I'm going for the marathon length build record on this one...
Actually, I got focused on really diving into the restoration of the early Chestnut Bobs Special. I did finish all the repairs and got her into canvas in mid-October 2023 and will prime, paint, and complete that canoe when weather conditions allow in Spring. Similarly, I will get to the rib steaming on the Atkinson Traveler in warmer weather as well. In the meantime I milled the Spruce inwale stock, tapering the ends for a "slim" appearance at the decks. Unfortunately, one of the pieces broke at a spot of bad grain near the upsweep of the sheer. Back to square one on that one! Here's the side that went well. The sweep is pretty gentle, and these inwale pieces were neither soaked or steamed for installation on the form. Because of the tapering they bend pretty easily at the tips.
Bad grain at the failure spot:
Tapering the last 18" of the inwales where they meet the deck sides:
The inwales are tapered so they will look like this when the deck goes in:
And finally, I just picked up some hardwoods today. Mahogany for carry handles, maybe seat frames; quarter sawn
Sycamore for thwarts & perhaps seat frames (the decks will be Sycamore) instead of mahogany; and some curly Maple for two paddles.
I am considering caning the seats like these found in a Gerrish canoe recently restored by Zachary Smith,
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=763110889185782&set=pcb.763111435852394: