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  1. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    One more picture: P.S. It didn't occur to me that I only had one paddle, I'm finishing up a second paddle (ottertail) right now. I'm enjoying that process so much, it may become a whole new hobby! See you on the water!!
  2. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    I'm finally finished with my Freedom 17! She weighs in at 60lbs (5-10 lbs over what the plans estimate), and handles very nicely on the water. Her inaugural launch was on the Mississippi River near my house. Thanks, everyone on the forum for all the advice, kind words and encouragement. She's...
  3. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I'm pretty happy with it so far! I already have one BWCA trip booked for August, maybe I can get in a few this summer!
  4. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    It's been a while since I've posted an update. Here are a few progress pics... After 10 hours of hand sanding the interior: Glassing the interior: Bulkheads (to cover up my glassing messes at the stems) Planning out the scupper placement (ash/walnut) Gluing/screwing the inwales...
  5. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Thanks for the tips and encouragement, everyone! My plan is to finish up filling and sanding the interior over the next few evenings and glass this Sunday. PS - I do have all the proper safety equipment necessary for sanding (that includes a pair of awesome radio earmuffs that I received as a...
  6. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Thanks Sven, I've already put in a few hours of sanding the interior and so far is my least favorite step of the build. I am using a vacuum and it helps considerably. I'm definitely looking forward to being done with it though! I did all the glassing by my self with no problems, but a friend...
  7. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    One more picture off the forms:
  8. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    I'd probably do a few things differently now that I have some experience, but I'm happy with the progress of my boat so far. My next steps are finishing the interior sanding over the next few evenings and glassing on Sunday. Here are a few pictures of my progress over the past 2 weeks. Gluing...
  9. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Thanks Jim! I'm not exactly sure how the strips got misaligned, but my theory is the first pair after the stems (5/8" ash accent strips) were aligned center at the bow and aligned herringbone at the stern. I'll never know for sure since the ends have already been chiseled out for the stems...no...
  10. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    I haven't posted in a while, but have been slowly making progress...about 1-2 strips per day (when it's not too cold for the glue). As of today I have 7 left, whiskey plank this weekend! I decided to not worry about patterning the color and just embrace the randomness. The boards all came from...
  11. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    You bet, Jim. I use cleats and wedges plus masking tape, like this: I've been only adding one or two strips per night; it's not speedy, but very enjoyable. Other than being slow, this system has worked pretty well so far. I've only had to use about a dozen or so wood screws to keep the strips...
  12. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    I haven't posted in a while, but progress has been made...It's starting to look like a canoe! I decided to use two 3/8ths strips of ash for my feature. I think it will be a nice compliment to the ash outer stems and gunwales.
  13. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Ahh, that makes sense! Thanks for the suggestion, Jim (I'll keep that in my back pocket for the next one)
  14. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Above are some progress pictures spanning July up through last night. I'm close to stripping the boat now and really looking forward to the project this winter! Thanks for the encouragement and feedback, everyone..stop by any time!
  15. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Bringing home the 21ft long cedar boards, milled from a utility pole. Ash slab milled by my brother and I two years ago to be used on the stems and gunwales. We use a chainsaw mill, it's a lot of fun! Getting ready to trace the forms. Making progress on the forms. Steam bending the...
  16. adamc

    Updating going on

    Never mind. I found an odd character in my text which was causing the cut off. Thanks for the great site!
  17. adamc

    Updating going on

    Hello, I noticed all my apostrophes and quote marks were encoded this morning in a post I wrote last night so went to edit and the site won't let me enter more than a few sentences. When I edited and saved, it cut off my post about a third of the way through. Not sure if this is related to the...
  18. adamc

    First time build - Freedom 17

    Hello! I've learned as much, if not more, online as I have from my Canoecraft book and video. So first off, thank you to everyone out there who's willing to share their knowledge with us newbies. I have begun the build of my first canoe, a Freedom 17. I found a posting on Craigslist for...
  19. adamc

    Another Hello from Minnesota

    I'm looking forward to learning some new skills and having a long term project to tackle. And of course having a canoe that I'm proud of afterward (with maybe a second one down the road). Deerfly - that looks like a cool boat, I'd like to see your progress pics once you get started. Jim -...
  20. adamc

    Another Hello from Minnesota

    Ha! I like the way you guys think :)
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