Hi Everybody - I wanted to share a few pictures from my first paddle of the season. This is the second Pal I built this winter, one for my brother and this one for me. Many of you are familiar with this design, but for those who aren't, the Pal is a 16' tandem originally built by the Chestnut Canoe Co. that can service as a large solo canoe.
This is really just an experiment to see whether I could ever get down to owning only one canoe. Having watched Bill Mason paddle his Pal in various canoe films over the last 4 decades, I thought I should try this design. I used a lot of scrap strips for the build supplemented with spruce that I can get in 16' lengths for a good price. I tried to keep the weight down, so gunwales are the same spruce while seats, thwarts and decks are cherry which is about 25% lighter than the ash I can get. I don't really have a way to weigh it, but it feels reasonably light, definitely under 50 lbs. I used 4oz e-glass inside and out with an outside layer below the bilge of 4oz s-glass, and thin dynel strips just on the wear areas of the stems. I don't really care for the look of the planking, a bit too busy for me, but the outside will be painted red.
After getting the seats in the day before, we took it out for a test paddle on Dailey Lake with Emigrant Peak in the background. We weren't out long, as it was a bit windy and cold, and I don't like paddling with a down jacket on, but I really liked the way it handled, especially solo. We travel pretty light, so this should be a good tripping canoe for us. The bow seat needs to be raised an inch, and the stern seat lowered an inch. I'm still at odds with what to do about the tilt of the bow seat. Leaving it flat feels uncomfortable for the a bow paddler, but tilting it forward would be a problem for a solo paddler. Have to think on that one. Aside from the paint, varnish and screwing down some scrap stem band on the ends it's done.
Mark
This is really just an experiment to see whether I could ever get down to owning only one canoe. Having watched Bill Mason paddle his Pal in various canoe films over the last 4 decades, I thought I should try this design. I used a lot of scrap strips for the build supplemented with spruce that I can get in 16' lengths for a good price. I tried to keep the weight down, so gunwales are the same spruce while seats, thwarts and decks are cherry which is about 25% lighter than the ash I can get. I don't really have a way to weigh it, but it feels reasonably light, definitely under 50 lbs. I used 4oz e-glass inside and out with an outside layer below the bilge of 4oz s-glass, and thin dynel strips just on the wear areas of the stems. I don't really care for the look of the planking, a bit too busy for me, but the outside will be painted red.
After getting the seats in the day before, we took it out for a test paddle on Dailey Lake with Emigrant Peak in the background. We weren't out long, as it was a bit windy and cold, and I don't like paddling with a down jacket on, but I really liked the way it handled, especially solo. We travel pretty light, so this should be a good tripping canoe for us. The bow seat needs to be raised an inch, and the stern seat lowered an inch. I'm still at odds with what to do about the tilt of the bow seat. Leaving it flat feels uncomfortable for the a bow paddler, but tilting it forward would be a problem for a solo paddler. Have to think on that one. Aside from the paint, varnish and screwing down some scrap stem band on the ends it's done.
Mark
