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Canoe video with Kevin Callan

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Here's a nice little video from Kevin Callan, looks like a birch bark canoe, but more like a plywood canoe made to look like one, nice video.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ff8QLpH5T1c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Nice vid. The canoe being paddling in shield country was just marvelous.

I've seen those plywood-based birchbark replica canoes up close..surprisingly light weight. Believe the one Kevin is paddling is from a UK company called Northern Sound. A few years back they came to the Outdoor Adventure show in Toronto. Was a real treat to see their creations amidst so many plastic boats...

Adventure%2BShow%2B005.jpg



With the exception of the 7-ply, 1/4 inch baltic birch plywood exterior, they are constructed just like an authentic bark canoe...right down to using boiling water to bend the plywood "bark" up vertically on a build platform. Could be mistaken, but I think a German woodworker, Hans-Georg Wagner developed this build method. He's got a page (in German) with photos of the process, HERE. Very neat stuff.

If time starts co-operating with me again, a build like this will be my next big project.
 
Thanks for making my day. I had to pull out of a historic canoe trip this weekend since the front end of my truck met a deer on Tuesday night. With no working radiator I'm not going anywhere soon. This really brought a smile to my face!

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...Be well.

snapper

PS - Any idea what shipping costs from the UK? More seriously, does anyone know if they have a distributor in North America? My faux bark canoe is an old Mad River "Explorer" that's been painted but this craft is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better on so many levels.
 
Murat,
Thanks for that link. That canoe is put together just like a bark canoe. !/4" plywood seems a bit overkill. Wonder what it weighs?? Nice to know it can be done.
 
You're right Dave. Correction needed. My hand written notes mention the 1/4 inch ply as another more robust model/prototype. These canoes are being built with 1/8" (3mm) ply which seems to be similar thickness as real birchbark for canoe construction.

Found some online videos from the German builder I mentioned that might interest some on the construction method...


 
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