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I should write a trip report in the proper section, but I figured I'd post a few pictures of the canoes taken in the BWCA during our trip. The canoes worked great! They were plenty rugged, and carried the payload that we needed without flinching. They were efficient enough that after we did 5...

I have "finished" the canoe to the point that's it's ready for the BWCA. Gunwales are painted, yoke pads built and attached, body work complete and cobra-weaved paracord handles on the bow and stern. Practiced getting it up on my shoulders by myself....and had my boy do it a couple of times too...

​I was able to obtain it through my connections at work. There are suppliers like Midland Plastics who stock and sell various types of plastic sheet.

Looks great!

Thanks! ​Good question. The hulls hold their shape well with the weight of two people. But, if I bounce up and down in the stern seat, the hull flexes. So, hard to say what I would change. The only material that was purchased specifically for these canoes, was the Kevlar. The fiberglass and...

My friend and I (and our boys) had the chance to take the canoes to test them out on a local lake. All in all, I am really pleased with the performance. The canoe tracked straight, but was easy to maneuver. Seat positions seam to be correct and comfortable. We are both quite happy with how they...

​Thanks. Yes, I am keeping the heavier one for myself. Glad I have a 16 year old, 6'3" 200lb defensive lineman for a son to help me on those portages. :)

​I am finished for the time being. The plan all along was to make two canoes. I am sure that subsequent builds could and would be better as the process and techniques were fine tuned. But, it has been a lot of work to get to this point and I am ready to finish these two and hit the water. I...

The second canoe weighs 54lbs, so a 15lb improvement. Now it's time for deck plates, seats, thwarts & yoke....

We infused canoe #2 today with great success. We modified some procedure and technique based on what was learned after canoe #1. We emphasized working from the center keel out. Each layer that was applied was worked into position to eliminate any bridging. Adequate slack in the peelply was...

Looks great, Jim! Now if the Iowa weather would warm up.....

At this point in the game, it's not in the cards. I have a few ideas that will eliminate the problems in the ribs we had before. We'll see how it turns out.

Yea, that is the consolation. Expecting a perfect result on the first attempt isn't realistic...regardless of my wishes and desires. :) ​After cleaning up the rough edges, the hull weighs 69lbs. That, to me, is the most disappointing. It was a big clue when I used all of the 52.8lbs of...

Thanks! :)

​We started at 6:30am by spraying gelcoat, and it was infused by around 5pm. That included a lunch break and such. The lay up of the dry fiber did take longer than I initially expected. But, really...a Kevlar/glass hull with integral gunwales in a day isn't too bad. Of course, this doesn't...

​Yes, I will be adding some sealed chambers at each end. I do plan to what I've seen typically done...which is to take some 1" foam and shape to fit and then cover with Kevlar & epoxy.

After baking all day, the canoe was ready to de-mold. Drum roll........ ​I removed the vacuum bag this morning before starting the oven cure. Once that was finished, I began removing the greenflow and peelply. Now, I have removed both before, but never from an epoxy canoe after full oven...

​The amount of used epoxy is a little concerning. I prepared two 20lb buckets of epoxy and two 6.4lb buckets of hardener thinking that was more than needed. We ended up putting all of it in. But, there is epoxy in the tubing, including the feed line, vacuum line and catch pot. All of the...

Yesterday was the big day. We started at 6:30am with me spraying the white epoxy-compatible gelcoat. IMG_2739 by bctc95, on Flickr IMG_2745 by bctc95, on Flickr ​Once the mold was coated with a 20mil layer of gelcoat, the masking tape around the mold edges was removed while the gelcoat was...

Not much to update picture-wise, but I put two more coats of release on the mold today. Also got the full length foam profiles for the gunwales completed. It looks like things are coming together to infuse the first canoe on March 18th. Can't wait!