New hiking board for the 16/30

I love this boat, and cant resist taking photos of it. During the original build, the intent was to build a sliding seat to run on the seat bridge using leftover ply and pine from the hull build. Problem has been that the tiller posts were cut too short, necessitating that the seat and bridge assembly be low enough so that the crosshead assembly would pass over it.  Terribly uncomfortable for us guys over 6', and who dont bend like they used to. The seat bridge was rushed, and not my best work. I've always wanted to redo it, and with the next week off and wanting to sail more this summer its begun. 

At Killbear, coolest place there is. 

Clatyon, NY with the late Danny Sutherland taking her out for her sea trials after completion, 2007

Killbear again, a great photo by Fitz from Mass. 

The late Jan Gougeon, of West System fame, after sailing her for a few hours

Ugly, quick seat bridge made of ash. Soon to be removed. 

A properly fitted and shaped seat bridge on an original raceboat

Closeup of the sliding seat from the oldie. 

Single board, with ash cleats under to slide along the seat bridge. Not too heavy, not too wide.

Seat bridge will be Sipo, but this African Mahogany board will be our new seat. It will match the coaming, also African Mahogany. 

Dusty old girl, seat bridge ripped off immediately!

Yuck. Early rush effort, the re-do a long time coming. 

New bridge will slot right in, but with increased height. 

Sanding and leveling old varnish

Original seat alongside new seat blank

View of cleats

In place on boat. Much narrower than the original i built, but much prettier and lighter. 

Rails will need relieving, courtesy of the router table. 

An original seat bridge, to be copied.

Mahogany seat bridge parts cut out

African mahogany seat

New, much better than old - higher and lighter

Ash rail stock for under seats 

New cyclonic dust and waste collection. The $175 drum. Whats that, i thought i paid $20 for it? Yup, and add the cell phone ticket some *#@ cop decided to lay on me while i drove out to pick it up.

Cuts the dust much better than any shop vac, and huge capacity.

Paging Dr Freud....

Dry fit

Looking better, historically more accurate as well

Dry fit of rails to check clearances

Success

Secure rails, sand all parts stain and varnish. Then hardware relocation.

Progress this weekend, parts fit, taken off for sanding and staining.

Nice grain from the African Mahogany

Seat bridge supports

Stain still wet, same wood as coaming. Varnish coming up.

Dramatic colour change.

Much nicer than the first effort 

Lots of varnish work coming up, including wanigan sides.

Widgeon displaying higher seat bridge

Another view, with shaped knees supporting from underside

Close up detail

Different method of fixing supports to hull with cleat on cockpit side. Later 16/30s  including ours have an adjustable seat bridge, with holes in the cleat allowing fore and aft movement through long bolts and wing nuts. 

Gilbert built 16/30 our replicas are copies of, again displaying higher bridge. 

New bridge

Starting to shine, 4 more coats and cockpit to do

She'll be ready before the water is, now to start on the traile...

3rd coat sanded

4th coat sanded, on to #5

Killbear 2012 and small canoes

For the past 15 years, there has been a Paddlers Rendezvous at Killbear Provincial Park near Nobel, just outside of Parry Sound Ontario. A low key, loosely organized gathering which varies in attendance year to year, and occaisionally produces a new boat, either a first time attendee or a newly completed project someone has brought.  Typically held the weekend after Labor Day, the event is open to all. More posts will follow with photos from previous years, however this year was subject to heavy rains which limited attendance, as well as activities. Nevertheless, it is Georgian Bay and not much short of lightning or a hurricane will keep me off of it.

This year, part of a project for the upcoming 2013 WCHA annual assembly, i donated a Chestnut Cronje - a great cruiser used for tripping by Camp Keewaydin, the oldest canoe tripping camp in existence and operating in Canada out of Temagami. The boat left for Massachusetts with friends that will completely restore it in time for it to be auctioned off, to raise proceeds for the organization. This boat was built in the mid-sixties, and has had a hard life and many thousands of miles of trips, summer after summer. Retired from the fleet of wood canvas boats the camp still uses and maintains, its one of several we have.

What the heck found its way on the trailer? A Mirror dinghy for free, but turned out to be too rotted to warrant the work to bring it back, so it has a date with the sawzall. The rig will be kept, but the boat is gone. The little boat in John Deere green seems to be a Peterborough Mermaid, or perhaps a Chestnut Playmate - we'll likely know for sure once its stripped. Found on a yard with a for sale sign and half full of water, it had to come home with the rest. 

Not one to leave things alone, it had to be paddled! Problem was, the canvas was split along the keel the full length of the boat. Luckily we had duct tape, or as i like to call it, race tape or hundred mile-an-hour tape from its applications on the oval tracks holding racecars together on Saturday nites after they traded paint. A mere 26' of tape and we were off. The canoe got lots of use, as at 14' they are not common, and it was a very stable, responsive and well behaved boat for its size.

17' Chestnut Cronje model, built by Donald Fraser.

Out of Camp Keewaydin's fleet in Temagami, this boat has been on numerous long trips, however unlike the majority of their boats, this one had not been rebuilt/repaired, and was as it was delivered in the mid-'80s. It was due for a recanvas, and some repairs. 

Donald Fraser had been the sales manager at Chestnut when they closed their doors in 1978/79, and with great foresight purchased several of the more popular molds, among them the Cronje and Prospector. 

He the continued to build and supply Keewaydin, the oldest canoe tripping camp in Canada, who still use cedar canvas canoes to this day. With Chestnut gone, he filled the void for some time. 

The boats are very well built, and of a higher caliber than Chestnut had produced in some years, owing to him being able to control every aspect of the build in a somewhat unhurried fashion, compared to factory production

Carry thwarts, unusual to Canadian boats but spec'd by Keewaydin

Fraser script, a similar font to the one Chestnut used in the 60s and 70s. Mr Fraser gave permission to reproduce the decals, so now we can complete any Fraser canoe we work on to the way he shipped it. 

Fleet number on the bow, K on the stern per tradition. 

Nearing completion, waiting for seats and stembands