What's happening in your shop this winter?

[Robin]

Robin, would you mind showing pictures of those fine sitting you are talking about??

Here's the wooden chairs I will be restoring this winter for next seasons tripping, I mentioned who needs armrests, but I should of said who need "cupholders"....anyway they are held together with riveted fittings, so my restoration will be a good cleaning of the wood, then some repeated Watco oil treatments, then some new #12 canoe canvas.
Like Dos Equis says "I dont always bring a chair but when I do it's a wood canvas chair"

Comfy!

OPPS, take 2

 

[Jim Dodd]

Whats your mouse solution made of? What role do the clamps and the PVC pipe play?.

I just put water in the pail, but I'm told a little RV antifreeze, keeps it from freezing up, when it's really cold.
The pipe is coated with peanut butter, just near the middle, that way the mice climb out on the pipe and do a log roll into the bucket.
They did manage to eat a lot of the peanut butter before falling off. Kind of a Last meal thing.
The clamps prevent the pipe from rolling off the bucket.

Sorry about the dead mice, But I was amazed at how well it worked ! I'm sure De-con won't be happy to see this !

Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

Robin you are a Lucky man !
Wood heat, my Insurance man said NO ! And two dogs my WIFE said No ! Enjoy all three !

Jim

 

[Canotrouge]

Robin, those chairs look really nice and you are not sitting on the ground... I assume the fold flat!?!?!

 

[Boatman53]

Looks good Robin.
Here are some photos of one of my shop spaces. I've got seven canoes and a guidboat to work on and a total of ten of those little sailboats. I'm also going to have a booth at a trade show next April so I have to build a bench and finish the prototype work on a new sharpening jig. I might also have an order to build a 15' rowing boat.

Not to mention projects on the house.
Jim

 

[Mama]

My shop is the kitchen. Planning to do some research for ideas to add some things to my repertoire to shake up the menus a bit. Plan to make a bunch of menus for 2016. Make dehydrated beef stroganoff, spaghetti and meat sauce, chili, gumbo, meaty bean dish, etc.

 

[Robin]

Thanks Jim, those dogs are a blessing to our "empty" Robin's nest!

Now there's some boats Boatman 53, nice pics.

(

Robin, those chairs look really nice and you are not sitting on the ground... I assume the fold flat!?!?!

Yes, they fold flat, not real "portage" friendly, but good for easy trips and grandkids soccer games.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Robin you are a Lucky man !
Wood heat, my Insurance man said NO ! And two dogs my WIFE said No ! Enjoy all three !

Jim

oooh...But we here in New England often have wood stoves. Or wood furnaces . Or wood stoves in the shop.
We have a wood stove in the house. We have a kersosene heater in the shop. Neighbor has an exterior wood furnace.

All I mean to say is I'm glad I don't have your insurance man!

Your wife may be able to be trained.. dogs are pretty savvy about stove..at least mine is.. Nothing like biscuits baking on the wood stove along with pea soup simmering.

 

[Boatman53]

I just remembered I'm trying to buy what is reputed to by a Rushton 17' Indian Girl. We have been doing the dance for a couple of years now, but he is in his high eighty's and really starting to part with things so his daughters don't have to. It's hanging in the rafters right side up so it has been hard to see much. It is a lovely looking hull, no canvas, the ribs have separated from the inwales for at least a third of the boat, I don't think any ribs are broken. I say reputed because he claims the planking pattern is as pictured in the Rushton book. That to my knowledge is his only link, no name plate. He wants $1000 as is. If I can't get him down I will at least take the lines and draw up a set of plans, because it is a lovely hull. How much would you pay for a canoe as I described? And if it is a Rushton, what would be a good price?
Jim

 

[Mihun09]

It is worth what you are willing to pay for it. Ask at the WCHA site, there are a few there who have Rushton's who could help especially once you see the rest of the boat to determine if it is indeed an Indian Girl.

http://forums.wcha.org/

 

[Boatman53]

Yes I know that is where I should be asking, and have been to the forum many times but nevr really participated. Don't know why, just not enough time I guess. I've been a member of WCHA since its inception,#147 I'm dating myself now sorry about that.
I agree it is worth what someone would pay and that is too much for me, but once I get it down out of the rafters and take a closer look, who knows.
Jim

 

[Mihun09]

Wow, that is a long time membership. I'm #9968.

 

[Guest]

Shop improvements? Rehabbing boats? Building boats? What's on your agenda?

Shop improvements are of course a never ending story. I can always find ways to make the shop more efficient and better organized. Although I think I’ve run out of places to add shelving.

My winter shop plan is the same as it has been for a couple of years . Find a canoe to rehab. That project is rife with difficulties based on my peculiar criteria for rehab canoe selection.

I would like to have a lightweight solo canoe to augment whatever tripping canoe I carry on the truck when travelling. If I’m just popping on some small lake or day paddling a river having something smaller, lighter and more nimble would be advantageous.

The used devil is in the details. My preference would be something composite, 40-ish lbs or less, in the 14 to 15 foot range. Something equally good for swamping through strainers and sweepers, moving water/class 1 and small lake noodling about or even quickie overnighting.

The real difficulty is that I need to find one dirt cheap, wood gunwales and brightwork rotted off, hull damaged cheap.

I have enough shop stock to rehab such a canoe and envision this boat being the one I leave on the truck racks for weeks at a time when I’m away tripping. In that guise even locked to the truck I’d rather not have big $$$ invested in the hull purchase

I’ve been searching Craigslist within a couple hundred miles of my home and along my usual mid-Atlantic States travel routes for nearly 2 years and have yet to find such a unicorn shooting rainbows out the stern.

 

[Iskweo]

Boatman: I may be wrong but I thought the Indian Girl from Rushton was a 16 footer...he had different names for the different models, like Chestnut did. It may in fact be a Rushton but maybe not that one. Still, if it is reaaaaallllly good, and it does not sound like it already, $1000 might be ok. For me...no canvas, rib tips, god only knows what else, for a boat with a very tentative provenance? $500 tops. The most we have ever paid for a hull needing repair was $400.

Robin....I am soooo jealous of your nice little hideaway. My insurance company turned me down flat for a wood stove also...I cant find anyone here who will even consider it. Really annoying. I may have to knock together a little cabin out back for myself to hang out in.

Our shop, as usual, has some canoe work going on...one wc nearing completion and the Chum being built. I also have a radio to clean up and get working, then a couple of rototillers to fix and a snowblower to tune up. I am thinking a little corner to just sit and have coffee on Sunday mornings would be a great idea too...surrounded by half finished boats.

Christy

 

[Boatman53]

Thanks Christy for your input, at the moment my top number is $500. I have to get it down from the rafters, maybe before Thanksgiving.
Jim

 

[yellowcanoe]

From what I gather Indian Girl is 16'1"
http://www.wooden-canoes.com/canoes/indiangirl.htm

Very similar to the Girl but 17 feet.
http://www.mccurdyandreedcanoes.com/gates_canoes.html

I think Yellowcanoe may need to leave. Not pretty . 1993Kevlar. with gel with epoxy repairs with sand in them. 38 lbs AFAIK Going S in ten days. Will do moving water but is ugly because it has a propensity for strainers. and once decided to become the letter Z. However it did the Buffalo right after flood just fine. Fine bow though.. the haystack number 13 at Grey Rocks swamped it.( that is class 2+)
Actually not much used anymore. $400 is fine. Its a cantankerous thing . Round bottomed and Andy Sz might like its speed.

Its cherry gunwales are in pretty good shape. Anyone stealing it to canoe in will probably get a bath.

 

[sailsman63]

This winter:

- Finish "The Experiment"
- Outfit same. May have a "unique" (experimental) seat mount system.
- Paddles to match, will do some time-diving in posts here for thoughts.
- Shop Improvement: better cyclone for dust collector & better accessories
- Light-medium hunting bow?

 

[latremorej]

Wannigan version 2. Picked up some 1\4" birch ply and I'm trying to work out a router jig to join the 4 sides and bottom using box joints. Hoping for strength this way so I don't have to add strips on the corners and bottom.

 

[Alan Gage]

Wow, lot's of great projects you guys have lined up. Hope I get to see some of it come together.

My weekend wasn't as productive as planned, at least not in the shop. The weather was too nice on Sunday so I spent all day playing outside. Saturday was a little icky in the morning so I finished my laminate cabinet and a quick project that popped up for my mom but not much else before the sun began calling my name mid-afternoon.

This should be very handy and much nicer than having rolls laying around all over the shop.

20151031_003 by Alan, on Flickr

20151031_004 by Alan, on Flickr

20151028_002 by Alan, on Flickr

20151028_001 by Alan, on Flickr

Alan

 

[wysedav]

Wow Alan, I think you're ready to go into business with that setup. Looks sweet!,