Welcome to the new Bear Mountain Builders Forum - an interactive internet service we provide to encourage communication between canoe and kayak builders
Glen,
As usual, another beautifully designed and executed work of art. How Boring!
JK
A thousand Wonderful Jobs to you!!
I'm sure she will paddle as beautifully as she looks. I know you have a gazillion coats of varnish (poly) on her, but I wonder if the cherry will turn as she gets a few years on her? That deep red that aged cherry has will be a great accent. I really like the decks, and as usual, you executed everything beautifully. I hope you enjoy her for years to come.
Greg
" Choose to chance the rapids, Dare to dance the tide..."
Thanks Jeff, actually I fell a bit behind schedule because of health and family matters.
I find the Epifanes much easier to apply than the Varathane water-based urethane. Some good points about the Varathane: water-based so easy clean up. no amber tint like traditional spar varnishes. can be recoated after a few hours so you can apply several coats in one day. it is supposed to be a tough finish.
Some negative comments about the Varathane: it takes about 6 coats before any gloss starts to appear. on the outer hull I applied 3 coats then wet-sanded with 400 grit. Then I applied 3 more coats and wet-sanded up to 1500 grit. Then it took 2 more coats to get gloss. There are always streaks in this product. I tried a bristle brush but that was terrible. I tried a foam brush and that was better but it still left marks. The best applicator I found is a "staining pad" which is a sponge sewn up in a cotton pouch about 3" X 5" X 3/4". This stuff dries so darned fast that it is impossible to go back and touch up a missed spot or a run, it will definitely show up. My shop temp and humidity were as recommended by the manufacturer. It might be easier to apply this product if the temp is lower and the humidity higher to delay drying time. Self-levelling seems inexistant with this product. It was very frustrating for me to use and I think I will go back to the Epifanes for future projects.
This information reflects only my own experience with it under the conditions I had in my work shop. This product may work very well for some builders. Please advise me if you try it and like it.
Sazanami is Japanese and it means "ripples" like the rippled look of the walnut decks or the ripples on the water made by a moving canoe. I chose to use a Japanese name to honour the friends I have made in Japan through this forum. Actually, one of them (Yasushi) should be flying over to attend the Rendezvous!
Greg, this is my first experience with cherry and I hope it does change colour with time because I find it to be rather pale looking and without character for now. I already have the boat outside so the cherry can get some sun exposure.
Working with a different type of lumber or varnish sometimes presents enough challenges to keep the boredom down to an acceptable level.
Last edited by Glen Smith on Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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.
David, before building my first strip canoe I had never seen one in person. Since building it I have seen several strip canoes and kayaks on cars passing through town. Last Summer I saw one that didn't have much varnish left on it because there were scratches all over the place. My first thought was that the owner was a reckless person who didn't care very much for his canoe. My "revised" thought was "Wow! That canoe must have some good stories to tell".
Wow Glen that is one excellent job of building. i bet it will perform as well as it looks. Best of luck on your next one and I wish that I lived closer to the get together, I would love to meet you and to see and perhapse paddle one of your beautys. J. R. Ackleyi
Where did you find the plans for a shorter 2 person canoe? I like the length for portability and weight along with the abailty to carry a passanger. Great looking canoe!
I am still looking for the ideal plans. I do mostly river running and like the idea of the smaller canoe for my solo runs and occasional runs with the kids.
