Time to build again - Short solo/kid's tandem

[Alan Gage]

I woke up this morning and realized it was time to build another canoe. It's probably been 6 years since my last one. At the time I was designing and building canoes like crazy. I'd actually just completed a new design and had transferred it to a thumb drive for printing the next day when suddenly I decided to sell my house. This completely changed my focus as I now had a new house to remodel and no shop to build canoes in. And while I've had multiple projects and hobbies in that time I really haven't felt the desire to build another canoe.

And then, for some reason, when I woke up this morning I suddenly realized it was now or never to build this design. Six years ago I'd began mentoring a 6 year old boy. I also had a friend with two small boys who I really enjoyed spending time with. This canoe was designed for them.

It's 13' long with a 32.5" beam. Symmetrical hull with a bit of rocker. It will be built with 3/16" strips, probably 4oz. cloth, and light trim. I want it to be light enough for kids to carry easily.

The intended uses of the canoe are day paddles as a:

A: Tandem with an adult and a little kid
B: Tandem for 2 kids
C: Adult with dog

I'm now mentoring 2 boys but they would be too big to paddle it tandem. Either of them could solo it.

My friends' boys are at the perfect size and age for paddling it tandem.

If I don't build this canoe soon they're all going to be big boys. I want this canoe to be completed so they can use it as young boys with a sense of adventure and freedom.

It will also be a great opportunity to finish cleaning up the shop and get in the habit of working in there again. Despite having a lovely heated shop full of wood and woodworking equipment I've hardly touched it the last couple years. I'm hoping this will get me excited about woodworking again.

I should have plenty of cedar and fiberglass leftover from the building days and I have plenty of wood for trim so I should only have to buy the resin. I think I have enough carbon and kevlar that I could make a composite copy of the hull as well. If I make a composite copy I'll probably leave one of the hulls with my friends in Minneapolis. They live on a slough so the boys could carry it from the yard right down to the water.

Alan

 

[sailsman63]

Ohh... Looking forward to it. Was this the hull that was being designed last time I was playing with a solo design?

 

[Alan Gage]

It might be. I can remember talking about canoe design but don't remember what I was working on at the time.

Alan

 

[Jim Dodd]

Making a Kevlar copy, is a great idea !
You can do your best with the stripper build, but at least I wasn't able to come close to the weight of the Kevlar copy.
46#, compared to 36# makes a lot of difference on a portage !
Building a stripper at 36#, makes me worry, about sacrificing durability.
On the other hand, here in Iowa, portaging is not a problem, so weight isn't that big a deal !

I paddle my last Kevlar, almost exclusively, even here in Iowa.
I'm 73, maybe that's a big part of the reason.

In any case I'm looking forward to your build thread !

Jim

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'm hoping this will get me excited about woodworking again.

Very possibly it will. I've found over a long life that things I liked when young, even after long lapses for various reasons, I still liked when I was older.

Canoeing itself is an example. I say I started canoeing at age 8 now through age 79, and that's true. However, I didn't do much canoeing at all from age 18-36 when I was attending college, two law schools, getting married, having no money, starting a career, raising kids, etc. Then in 1980 I took my family canoeing on the Big River in Mendocino, California, and the canoe hobby not only restarted but became an addiction.

I'm now in a semi-lapse phase, but I'm looking forward to becoming more active again if I can meet some physiology goals.

Looking forward to your rebuilding build.

 

[Gamma1214]

Looking forward to following along.

 

[Alan Gage]

Plans have been printed. Shop has been cleaned. Strongback has been rebuilt.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Alan, have you ever built a canoe in this house/shop? I have a recollection that you moved several years ago.

And what is that Flash Gordon contraption on the right side of the photos with what looks like a filter on the back.

 

[Alan Gage]

Alan, have you ever built a canoe in this house/shop? I have a recollection that you moved several years ago.

And what is that Flash Gordon contraption on the right side of the photos with what looks like a filter on the back.

That is correct. I moved about 6 years ago and haven't built anything since.

That thing that looks like a filter is a motor with cooling fins. It's the motor assembly from a mobile dust collecting unit. My stationary dust collector has a 20 gallon drum but when doing steady planing it will fill up that drum every 15 minutes or less. On large jobs (like flooring or the solid wood walls in this shop), when I'm running boards through the planer for hours on end, it gets really frustrating to constantly stop and empty the drum.

For those jobs I use that blower motor (which is on a rolling base) and connect a section of pipe to blow it right out the door into a trailer so I don't get interrupted.

Alan

 

[memaquay]

Just checked in, expected to see a planked hull, what's going on, you lose a hand or something?

 

[Alan Gage]

Just checked in, expected to see a planked hull, what's going on, you lose a hand or something?

Yeah, I know. I can't believe how long it's taking. I must be getting old or something.

Alan

 

[Jim Dodd]

It's not a race ! Ha !
We certainly have enough water, to paddle now !

Hey ? No wheels on the strongback ?
I guess that Huge dust collector, will suck the dust for you !
Good to see you back building !

Jim

 

[Alan Gage]

No wheels on the strongback ?

Nope, no wheels. I can see the benefits but I've never felt the need. I always have dust collection running when I sand so it doesn't make any mess at all.

I decided not to use my leftover cedar after all and instead opted for some cottonwood I sawed a few years back when I still had my sawmill. A few days ago I prepped the rough sawn lumber and last night I cut up about 65 strips at 3/16" thick. They're only 8' long so I'll need more strips but I'll wait until these are used up so I can better estimate and cut the right amount.

A few years ago I added a power feeder to my table saw. It was great for cutting strips!

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Good to see you've made a tangible commitment to begin the project.

when I still had my sawmill

Just curious, did you have the sawmill specifically for canoe building purposes or other purposes too, and why did you give it up or sell it or whatever?

 

[Alan Gage]

Just curious, did you have the sawmill specifically for canoe building purposes or other purposes too, and why did you give it up or sell it or whatever?

I always thought having a sawmill would be super cool. After selling my old house and buying my next house I had enough money left over to make it happen. I found an old derelict bandsaw mill and brought it back to life.

I thought I'd make a go at making some money with it but it was soon apparent that was a pipe dream. It takes a lot of work and money to operate a sawmill and while I did sell some material I didn't find very many people wanting to spend what it would take to keep it a feasible operation. If it was going to work it would have required a lot more time and money for marketing and equipment.

So then I just started sawing for myself. By the time I filled up the loft in the shop, a semi-trailer, and half of my drying shed, I figured I ought to have enough wood to last me the rest of my life. I had just taken over the family repair shop and I knew I wouldn't have any time in the next few years to do any more sawing, and sawmills were in high demand with high prices (pandemic), so I decided to sell it.

Now nothing makes me happier than using the wood I sawed myself. Partly because of the satisfaction but mostly because I've got so much flippin' wood I'm happy to see some of it disappear. Hopefully, some year not too far off, I'll build another house and that will take care of a lot of it.

Alan

 

[Alan Gage]

Here's a shot of the sawmill with about a 30" ash long on it.



And a big cottonwood:



A pile of walnut lumber straight off the mill:



Partial load of dried lumber the semi-trailer:

 

[Jim Dodd]

Great ! How long have you had the SawStop ?
We just set one up at the Wood Shop.
I did buy half of a 15'x 21" plank of Mahogany from a member, of the club. It came from Liberty $5.50 a board ft. It is totally clear, and ruff on all sides. a 1+" thick.
Time to break out the old Skilsaw.

 

[Alan Gage]

How long have you had the SawStop ?

A long time. It came from my old shop. Probably 12 years old.

 

[Alan Gage]

Building canoes in the summer is hard. There are too many other things to do.

Made a little more progress over the weekend.

I always thought an edge sander would be a great way to clean up forms. I found a used one locally a few years back and was finally able to try it out for this task. It was great!