You are getting to be a canoe building machine ... that is all awesome.
-
Happy Real Columbus Day (1492)! 🇮🇹 🇧🇸
Alan's Bloodvein II Canoe Strip Build
- Thread starter Gamma1214
- Start date
Well done! I'm impressed with the production rate too. Your builds are fun, @Gamma1214
Nothing like a deadline to get a job done.
Jim
Jim
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,558
- Reaction score
- 9,099
I took it to WPASCR this weekend and it saw a fair amount of paddling. I believe that 3 or 4 members here paddled it so I'll allow them to give feedback as they wish but there was one (the first one to take it out) who I don't believe is on here. He said that he was curious because he'd never seen a hull that shape (as Alan has said, the shape above waterline is deceiving).
When he returned to shore, I asked what he thought and he liked it alot. Very stable, responded well to inputs but it seemed to be begging for more weight.
I explained that it was designed as a wilderness tripper and he agreed that it would be outstanding with about 60-80 lbs of gear.
I didn't paddle it there (a small lake) as I wanted to test it out on moving water so I took a slight detour on my way home and stopped by the launch when I crossed the Conemaugh River. The current was moving pretty well due to the storms that had passed through the night before, so I filled a dry bag with water (probably 25-30 lbs), threw that against the bow float tank, launched and headed upstream.
I'll agree that it seemed very stable with just enough playfulness to make it a fun paddle. It moved against and across the current with ease and was pretty quick on the flats. The current was a bit strong for paddling upstream against the first rapid (easy C1) and the beavertail that I was swinging was a bit too much blade for the water depth anyway.
I was able to stand to "scout the rapid" and didn't feel that I was in much danger of going overboard.
I also stopped by my parents to check on them, update them on the weekend events and borrow their scale. Theirs confirms the weight (said 40 lbs) so my decision this Fall might be difficult. I love the color scheme and the comfort of paddling the Raven but I might really beat myself up on a longer portage if I'm carrying it and knowing that I have an equally capable boat hanging in the carport and it's 12 pounds lighter than the one on my shoulders.
Great design job @Alan Gage and thanks for the plans.
When he returned to shore, I asked what he thought and he liked it alot. Very stable, responded well to inputs but it seemed to be begging for more weight.
I explained that it was designed as a wilderness tripper and he agreed that it would be outstanding with about 60-80 lbs of gear.
I didn't paddle it there (a small lake) as I wanted to test it out on moving water so I took a slight detour on my way home and stopped by the launch when I crossed the Conemaugh River. The current was moving pretty well due to the storms that had passed through the night before, so I filled a dry bag with water (probably 25-30 lbs), threw that against the bow float tank, launched and headed upstream.
I'll agree that it seemed very stable with just enough playfulness to make it a fun paddle. It moved against and across the current with ease and was pretty quick on the flats. The current was a bit strong for paddling upstream against the first rapid (easy C1) and the beavertail that I was swinging was a bit too much blade for the water depth anyway.
I was able to stand to "scout the rapid" and didn't feel that I was in much danger of going overboard.
I also stopped by my parents to check on them, update them on the weekend events and borrow their scale. Theirs confirms the weight (said 40 lbs) so my decision this Fall might be difficult. I love the color scheme and the comfort of paddling the Raven but I might really beat myself up on a longer portage if I'm carrying it and knowing that I have an equally capable boat hanging in the carport and it's 12 pounds lighter than the one on my shoulders.
Great design job @Alan Gage and thanks for the plans.
Looks good, Steve. Glad you met all your deadlines to get to WPASCR. I guess I never noticed and maybe you've addressed this somewhere in the thread, but why no rear thwart? The seat provides enough lateral strength for the stern half?
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,558
- Reaction score
- 9,099
I think so. By attaching the seat (whether bolted or epoxied) to the hull, I think I can have better access, lose an ounce or two and still maintain structural integrity.
So far, I've dropped the rear thwart on every build. The one that made me the most nervous was the Raven and even it seems rock solid.
At WPASCR, I noticed that Savage River had done that on some of their hulls and asked them about it. They dropped it for the same reasons so maybe I'm not (completely) nuts.
I also noticed that almost everybody leaves gunwale screws exposed all over the hull. It doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought it would so maybe I don't need to bury them in epoxy. We'll see on the next build.
So far, I've dropped the rear thwart on every build. The one that made me the most nervous was the Raven and even it seems rock solid.
At WPASCR, I noticed that Savage River had done that on some of their hulls and asked them about it. They dropped it for the same reasons so maybe I'm not (completely) nuts.
I also noticed that almost everybody leaves gunwale screws exposed all over the hull. It doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought it would so maybe I don't need to bury them in epoxy. We'll see on the next build.
I had my new Savage River Illusion made without a rear thwart for the same reasons: saves some weight and not necessary for rigidity on such a short (13'-6") hull. The seat is screwed to a wood cleat below the sheer line. The cleat is both epoxied to hull and screwed into wood blocks that are embedded on top of two of the foam ribs underneath the Kevlar interior.
I should add that I asked the designer of the Savage River Illusion and June Bug, @Marc Ornstein, about the necessity of a rear thwart and he agreed with our reasoning.
Here he is in the Pine Barrens last month with his left hand on his Illusion with my Illusion to his right.
On the extreme left is Molly's (Marc's wife) Savage River June Bug with a rear thwart, and on the other side of Marc's Illusion is Looie's new Savage River June Bug (in Textreme) also with a rear thwart. I believe Marc's/Molly's carbon fiber June Bug is being swapped out by Savage River for the red Textreme June Bug without a rear thwart that @Tryin' photographed in the WPASCR thread.
Here he is in the Pine Barrens last month with his left hand on his Illusion with my Illusion to his right.
On the extreme left is Molly's (Marc's wife) Savage River June Bug with a rear thwart, and on the other side of Marc's Illusion is Looie's new Savage River June Bug (in Textreme) also with a rear thwart. I believe Marc's/Molly's carbon fiber June Bug is being swapped out by Savage River for the red Textreme June Bug without a rear thwart that @Tryin' photographed in the WPASCR thread.
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,558
- Reaction score
- 9,099
One note on the purple accents in the Poplar: Unfortunately, it only took about a week of sun (paddled 3 times & rode around on the car a bit) for the purple to turn black. Oh well, the seat still looks pretty.
Additionally, it turns out that I'm not quite done with this one.
With a weight of 39 lbs, I feel like I'm playing with house money so I ordered more 4 oz, 27 inch wide, s-glass yesterday. I still haven't varnished this one so I'm planning on sanding out the runs on the whole hull and then roughing up the football (sand with 80 grit until I fuzz the glass?) and adding that outside layer for better abrasion protection on the high-impact areas.
I'm thinking I'll want it pretty much bulletproof before my next trip to the Geraldton area. I can't have nice things but there's no sense having broken toys either (especially on the lower Kap).
Additionally, it turns out that I'm not quite done with this one.
With a weight of 39 lbs, I feel like I'm playing with house money so I ordered more 4 oz, 27 inch wide, s-glass yesterday. I still haven't varnished this one so I'm planning on sanding out the runs on the whole hull and then roughing up the football (sand with 80 grit until I fuzz the glass?) and adding that outside layer for better abrasion protection on the high-impact areas.
I'm thinking I'll want it pretty much bulletproof before my next trip to the Geraldton area. I can't have nice things but there's no sense having broken toys either (especially on the lower Kap).
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2025
- Messages
- 250
- Reaction score
- 840
Looking forward to the nexbuild pics and even more to paddling pics
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,558
- Reaction score
- 9,099
As mentioned above, the 39# weight & the way it paddled in moving water both left me thinking that it might be the preferred hull on the next portage-heavy trip North. The extra football layer on the inside will help with impact resistance but I felt that I should have a bit more abrasion resistance if I'm taking this one tripping so I returned it to the boat shop last month. (besides, I'd rushed it to WPASCR without varnishing or even sanding out the runs in the epoxy)
I roughed up the exterior football area with 80 grit and draped the hull in 4 oz s-glass (also using the trimmed-off pieces to add 2 layers of s-glass on each lower stem area but I didn't get pictures of those)
I wet out the new glass layer then used a scraper to level out all of the stray fibers
finished filling the weave with a couple more coats and let it dry for about 2 weeks (not by design- I was busy baling hay during one of the few dry stretches we got this summer).
After that, I used 120 grit to feather in the new glass layer, sand out all of the runs in the epoxy and rough up the entire hull,
wiped & tack clothed everything and then and added 3 coats of spar varnish (adding the second & third while the previous coat was still a little tacky)
I let that dry a few days and then flipped it over, feathered out the overlapped glass on the float tanks & any unsighltly areas on the inside of the hull
then added 3 coats of spar varnish to the inside as I'd done to the exterior.
Final weight of the (actually finished this time) hull is 41 lbs, 9 ounces which still feels really light when throwing it on the roof rack of the car (where it will probably spend the rest of the Fall).
I'm imaging that it'll feel heavier when I'm portaging on a trip but I'm afraid that will have to wait until next summer. (I have 2 possible trips planned for the Fall but neither will be portage heavy.)
I roughed up the exterior football area with 80 grit and draped the hull in 4 oz s-glass (also using the trimmed-off pieces to add 2 layers of s-glass on each lower stem area but I didn't get pictures of those)
I wet out the new glass layer then used a scraper to level out all of the stray fibers
finished filling the weave with a couple more coats and let it dry for about 2 weeks (not by design- I was busy baling hay during one of the few dry stretches we got this summer).
After that, I used 120 grit to feather in the new glass layer, sand out all of the runs in the epoxy and rough up the entire hull,
wiped & tack clothed everything and then and added 3 coats of spar varnish (adding the second & third while the previous coat was still a little tacky)
I let that dry a few days and then flipped it over, feathered out the overlapped glass on the float tanks & any unsighltly areas on the inside of the hull
then added 3 coats of spar varnish to the inside as I'd done to the exterior.
Final weight of the (actually finished this time) hull is 41 lbs, 9 ounces which still feels really light when throwing it on the roof rack of the car (where it will probably spend the rest of the Fall).
I'm imaging that it'll feel heavier when I'm portaging on a trip but I'm afraid that will have to wait until next summer. (I have 2 possible trips planned for the Fall but neither will be portage heavy.)
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,558
- Reaction score
- 9,099
I have to admit that I DO wonder what I could get one down to if I used Northern White Cedar but I'm very happy with the results I've been getting with local (mostly "junk wood" species).
Maybe someday if I run into a Cedar that simply must be cut down...
Similar threads
