergonomic grip, you have a choice of about 3 different grips. if you reach into the slot (which is aysimetrical mimicing the boats shape) it is routered out underneath so it creates a very comfy grip. the decks are carved from a 1 3/4" thick peice of cherry (one piece, each is 19" long)

Its Me · Post by **Its Me** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:39 am

It looks super.

Well done. I love your deck very original.

Juneaudave · Post by **Juneaudave** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:40 am

Outstanding workmanship! I've got to try those seats! Have fun taking it out!

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Mon May 16, 2005 9:20 am

WOW to the extreme! It looks great! I really like the innovative decks. I feel some imitations coming on.

Bryan Hansel · Post by **Bryan Hansel** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:09 pm

Very nice looking canoe.

How is the leather seat when it's wet? It reminds me of those Old Town fabric seats. I need to make something like this for my canoe, except I doubt have any holes in my gunwales to make this seat work.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Tue May 17, 2005 7:03 am

bryan, i have not had it wet yet.

Tom, who makes these seats talkes about some big excursions with his seats, he uses these exclusivly in the boats he makes, so i have faith in them. I soaked it really well in neets foot oil, it is quite water proof.

Bryan, can i ask how the heck you were able to stand on the gunnels of your boat? i just cant immagine how you could do this? standing flat on bottom of the boat and put one foot at a time on the gunnels? you must be an acrobat!!

Bassbug · Post by **Bassbug** » Tue May 17, 2005 11:43 pm

Erik,

Nice boat. I especially like the deck and admire your courage with the funky grain on the maple!

Have you weighed it yet?

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Wed May 18, 2005 7:02 am

yes i did... but i have reason to believe it is about 4-6 lbs heavy. the scale said 68lbs, but i weighed my daughter the day before on a different scale it read 34lbs and on this scale it said 38lbs, so i am guessing if it is a liniarity issue the weight of the boat is out by 4-6lbs. I knew it would be heavy, i have extra epoxy into it, big thick decks(these are 1.25lbs each), two thwarts (1.3lbs each) & big carry yolk (did not weigh) as well as the leather saddle seat (3lbs). and my regular seats are 2.65lbs each after rawhide and varnish, but everything in the boat is super strong, each and every peice in the seats is strong enough for me (230lbs) to stand on mid span.

i will get it on a real scale this week end.

Bryan Hansel · Post by **Bryan Hansel** » Wed May 18, 2005 8:39 am

For standing on the gunwales, I've probably just spent too much time in a canoe. The way you do it is grab each gunwale to steady the canoe, and then, slowly, put each foot on the gunwale. The gain some balance and stand up.

There are a couple of games that you can pay when on the gunwales: 1. See how far you can walk, or 2. Two people stand on the gunwales, one on each end, and then each player starts to rock the boat. The first person to fall in loses.

There may be more games, but those are to ones that I know.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:40 pm

GAMES IN THE CANOE... THis is GREAT!! i love it, im gonna practice and get my wife doing it also!! this must be fun!!

Erik, Belgium · Post by **Erik, Belgium** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:53 pm

very nice canoe indeed, congrats

Erik, Belgium.