Almost by chance, Phil Winch came across several partially completed kayaks. He took the unfinished boats into his workshop, and now has a trio of beautiful wooden craft.
Photos of Steve Shergold's Ranger 15 attracted a lot of attention when we shared them on social media. The canoe itself looked great, but a lot praise was due to his clever additions, like a custom dog basket and wannigan that folds into a picnic table. We asked Steve if he might share the story of how he approached his build, and he generously replied with this detailed account.
Kayakcraft contains detailed advice and instructions on how to make your own planking - we've digitized that section for the benefit of builders who're curious about choosing wood, the machining process, joining short planks, and more. These steps are equally applicable to canoes, kayaks, and small boats.
In Part III of the Composite Canoe Building series, Randy Pfeifer succeeds in building his lightest canoe yet. See his process, the materials he used, and final thoughts in this concluding post.
In Part 1 of this series, Randy's first canoe off the mold was unexpectedly heavy. With his second attempt, he begins the process of shaving some weight from a Freedom 17 built using composite materials.
A few months ago, a beautifully printed book showed up in the Bear Mountain mailbox. It was a photo essay on the building of a Champlain canoe byKeith Mathieson, as chronicled by Nicki Endt. It was an unusual story and a beautiful canoe, and Keith and Nicki kindly agreed to let us share a part of it here.
Randy Pfeifer maintains the Bear Mountain Boats Builders' Forum and is highly knowledgeable on the subject of woodstrip epoxy canoes. In this series, he documents his experiments building multiple canoes using composite materials, with the goal of creating a lightweight but fully functional Freedom 17.
It must have been twenty-five years ago I sat on a park bench in Argyll, Scotland, staring in wonder at a woodstrip canoe, upside down on top of a Volvo roof rack. Every bloke that walked passed ran his hands along it – it was a visual and tactile sight to behold. I vowed to make one someday.
One does not have to be a naval architect to understand the basic principles of canoe design. They are relatively simple, yet vitally important – especially to the builder. The curves of a well-designed canoe are its calling card – a proclamation of the kind of paddling it does best.
The nuances of wood and wood choice are a constant source of fascination to the canoe-building community. George Vandemolen's recently completed Bob's Special incorporates a variety of woods to striking visual effect - with handmade wooden paddles thrown in to boot.
To us photos of Ted diligently scraping away on a C4 were just business as usual, but when we shared a few last week, Ted’s choice of tool provoked a surprising amount of curiosity. Odds are good you’ll be familiar with the paint scraper method of shaping the hull if you’ve already built your own canoe, but if you used an alternate method or are looking to refine your technique, read on for an ode to the humble paint scraper.