16' 0" Prospector

Use the Project Directories as quick-reference tools to help you find other builders working on similar projects to yours.
Post Reply
User avatar
John Caldeira
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Dallas, Texas
Contact:

Prospector Canoe update

Post by John Caldeira »

My Prospector canoe finally made it into the water! A few photos are posted on my website:

http://www.outdoorplace.org/paddling/Pr ... ector3.htm

Image

John
NewGuy
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Apr 25, 2006 9:07 pm

Wow that is awsome

Post by NewGuy »

Hi John, what a beautiful boat. I have about a third of my hull planked now. I am dying to get it into the water but I figure I am about a year away. :)
User avatar
mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by mtpocket »

John,

That a beautiful boat. You never cease to amaze me with your craftsmanship.
Last edited by mtpocket on Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
davidb54321
Posts: 214
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:05 pm
Location: Presque Isle, Maine
Contact:

Post by davidb54321 »

John,

Very nice job! I am also a little biased toward the Prospector design.
David Bartlett

"I don't fully understand everything I know!"
http://photobucket.com/albums/b81/davidb54321/
User avatar
tedshepherd
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:21 pm
Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada

First Timer Prospector 16'

Post by tedshepherd »

Hello All,

I've been enjoying all of the projects displayed on this forum, and it has certainly confirmed my choice of building the Prospector as my first canoe. Beautiful balanced lines, superior load carrying capacity, handling,and a rich history combine to make this a great project. I started last summer to clear out the garage to make space. 3 trips to the dump and a yard sale took care of most of what was occupying the future shop, then I collected most of the tools I needed and officially started building the mold In October '06. I visited Ted at Bear Mountain and found him very approachable, and eager to help with all of my questions. We even got a sneak peek at the motor launch he is building, in a word.............spectacular!

Anyway, I will post a series of progress photos as soon as I figure out how to create the link in Photobucket.

Cheers, Ted
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened"..............Winston Churchill
User avatar
tedshepherd
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:21 pm
Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada

Post by tedshepherd »

Here is the link to the progress photos.

Regards, Ted

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p312 ... c438fc.pbw
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened"..............Winston Churchill
Rob
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 2:50 pm

Prospector 16" - First strip, help needed please

Post by Rob »

Hello canoe and kayak builders,

My name is Rob, and i'm from the Netherlands. In search for epoxy resins and ways to repair my polyester boat i came across several websites describing the build of strip-build canoes/kayaks.

I got fascinated by the beauty of them, so in december 2007 i made the descision to build one myself. I got myself the latest revision of Ted Moores canoecraft and started lofting the plans for the Prospector.

Now i'm at the stage of attaching the first strips, so the molds are set up and plump, the stems are bend (not beveled yet) and all my strips are sawn, bead/coved and sorted by color.

But now i'm a bit puzzled how to place the first strip. I noticed that some builders, like John Caldeira let the strip follow the sheerline completely, so no fill-in strips are needed at bow and stern. Others let the first strip follow the sheerline at stations #0 up to # 3 or #4 and then let in hang of their natural curve.

Can somebody help me which way is best, or can advise me on the pro's and cons ?
I'm planning to use 4 or 5 lighter colored strips at first , then i'd like to use darker color for about 6 to 8 strips and then the rest to the football light again (sometimes intervened by accent strips in a different color).

I'm also building a webpage, covering the process, and as soon as i have the site up and running i'll link it to the forum.

any suggestions on the first strip are welcome, thanks in advance.
User avatar
Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

Hello Rob and welcome aboard. I suggest you start by setting up the first strip so it just hangs down naturally at the ends. Then step back and see if you like the look. You can also try it following the sheerline to see if you like that better. Or perhaps you would prefer to have it level from end to end. It is a matter of personal preference but usually, if the ends of the canoe are high, following the sheerline will make it look like a banana.
Rob
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 2:50 pm

Post by Rob »

Thanks Glen,

I decided to start by setting up the first strip so it just hangs down naturally at the ends.
But at the moment i'm not building at all, busy painting our polyester boat now, so i'll have a delay for about a week or 4.

i'll post my progress as soon as i start building again.

Rob
charlie
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:23 am

Re: MY 16' feet prospector

Post by charlie »

Marc Dupraz wrote:Hello,

With a friend of mine, we are on our way to build a 16' Prospector. Right now, we did the strongback and molds, and are about to finish the strips.

I'm living in Switzerland and I know it isn't very easy to find suppliers and products for wood canoe. My father has a sawmill and wood business and he helped us a lot to find good Western Red Cedar. If you are on the way to start a project, or whether you already strarted your project and need help, don't be afraid to contact me.

Here is my email :
emdupraz@freesurf.ch ; Marc Dupraz ; Switzerland. :)
:

hi Mark
I am building a prospector to ,I live in france but near the swiss border .have youfound a supplier of epoxy and or 60 inch cloth in switzerland i have fond some red cedar hear in france but no epoxy yet ,,

charlie
User avatar
Friesen 5
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:52 pm
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Prospector

Post by Friesen 5 »

Prospector Completed

Wood: western red cedar hull, cherry, bass, & maple accents, ash gunwales
Epoxy: MAS System with slow hardener (worked very well!)
Stem Bands: polished aluminum
Weight: 52 lbs
Time: Begun in July 2009; work suspended over the winter; completed in July 2010
First Launch: July 29, 2010
Cost: Just over $1000 CDN

Image
Image
Image
Image
Mervin Friesen
Prospector 16'
User avatar
Aljo
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:02 am

New Prospector beeing build in Europe

Post by Aljo »

Hello!
I have bought the Canoecraft book and a set of plans from this site and decided to build Prospector canoe. The choice was based on the fact that I want a canoe that is good for familly, since I have 2 small children, and want to introduce them to canoeing. I also wanted a canoe that I can paddle myself, when I get a lucky break and a chance to spend the day on the water by myself. So the Prospector seemed a perfect answer, at least on paper. And I also liked the looks of it :laughing .
The first problem was finding the wood. Because of very limited availability of WRC in our country and very high price (around 1.500,00 EUR + VAT per m3), I decided to go with local spruce (500,00 EUR + VAT per m3). The longest I could find that was the quality that I needed was 4m long and 4cm thick boards, so that was the start.Not ideal but it is a start!.
User avatar
Aljo
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:02 am

link to pictures

Post by Aljo »

This is the link to my blog, where I'll be posting pictures of the build:
http://aljo-canoebuilding.blogspot.com/ ... n-way.html
User avatar
Aljo
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:02 am

some progres

Post by Aljo »

I have finished planking on one side, the photo is from one evening beforhand, as the camera died, so new pictures will follow:
Image[/url]
User avatar
Aljo
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:02 am

Post by Aljo »

Today I have glessed the outside of the hull, and I am quite satisfied, for the first time t least :twisted evil
Image
Image
Post Reply