Another Hello from Minnesota

[adamc]

Hello!

I came across this great forum while researching cedar strip canoe building and have found it to be a wealth of solid information, so I thought I should register and join in the fun. I have been BWCA tripping for over 20 years now, 3 of my buddies and I make 2-3 canoe trips to the BWCA and other "up north" fishing destinations annually. My fiancé and I just purchased our suburban home (with a large heated garage), which is a refreshing change from our apartments in the city. Now that I finally have room to spread out and set up a decent shop, I've decided to build myself a Freedom 17 - with her permission of course. The plan is to build the strongback and forms this summer, begin stripping in the fall and have it ready for a big BWCA trip with the guys next summer! I can already hear the guys arguing over who gets to be my first paddle partner and who's stuck with the rental.

I've been wanting to do this for years and have the Canoecraft book, the Offerman DVD and most of the tools. I can't wait to get started, keep an eye out for photos of my progress in the upcoming months.

Adam

 

[BWCA66]

Welcome and good luck with your build, be warned though - it's hard to just build 1!

 

[Alan Gage]

Welcome aboard. Looking forward to following along with the build.

And you know, if you started now, you could have it ready to paddle on this year's trip. Then you could build a second over the winter.

Alan

 

[stripperguy]

Adam,
Alan is correct...build your first canoe now (there WILL be more), make all your mistakes on it. Paddle it this year, decide what you would do differently, and get one of your buddies to reimburse you for your materials and he keeps the boat. No more rentals, you get more practice building, and the next boat is the one you really want. (until your tastes change)

Now, quit goofing off and start stripping!

 

[jmhockey23]

Yeah, I built my first canoe a couple years ago and I'm dying to build my next with all that I learned the first time around.

 

[adamc]

Ha! I like the way you guys think

 

[deerfly]

welcome, I'm new around here too. Might be doing a strip version of Jem Watercraft "North Wind" before too long.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Welcome Adam
It really feels great to see another builder on board ! Looking forward to your build !

Sometimes builders give advise that hasn't been asked for,
I'm guilty !

The Freedom is a great choice, and beginners often struggle with building the stems.
I'm here to tell you that you can build just as strong of a canoe without them !!! STEMLESS.
I learned this technique from the great strip builders of Minnesota, on my first build, and have built everyone of my strippers in that fashion.

You can save a lot of time, money, and headache by building stemless.

OH ! We builders sometimes like to stir up Hornets Nests. Guilty also !

Jim

 

[adamc]

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 - haven't heard about stemless build before, but I'm interested and will look into it further. I've seen the skilsaw ripping technique you have written about and am convinced that's the way to go! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!