The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Dave,

Any good quality spar varnish will do fine.

Wil & All! I used Epiphane's Gloss varnish and am very happy with the results. It is readily available, and has high UV protection. Remember, whichever varnish you use will be sacrificial and will need replacing periodically. Your canoe will never again look as good as just before you launch for...

Jeff, If you do fill the gaps, mix your filler a little darker. It will look better when you're finished.

Tim,

I gave a lot of thought on scuppers. If I were building a traditional canvas canoe, yes I would scupper. On my canoe I am very happy with the solid inwales and it was a lot less work.

Thanks for all the compliments. The seats are done in plastic cane, not nylon. The yoke, decks, and carry thwarts are red birch, to add a little color along with the dark red cedar.

Jim, I think you were asking about the snowshoes. Yes I did use the nylon lace for the shoes. It worked very well.

With all the recent launch stories and photo's, I decided to share mine. I recently added some pictures taken outside of the cellar of my finished canoe. I have paddled her only twice, but I am very pleased with the way the canoe goes through the water. I don't have any pic's of me in the boat in th...

Very nice looking canoe Glen. I hope you and your family enjoy it for years. As for scratches, Each one tells a story. Some stories are just longer than others.

Thanks for all your help, Glen. This forum is wonderful because of craftsmen like yourself.

Mark, I'm glad to see you paddling your pride and joy. I know how it feels! Enjoy your time on the water.

David

Congratulations Patrick and Family!

The rank of Eagle Scout is a great accomplishment. I applaud your effort in getting there. You should all be proud.

Bounty paper towels and laquer thinner! After I got the inwales screwed in place, I gave everything a good wiping. The inside was not finished at this point anyway so a little scraping or sanding was to be expected.

Dan, Sorry you are still having varnish woes! Just a note in case you get the inside done before the weekend. The varnish will still be quite soft, so be careful how you tie your canoe to your car or you will have rope prints in the varnish. You may want to let the varnish cure for a while before yo...

Bjorn, I used 1/4" stainless flathead screws that I countersunk to hang my seats. I was able to get mine locally in 4 & 6" lengths. I would not hesitate to do the redi-rod thing if you can't get what you want. I too needed a longer bolt for the front seat of my Prospector to lower it t...

Ted, Welcome. I recently finished my Prospector. You will really enjoy building this canoe. As Glen said, build your strongback a little shorter than the canoe. The Prospector has high stems which can cause some trouble later on in the building. I had to cut my strongback ends off during constructio...

Dan, Varnishing is just another step in the process. Compared to working with fiberglass and epoxy, this part is easy. Thinning is just that, adding some appropriate thinner to your varnish so it flows easily off the brush. Thinner varnish is less likely to leave large runs, and dries quicker. As to...

Very nice looking boat, Geir!