Your interior looks better than most of mine. A light sanding and varnish, call it a day. Or better yet, roll on a couple of coats of tremclad, there's a nice forest green.
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Happy Nobel Prize to my physics prof, Leon Lederman (1988)! ⚛️
Ashes Solo Trip build
- Thread starter Rex Stardust
- Start date
This thing has had a bit of a workout now so I thought I'd give one final update. I used 3/16" strips with 6oz E-glass on the outer hull, 2 extra strips at the stems and a 4oz football layer. The inner hull is several perpendicular lengths of 4oz with an extra wide overlap in the center to account for the excessive sanding I had to do in that section. I have no concerns about the stiffness in that area.
The gunnels have two 1/4" cedar strips on the inner and one on the outer, then another strip of walnut to cover the cedar. Perhaps more work than it was worth, but it looks cool. Walnut thwarts, handles and yoke and a seat with laminated cedar and walnut. I still need to replace the plywood seat drops that I made so I could experiment with seat height. We'll see when I get around to that.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with the canoe but I see the advantage of a slightly narrower boat (this one is 33"). I feel like I'm reaching out just a little too far to paddle with full comfort. One of my design decisions included travelling with a dog though so I'm not at all upset to have the extra capacity.
This is the first solo I've paddled so I have no frame of reference on the handling. I've been adjusting trim by moving packs around and the only real issue I ran into was a very windy and wavey downwind lake crossing. Luckily it wasn't too far but I did have to work to keep things under control. I can comfortably paddle at 5kph and if I'm in a hurry, sit and switch adds another 1 or 2. I'm assuming a narrower canoe like the Kite or Osprey would be more efficient but this has been fine for me. The extra width may add to the stability as well and even with a very rambunctious dog copilot, it's plenty stable.
Next step is to add skidplates. I'm sure the stems are plenty durable as is for years of use but I have some fairly remote trips in mind and I don't want to feel like I have to baby the thing. After that, I have a tandem to build for trips with the wife and I have some major repairs to make on a carbon fiber Magic I came across. According to the previous owner, he wiped out in some rapids on the Churchill river and it took a tumble. Had to get flown out.
Thanks for all your advice. Super happy it came out as well as it did.
Oops, almost forgot. 48 pounds with the yoke.
Duane
The gunnels have two 1/4" cedar strips on the inner and one on the outer, then another strip of walnut to cover the cedar. Perhaps more work than it was worth, but it looks cool. Walnut thwarts, handles and yoke and a seat with laminated cedar and walnut. I still need to replace the plywood seat drops that I made so I could experiment with seat height. We'll see when I get around to that.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with the canoe but I see the advantage of a slightly narrower boat (this one is 33"). I feel like I'm reaching out just a little too far to paddle with full comfort. One of my design decisions included travelling with a dog though so I'm not at all upset to have the extra capacity.
This is the first solo I've paddled so I have no frame of reference on the handling. I've been adjusting trim by moving packs around and the only real issue I ran into was a very windy and wavey downwind lake crossing. Luckily it wasn't too far but I did have to work to keep things under control. I can comfortably paddle at 5kph and if I'm in a hurry, sit and switch adds another 1 or 2. I'm assuming a narrower canoe like the Kite or Osprey would be more efficient but this has been fine for me. The extra width may add to the stability as well and even with a very rambunctious dog copilot, it's plenty stable.
Next step is to add skidplates. I'm sure the stems are plenty durable as is for years of use but I have some fairly remote trips in mind and I don't want to feel like I have to baby the thing. After that, I have a tandem to build for trips with the wife and I have some major repairs to make on a carbon fiber Magic I came across. According to the previous owner, he wiped out in some rapids on the Churchill river and it took a tumble. Had to get flown out.
Thanks for all your advice. Super happy it came out as well as it did.
Oops, almost forgot. 48 pounds with the yoke.
Duane
Looks nice.
On my first build, I widened the hull, very similar to this ! I found I struggled to hold a straight line of travel, untill I heeled it a little, the Heeling whipped that hull into shape nicely.
With this build under your belt ? You are in line to build another.
I know I'm still building.
Again Nice build.
Jim
On my first build, I widened the hull, very similar to this ! I found I struggled to hold a straight line of travel, untill I heeled it a little, the Heeling whipped that hull into shape nicely.
With this build under your belt ? You are in line to build another.
I know I'm still building.
Again Nice build.
Jim
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Awesome looking canoe and I'm glad you're planning more.
Did you laminate gunwales in place on the hull or build them & then install? I'm interested to see a close-up of them. (and, yes, we all make decisions when building. Sometimes they really are more trouble than they're worth but it's really cool when they work out.)
I didn't mean to suggest I did any design work on this, I just chose a design that was already wider. I did change the tumblehome section to add that hard shoulder but the below the water the hull is directly from the plans.
And yes, definitely still building. I need a tandem for when I can convince someone else to come with me and after that, I want to build a kayak.
I laminated the two cedar strips for the inside and put them on together. I was hesitant to glue all three as I didn't know how easily they would bend (I think it would work fine though). The other strips all went on one at a time - actually a half at a time cause I didn't have full length strips. I did put some maple plugs where the holes for the seat bolts were drilled so the bolt head wasn't sitting right on the cedar. Over time, I thought that soft cedar would have been a problem.
Here's a picture of the bow. I had a small gap where the cedar strips came together and instead of filling it, I plowed a groove with a router and added an extra strip to fill it in, then shaped it to accept the walnut. To some it may look intentional, but it was a fix. I kind of liked it so I did the stern the way - symmetry and stuff.
Lovely build! I like the look of that fix.
I think that you'll be glad of those maple plugs. You'll have to let us know how you like having a solid inwale like that. I've always done the spacer-block thing both for tie-points and to make it easier to pour water out. (There's always a bit that comes over the gunwales from the paddle dripping, spray, etc.)
I think that you'll be glad of those maple plugs. You'll have to let us know how you like having a solid inwale like that. I've always done the spacer-block thing both for tie-points and to make it easier to pour water out. (There's always a bit that comes over the gunwales from the paddle dripping, spray, etc.)
Great looking boat. I built the same boat, absolutely love mine.
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Thank you for the update on the boat! I am a ways out from my first build, yet, since my must-do-list is long and tragically has to come before my want-to-do list. But I've been considering this boat, with the modification of a rear-adjustable seat and a scuppered section towards to bow to hang a removable seat from. My scenario is wanting a fun solo boat that can also carry either my dog or my seven-year-old (who likes to be able to paddle as much as possible), and often both at the same time for short exploration paddles, picnics, and some fishing.
What I'm saying is, I really need three boats. But I have been debating whether or not this one might fit the bill. It's great to hear more feedback and experiences with the design.
I enjoyed @Bentpushrod 's build thread too. Any more input/experiences or pictures of your boats would be great to see!
Thanks for sharing this thread!
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