1st project, need some info/advice

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:03 am

Hello All,

I just purchased the plans for the Freedom 17. i have sourced the cedar and wood for gunnels and decks. i do intend to purchase my thwart and yolk and seats.

i need to find a supplyer for seats, prefereably a canadian supplyer. i dont know what i should use. i am using cherry for the gunnels and decks and thwart, but i would like some lighter coloured woods, and i dont know the cost diff between nylon vs canned vs rawhide. are the cost differences huge? does rawhide have considerable maintenance drawbacks? what is the most comfy?

thanks a million!!
Erik

Matthew Bryant · Post by **Matthew Bryant** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 11:43 am

Hi Erik,

I've heard good things about Noah's Marine:

http://www.noahsmarine.com/Canada/Strip ... g-can.html

They appear to have quite reasonable prices and a selection of seats that seems to match your needs. I can't personally attest to their quality, however, since I've never dealt with them.

As far as maintenance is concerned, I've read that rawhide/bootlace tends to stretch a bit when it's wet. I don't know if some sort of sealant/varnish will prevent that.

Enjoy the build! It's as fun as a new puppy, and about as frustrating, too.

Matthew

borinn · Post by **borinn** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:37 pm

I bought cherry seats with natural cane and a sculpted cherry yoke from noah's as well as the entire kit. I also added 4 -20ft basswood strips for the trim. I was quite happy with their service and the supplies, but especially love the sculpted cherry yoke and trim strips. I couldn't believe the quality of the extremely long trim strips. The yoke is a piece of art itself. I just wish I had made it on my own. BTY, I had all the supplies shipped to the US without problem, but understand that returns are next to impossible due to customs/tariffs or something like that.

borinn

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:59 pm

thanks, that was just what i was looking for.

One more question (ya right, ONE more!!) some boats seem to turn out with a really buttery colour, like the ones on the cover of canoecraft. then i see some much more redish looking boats, darker in colour. since the woods i will be looking at are obviously unfinished, how do you ensure the colours your looking for? the wood shown in that noahs link is very light coloured, does unfinished wood that looks like that come out light, or dark....

thanks!

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:38 pm

Hi Erik, if you click on this link: http://www.bearmountainboats.com/gallery_Hiawatha.htm and scroll down to the second last photo you will see the different colors of wood used to build the hull of my Hiawatha canoe. The strips were all cut from a few planks of Western Red Cedar. WRC has many colors and some planks even have several colors within them. Some of my strips start out almost white at one end and are either reddish or brownish at the other end. There are some planks that have a more solid coloration but I find it difficult to see exactly what color I am getting when I buy a rough cut cedar plank. I cut all my planks into strips then decide how I am going to install the strips to obtain a pleasing effect.

Enjoy your project.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:44 pm

so the colouration is almost a crapshoot?

nice boat by the way. i dont really feel the need to tell people that, because they are all sooooo beautifull, and i think everyone knows that

:

Matthew Bryant · Post by **Matthew Bryant** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:33 pm

If you are buying your strips pre-made, you can ask the seller to pick out a bundle of darker or lighter strips, depending on your taste. Newfound did this for me without my even having to ask. They just asked if I was going for dark or light red cedar and sent me a bundle of the dark ones.

As far as the telling what the color of a strip will be after it's finished, dunk the end of the strip in a bucket of water for a second or two. The color you get is pretty close to the color of the finished strip. If you are picking the boards yourself, you could always bring a wet shop rag with you and wet down likely candidates.

Matthew

The Gutt Clan · Post by **The Gutt Clan** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:32 pm

Has anyone used Classic Boat Kits http://www.cyberus.ca/~canoe as a source for rough lumber or kits? How was your experience?

Steve Lansdowne · Post by **Steve Lansdowne** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 7:45 pm

Heck, if you can build a canoe what is the big deal about building seats. The're a lot easier than the hull. Caning isn't difficult. Go for it!

Jeff in Pembroke · Post by **Jeff in Pembroke** » Tue Oct 26, 2004 7:58 am

Hi Eric,

Good luck with your boat.
Regarding wood colour, eastern white cedar tends to be lighter in colour and a more uniform buttery tone than western red. There tends to be less variation in colour among different planks as well, although the colour is by no means uniform. It's hard to get in long lengths though, so the planks need to be joined (see previous posts on scarf vs. butt joints).
It sounds like you've already sourced your cedar so this might not be an option.

Jeff

KARKAUAI · Post by **KARKAUAI** » Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:05 pm

I'd like to echo Matthew's thoughts about checking the color by wetting out before you strip. I thought my strips were all a medium shade, almost indistinguishable when dry, but when wetted out, some were MUCH darker than others.

Juneaudave · Post by **Juneaudave** » Tue Oct 26, 2004 11:29 pm

I'm with Steve...give building your own seats, thwart, paddles and yoke a go!!! While building your canoe, you'll have time to research it a bit, gain some experience with the tools, and have some down time to fill in. You'll like the results, although I have to admit, some sources can supply these parts for close to the cost of the materials for you to build them.

The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

1st project, need some info/advice

1st project, need some info/advice

seats and thwart

rough lumber suppliers