15' 0" Hiawatha

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Joan and Ted
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15' 0" Hiawatha

Post by Joan and Ted »

Use this forum to post information specific to your 15' 0" Hiawatha project. Use POST REPLY when posting information. Please stay on topic. For general boatbuilding discussions, please use the Builders Forum instead.
bgibbon
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Hiawatha.......16 Years in the making

Post by bgibbon »

Is this a record for longest time from start to finish?

I started this canoe in 1988 after I made a Prospector the previous year. The hull was completely stripped and one outer stem was attached. Unfortunately for flat water canoe building I took up whitewater canoeing and lost interest in finishing it. My whitewater interest is still there, but I have recently regained my interest in flatwater paddling.

The hull had only one spot needing repair where the strips had come apart. The only other problem was the other stem would no longer fit onto the inner stem, so I laminated another directly, piece by piece, directly onto the boat. I have been using the original epoxy for gluing and it seems to be fine. The shelf life is only supposed to be a few years but I have not had any problems with it. I will be getting a new supply for the hull. I've also had the fiberglass cloth for 16 years, but unfortunately it has been folded rather than rolled so I would think it has been badly creased. I will get new cloth as well and use the old cloth for another application.

This boat is made from Western Red Cedar planking and Ash stems. I am planning to use cherry for the seats, decks and gunnels.

I'm hoping the rest of the boat will be finished by spring. (2005!)

Bob Gibbon
Hamilton Ontario,
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Yann Dubois
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Redwood Hiawatha in the making

Post by Yann Dubois »

I started this project (my first woodstrip) in December of '03, and I am at the stage of sanding and finishing the inside. At the moment, the project is on hold due to other home-remodeling projects which have taken precedence, but I hope to get back to finishing the canoe by next spring (2005) at the latest.
Below are some photos of various stages of the project. The prices for cedar and redwood in my area were approximately the same when I started last year, so I thought I'd be different and pick redwood. When I was halfway through stripping, I started regretting the fact that there was little variation in the wood (which I knew when I bought the wood), but once I finished laying the fiberglass those feelings changed and since them I personally find the simplicity of one color very asthetically appealing. A few variations (ash stems and gunwales, and possible cherry deck) I hope will complement the simplicity of the colors.
If you live in the Dallas area or happen to pass through, please drop me a note and stop by and visit. It would be enjoyable to chat about wooden canoes/kayaks/boats, as well as woodworking in general.

Best regards,
Yann Dubois

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Arctic
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Building the Hiawatha

Post by Arctic »

Started my Hiawatha 15' about mid August of this year- my goal is to have it done by next spring. I am fortunate enought to usually have 1-2 hours a day to work on it.
Building the strongback and cutting the molds was fairly straight forward. However, I am new to woodworking so I had a few small challenges along the way sorting out things and mainly learning.
I took my time getting materials (shopped around for a bit) and was lucky enough to find a local supplier about 45 minutes from my house. Got stems, planking and Gunwales.

Finally started planking about a week ago and it is going well, I am just coming upon the bilge now and an finding it to be a little more challenging, but still having fun with it. It is not perfect, but that is OK and it all seems "pretty good" anyway.
It has been very rewarding planking the hull and seeing the shape of the boat slowly take form. Hope the rest goes a smooth.
Here is my progress so far

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b265/ ... G_2505.jpg

Mark,
Cantley, Quebec
Canada
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Still working on the Hull- coming over the centre with the bottom now- soon I will trim the centre and close up the bottom . Ordered all the epoxy and fiberglass this week. After doing the sheer line, and outside stems then fairing the Hull should hopefully be fiberglassing soon- maybe in a month. Lucky for me I have a heated shop.

Here are some updated photo's

Mark,
Cantley, Quebec

http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Well, Things really slowed down this week. I had a heck of a time making proper cuts on my strips to join them all nice and neat while closing the bottom of the boat- it did not help that near both # 6 station molds I (just slightly) crossed the centre line- a few strips to fill the gaps and some sanding seems to have gotten me back on track.

I have only managed about three strips this week as they are now taking much longer to do- I do about one a day.
Hopefully will have everything done (closing the hull taht is) in about 2-3 weeks. Luckily I am in no rush though.
Updated photo's on the photobucket site:

http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/


Plan to keep plugging away, and doing my best to make good solid and tight joints.

Mark,
Cantley, Quebec.
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

I am now down to the last few strips- which will be installed together (final 3). Closing the bottom was definitely a challenge. Some joints were good and some were not as good. I am satisfied with the structural integrity of the Hull but I think I lost a little on the asthetic look of the bottom centre line- a few to many gaps for my liking. I have been hand sanding over the joints as I go along, and I filled a few gaps with epoxy yesterday. That seemed to have worked well. I used the sawdust from the sander, and brought the mixture to a peanut butter consistency, so hopefully it will all colour match in the end. Right now there is a very noticble difference because the rest of the Hull has no expoxy and therefore no "wetted out" look to it.
The only other challenge I had was there was one joint that did not line up heightwise with the other one, I did not notice this till later. As a result I have a small bump or ridge between on that are of the bottom. I am not sure what I will do about it yet, one thing that has come to mind is smoothing the ridge over with coloured epoxy- don't know how that will work though so I will have to think about it for a while. Anyone have any advice?
Should have the bottom closed in the next few days, then on to the sheer- I don't anticipate any problems there.
I will wait to complete the Hull and sand it all down before filling any more gaps- that way I can mix one batch and do it all at once.
Will update the photobucket site with recent pics soon. Here is it:


http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/

Mark
Cantley, Quebec
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Well, I finally got the bottom closed this evening! It took me a little longer than anticipated, as I have not had as much time to work on things this last week. But tonight I decided I was going to the garage and not coming in until the bottom was closed- and now it is. I also began to lay sheer planking on one side- back to some easier planking!
The biggest problem I have encountered so far has been in closing the bottom. I had more gaps than I would have liked at some of the joints in the centre. I have epoxy filled some just to work with epoxy and see what it can do. Thankfully it seems to work well and is easy to colour match- so I am not as worried about those gaps as I was.
Next will be the sheer lines (x4). Not anticipating any problems here as it all seems straight forward. I have cut a thin batten to transfer the line when I am rerady to cut it.
Then outer stems and the main construction phase will be complete- That is things will shift from building to preparing and treating the Hull with all of the steps. Although I suppose the glassing should be considered a major structural part of the process.
I have updated the website with recent pics. Here is the link:

http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/

Mark,
Cantley, Quebec
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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davidb54321
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Post by davidb54321 »

Mark,

Your canoe is looking good. When you patch/fill the gaps with thickened epoxy, try to mix it so the color is a little darker than the surrounding wood and it will show less later on.
David Bartlett

"I don't fully understand everything I know!"
http://photobucket.com/albums/b81/davidb54321/
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Thanks for the encouragement and advice on epoxy Dave- will be sure to mix darker.

Things have picked up over the last few days and I have got several hours of work done. Today I cut the first of the 4 sheers. Wow! The shape is really starting to look good. My wife took a look and was really impressed by the shape as well. Ted Moores says in Canoecraft that cutting the sheer is very rewarding because you will really see the shape of the boat stand out- he was right.
Off tommorow to pick up epoxy, fiberglass and outer stems.
New pics on the photobucket site (re: the sheer line I cut today)


http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/




Mark
Cantley, Quebec.
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

All 4 sheer lines have been cut now- I left them a little proud for fine tuning later. The shape really stands out now.

Next to finish the outer stems. The original stems I bent were bent wrong. I made the mistake of NOT bending them over the inner stems thus they would not fit properly once they were all glued up- c'est la vie- lesson learned. Rather than cut out a new mold and compensate for the difference in the bend I have chosen to laminate the stems directly on to the hull. I scraped/ chisled out a mortice to fit the bottom of the hull. Smoothed over the ends and trimmed the ends of the planks. I layed down the first 3/16" strip and glued it on with Gorilla Glue- then about a dozen bungee's to "clamp" it all down nice and tight.
The glue is still drying as I write this- so it will be tommorow before I find out if this works. (If not it is not a big deal- just take off the laminate and try again with a different glue/epoxy). If it does work then I will glue on the remaining 3 laminates and do it all over again at the other end. Then the final shaping of the stems.

The Gorilla glue comes reccomended by other builders on this form- I have only heard good things about it. It meets the waterproof standard but it a bit messy to work with as it foams quite a bit while curing. I will of course still be using epoxy to fill all the little gaps in the outer stem area.

Recent pics on the site: http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/

Mark
Cantley, Quebec.
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Well things worked out just fine. I had no problems in laminating the stems directly on to the hull. Used the Gorilla Glue and about a dozen bungees to "clamp" it all nice and tight.
The Gorilla glue set up in a few hours and seems to be very strong. The only drawback was on the inital laminate I used a liberal amount of glue, since the Gorilla Glue foams as it cures it got a little messy- but I was able to clean off the excess without a problem.

I have a few small gaps to fill with epoxy where the stem meets the hull, but nothing unexpected. Now to shape them.
I have posted some photo's on my photobucket page for anyone who wants to take a look.


http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/

Mark
Cantley, Quebec
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

My outer stems have now been shaped and are all set up- I left the 3/8" face for the brass stems bands I am planning on installing. I also pulled all my staples last night- took about 2 hours in all.
I decided today to read ahead in Canoecraft about shaping/fairing the hull and working with epoxy and fiberglass. I will probably go over it several more times to help put it to memory so when I do the glassing I won't have to spend time reading the book!
I will of course be fairing the hull first and gap filling.

I have posted recent photos on the photo bucket site.
I also went ahead and posted about 10 photo's of my earlier construction phases to make the site more complete regarding the process I have been following. All the photo's now have titles as well. I have found other builders sites/photo's very useful, so I hope mine might be of use to somebody here at some point.
Here is the site:

http://photobucket.com/albums/b265/arctic971/

I would also like to take time to thank the Bear Mountain Boat shop for this forum- it is invaluable (especially for first time builders like myself), and a thank you to all the builders and members whose knowledge and help has helped me with this project.
I would love to hear any comments anyone might have.

Mark,
Cantley, Quebec.
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Glen Smith
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Post by Glen Smith »

That looks great Mark, keep up the good work. :tu
Rick
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Post by Rick »

Mark, this canoe will be a beauty out on the water, expect lots of comments and attention since the classic high-ender sheerline isn't seen very often these days.

Good luck!
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