Video: Tom MacKenzie builds rib/plank/Ceconite canoe

[Glenn MacGrady]

This is a short, silent, stop action video of the steps the late Tom MacKenzie used to build his Loon Works rib/plank canoes. To make his wood canoes as light as possible, Tom did not use canvas with a traditional heavy and slow-to-dry filler. The fabric he used was Ceconite, a formulation of Dacron, which he ironed on and glued at the rails. The fabric is primed, then filled with Cecofill, and then painted.

 

[stevet]

I do SOOO miss Tom…thanks Glenn.

 

[Boatman53]

I do too.
Jim

 

[snapper]

Thanks for posting the video. Do we know if anyone else has taken over to continue making Tom's canoes?

Until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Benson Gray]

Do we know if anyone else has taken over to continue making Tom's canoes?

I don't know of anyone who is actively making Tom's canoes today. Most of his things went to the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum. The link below has more details about them. Tom was a character.

Benson

Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum - Welcome!

Welcome to The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, an institution devoted to the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of materials and information relating to the history and heritage of canoe building, canoes, and canoeing in North America.

www.wisconsincanoeheritagemuseum.org

 

[yellowcanoe]

Many happy hours I spent standing on that gym mat. I loved ironing for once! I too miss Tom so much and no his canoes are not being made by anyone else. Loon Works was a sole proprietorship.

I love Roy Ivey' s hands up anticipating Tom might drop the boat.. or was that allelulia it came off the form intact?

 

[Robin]

Well done, he was a true craftsman.

 

[stevet]

Bent ribs with him one day—(think it was while a bunch of us were at his place shooting the FS instructional video). To someone not experienced in such matters it seemed like magic. One of my biggest lifelong regrets is having sold the Mistral he made for me and the Button he made for my better half. Pains me to this day.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

No one makes Loon Works canoes anymore, but Alex Comb of Stewart River Boatworks does offer all his rib/plank canoe models with Ceconite/Dacron, instead of canvas, upon customer request. Attached as a PDF is an article written by Alex in 2007 on his process.

More recently, Alex has been experimenting with a hybrid cotton/polyester fabric that is more durable and slightly heavier than Ceconite, but still lighter than #10 or #12 canvas.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Bent ribs with him one day—(think it was while a bunch of us were at his place shooting the FS instructional video). To someone not experienced in such matters it seemed like magic. One of my biggest lifelong regrets is having sold the Mistral he made for me and the Button he made for my better half. Pains me to this day.

I initially flunked tacking. You see, the brass tacks are meant to clinch when they meet the metal on the plug. I initially missed the metal strip quite a few times and learned a lot by having to take them out and redo them.
My lesson in patience and go slow and do it right that day.