Building my own canoe

[sandyborthwick]

Derek,

Haven't seen one of those in a very long time - looks like you gave it a bit of loving care.

Hoping not to need one of those this afternoon, Sun is shining and the sea looks fine for a bit of a work out.

A lot of the old Whalers were burnt or broken up and I remember being quite saddened when they chopped up all the masts and spars for them at Jupiter Point for a wood burner in the workshop.

Along with some colleagues we have saved another one for restoration (major project) but will have to make the masts and spars from scratch now.

It is stunning how much of our Marine Heritage and Boat Building skills has and is being lost.

Sandy B.O. 

[Inchlaggan]

another book for Inchlaggan , Model boats by E Hobbes published in 1929,   breac uaig

I don't need to buy that one- I have a well thumbed copy of "How to make old time ship models" by Edward Hobbs.
Somewhat more comprehensive are Harold Underhill's  two volumes "Plank-on-frame models and Scale masting and rigging".
Malcolm's project, and the piss-awful weather have driven me to the bench to prototype a canoe model.
Details will follow.
Ken

[Malcolm]

Sandy,

I've always loved boats and I was highly impressed when I saw a sixareen up at Busta Voe near Brae marvellous bit of work. I also saw a film of some Shetland girls racing against some Faroese girls in traditional ocean rowing boats (fit lassies I may say in both senses of the word)! They seem to manage to get a fair speed out of the boats considering they are using the upper body rather than the legs for propulsion.

To answer other questions

* the glues we have used so far are epoxy and extramite.
* Bob's last boat was based on an Oughtred design and it is similar to a Shetland yawl.

Any way   

The build has been going on and the boat is loosely stitched together now.

[attachimg=1]

There are a couple of gaps in the chines at the end where we need to do a little planing to lessen the gaps. These gaps are to be expected as it only needs a a couple of mm in each chine to leave a 4mm gap. In fact this is nothing to wory about but we close the gaps anyway

[attachimg=2]

Next we put in a temporay template half way down the canoe and the idea is that we tighten up the copper twists so that all the chines snug to the template.

[attach =3]

For convenience we turned the canoe over to do the first chine to the base. Then the tightening up of the copper twists begins and the loose structure begins to take shape. We have just finished fastening the bottom to the first chine

[attachimg=4]

and here is what it looks like close up

[attachimg=5]

[Inchlaggan]

Impressive work Malcolm- I am really looking forward to these updates.
Ken

[Malcolm]

Not much to see at the moment. We put the bulkheads in aand the centre template is is place and all the chines are tightened up.

Then the bulkheads are removed and replaced - this time epoxied up for gluing into their final positions.

[attachimg=1]

Once this is done we stick masking tape on in order to restrict the flow of the very runny polyester resin. We then paint on the resin 1 inch either side of the joins - just as a primer at the moment. This will the have a fibreglass tape attached.

Just a note, polyester resin is evil - it ate through our thin protective vinyl gloves and also through a yoghurt carton we used as a receptacle.

Here is a closer view of the front end

[attachimg=2]

[sandyborthwick]

Cracking on at a fair old lick there Malcolm,

Can see you on your maiden voyage sooner than later. Are you planning to epoxy paint the completed hull or are you going for a wood finish?

What do you reckon the cost in materials will be.

Sandy B.O.

[Malcolm]

I did intend to put a transom at one end - however my intention was to build the double ender but leave one side unfinished and then chop off the end. I'm having second thoughts about that because I'm getting to like the elegance of it as it is.

So my feeling at the moment is to build the canoe as originally intended and try it out. I can then change things around later if I want. I'll make my mind up shortly!

[Malcolm]

Fachan, WHB - that's the same as I'm thinking at the moment.

[Malcolm]

Sandy,

I'm not sure of the cost of materials yet. So far I've spent about ?42 on fibreglass tape, resin, filler etc . I'll itemise everything at the end. I'm buying materials from a place in Dixon's Blazes industrial estate in Glasgow which I pass 2 or 3 times a week anyway so I don't have to worry about postage. It's a great place with very friendly and helpful staff. http://www.allscotltd.co.uk/

Back to the boat - there won't be much to report for a few days as all we are doing is putting filler in - here is the inside of the bow

[attachimg=1]

and laying fibreglass tape over the joints. The technique is simple. After priming the joints with Polyester resin and leaving for 24 hours as explained earlier, we paint on another later of resin and stick the fibre glass tape on then paint over the tape with more resin. then leave to harden overnight.

The tape goes transparent

Here is a section showing the taping

[attachimg=2]

I still have to buy some more wood for the gunwales and for the runners along the bottom of the boat. Then it's getting painted. Marine grade paint costs a fortune so suggestions from the pros on the forum would be appreciated although Bob is sure that an exterior grade paint ( can't remember the brand of his suggestion) would be fine given that this will be a lightly used leisure boat.

[sandyborthwick]

Hi Malcolm,

Here's some paints we have been using very successfully in our Seaboating club over the last few years without breaking the bank.

We usually use at least 2 coats of Dulux Grey(or white) undercoat. We then follow this with the Dulux Weathershield Gloss paint 2 coats. These give excellent coverage and opacity on wooden boats. It is very resilient and can be easily sourced.

If you want a really good gloss and tough finish use the Wickes Trade, professional, Liquid Gloss. It comes in different colours (we mainly use the black). All I can say is that it is oustanding and tough as hell on a wooden boat - gives a really glass like shining finish that lasts at a great price. We generally use this for the Gunnels and rubbing strips etc for it makes the detailing stand out.

If it were me painting a canoe I think I'd favour the undercoat and the Wikes.

Hope something of use or worth considering.

Sandy.