The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Edmontonian, I don't think you will run into any issues with the walnut. I used three woods in my yoke. Mohogany was used for the center (load bearing) section, the waist is cherry, and the tips are maple. I have not had any issues with the Mohogany/Maple joint. Do watch out because the woods have a...

BtK, I don't know the rules like Randy does either. All my strips were 9 meters (~18') to start with as well. I know on the longest strips, I ended up cutting off 2.5-3" on each end... However, I had a specific design I was incorporating into the Redbird, and that directly effected the longest ...

Rudy, I struggled with this question myself. I too did not want to leave screws in my Redbird. I also did not want to try and struggle with clamping down the gunwales over a notoriously slippery epoxy slurry. I ended up doing a compromise. I used screws to make a self aligning/clamping jig. Which us...

Steve,

I built my Redbird without the scuppers. I also ran into the problem of splintering gunwales, but it was more to due with the curve of the bow/stern, and me trying to cold bend the wood. I salvaged my long sections of gunwale with scarf joints, and they were almost unnoticable.

-Chris

Tim, Sorry for the late post, I've been away for a while. I hope you've come up with a creative solution by now. What I did was a two part process, a laminate if you will. I used a base stock of mirante, and overlayed it with walnut and an accent strip (all 1/4" in thickness for a total of 1/2 ...

I would agree with the 8.5 inch seating height... especially if you are new to canoeing. I built my Redbird at plans height of 9" and it was "sporty" for the first few hours. Nothing that isn't easily accustomed to, but at first is a little aggressive for a novice paddler. I elected t...

Mark,

From the looks of things, you are in for a big project!

Now, I've only built from scratch and plans, and have no experience in restoration... but... take it one step at a time and I'm sure it will turn out beautifully.

Best of luck!!!

-Chris

Geordie, As a Ridbird builder myself, I have to say that a single peice full length gunwale is going to be a handful. I found that the curve at the bow and stern needed to be scarfted... I didn't want to try and construct a steam box for 18' stock. I ended up snapping my outside gunwale at the sharp...

Guys, I hope you'll never have to go through something like this. I get to do it every few years. As an active duty military member, we move about every three years. The good part is, the military pays for the move... the not so good part, the movers pack everything. So, having just completed my Red...

Kerry, I built my first boat staple-less. It is not as hard as it might initially seem. Although, it will take a little longer. My Redbird had some strips that had almost 90 degrees of twist in them from the floor center to the bow/stern that required the glue to fully set before I could remove my c...

Gents, After five months of working weekends, I have achieved sucess by floating my Redbird... Not to say that she is finished, just that it is summer, it is beautiful out, and I couldn't wait to get her wet!!! I have a few more details to add, like a brass strip for the bow/stern, and floatation co...

Brad, I look at any project undertaken as an opportunity to acquire more tools. :eyebrows I planned from the start to set up my base strip 3/8" proud of the sheer line, knowing full well it would need to be trimmed flush to the gunwales. I figured that the hull would be glassed before I even co...

I'll second Glen's statement. It doesn't matter what size you screws or plugs are... just so long as the plug covers the screw hole. I went a little farther than just using plugs. To start with, I used 2.5" screws that protruded a full inch through the inwale. Once everthing was in place and re...

Joe, Am I understanding you correcty by saying you are NOT doing a "composite sandwich"? The sandwich is where most of the strenght and rigidity comes from (think I-beam). If you are trying to acheive a pure "shell" with no filler, out of kevlar (or carbon Fiber), I would recomme...

Wil, I did exactly what you are talking about... on purpose. I am in the finishing stages of my Redbird, which has both a long, slender bow/stern, and a sizeable amount of tumblehome. I cut my cloth about two feet short of each end before glassing the inside. I then cut a peice for each side at each...