Keshequa 17'

[memaquay]

So I'm getting married in August, decided in February to build a honeymoon canoe for my new bride. We're going to take a short three day trip after the wedding. I had gotten plans for my 20 footer from Valleywoodworking, and I liked the looks of their Keshequa 17. Traditional symmetrical canoe, not much rocker, but nice and biggish. Finally put the glass to the outside hull this weekend. It's hard to see it in the pic because it's so shiny....of course it will be dull next week when I sand it all down again.
Here's the website for the plans
http://www.valleywoodworking.biz/kesh.htm





This is the second canoe I've used System Three Silvertip on, and I can highly recommend it. I've used system three clear coat, general purpose, MAS, and West, but this stuff is awesome...wets out very nice, but fills beautifully too.....very few runs. And absolutely clear.

Anyway, hoping to have it finished before July is over, although I do have two more canoe trips to do before then as well. Sure is hard having the summers off!

 

[Robin]

Nice looking canoe, what happens after you sand it next week?

I am amazed when I see the canoes some folks here build. It must be nice to have so many hulls to use and to say you built it from scratch.

I hope the new bride likes it.

 

[oldie moldy]

Wow Memaquay! What a stable of beauties you have there! I honestly don't know how guys like you and Robin and StripperGuy do it; you make such lovey canoes and take them out and use them. Only now that my Swift canoe is good and banged and scratched up can I relax and enjoy using it, it I'd put that amount of care and painstaking craftsmanship into a canoe I don't think I could bring myself to use it.
I am tickled to see that someone else besides me winds up having a cluttered work bench!
Best Wishes, Rob

 

[memaquay]

Ha ha, ya the garage is a disaster right now, re-furbishing my old 20 footer while building the new one cause I'm going on a little canoe trip tomorrow with another couple. Their first trip, so we're taking the two 20 footers, do some fishing, etc. When I get back, I got to clean that mess up!

 

[stripperguy]

memaquay,

Nice looking hull!! ANd quite a stable you've got there. My boats (most of them) blow through my life like the wind. Very few are keepers, for me anyway.

Have you used any of the products from RAKA? I too have used System Three, West, MAS, and others. I'm pretty happy with the RAKA stuff...very clear and easy to work with.

And to you, oldie moldy, mMy Darling Bride recently purchased a Swift Adirondack 12...she's really paranoid about scratches, even worries about beaver drags. That's why I love my strippers, they take a beating and keep on floating. Scratches? Child's play. Punctures? Easy fix. Crushed in a cross current swamping? Not so much!!

 

[memaquay]

Yes, that's the beauty of strippers, the ease of repair. Mine take a beating and keep on going. I have worn out three or four so far, but that was mostly with my school club, and before I built with two layers of glass on the bottom. The Honey moon canoe is number 18 I think, but I only have 8 or 9 kicking around at the moment.

Most important rule for long term stripper survival----keep them out of the sun. The glass will degrade and become soft pretty quickly, even with UV resistant varnish.

Stripperguy....Raka is one I haven't used, although I have thought about it because I've seen it advertised fairly cheap.

 

[Mihun09]

That is a beautiful boat. Makes me want to build another stripper once I'm done my present project.

 

[Robin]

Looking at the pictures again, I see all that beautiful wood, as in canoe and snowshoes, and then there's some metal snow shoes.
Just curious,
Are they replacing the traditional wood ones you have or just for a different set of circumstances? I was given a pair that must be Army Surplus, metal frame and plastic cover metal cables for webbing. They stay up in the loft, the wooden ones stay in the shop and are used every winter.
Always enjoy seeing others shops and gear.

 

[Murat V]

Great looking set of boats. What a honeymoon gift!

 

[Patchfly]

A-mazing!!!

 

[memaquay]

Hi Robin - the snow shoes all serve a different purpose. The big wooden ones are for breaking trail through deep snow. I usually keep a couple of trails open all winter for exercise and hunting and stuff. Once the trail is opened up, I switch to the modern snowshoes for my daily walks. But we just finished a really long winter, still feeling the effects, the bugs are HORRIBLE right now, worst they have been in about five years! Almost makes me want snow back....almost.