New Cruiser build

Ribs for a new build. Spring is coming and need a new one to paddle. Soaking for a day or two, bend on this week and mill some planking.

New (old) soak and boil tank

Way back when i first read Building the Maine Guide Canoe, i recall that Thurlow and Stelmok noted on page 64 that an old galvanized water tank, with a slot cut in it, was a great way to boil stem stock. Birchbark builders will drop ribs in hot water to make them more pliable, and stem stock boiled and bent is given as an option to soaking and steaming (which can dry the wood out). Soaking ribs the night before bending usually found them in the bath tub, but the tubs too short and it can lead to scheduling conflicts. We needed an older galvanized water tank, of course, soak ribs, and suspend over the gas burner to boil stems and such. 

While we've been trying to replace modern plastic and lightweight equipment with older cast iron machinery, remembering back to hunting years ago there was an old shack in a sugar bush deep in the woods that had fallen down decades before we used to frequent the spot deer hunting, and i hadnt been back in 20 years. 

Could we find it? Would it be rusted beyond use, laying on its side as it had for decades, and was the last time we saw it 20+  years ago?

Off we went, looking for ruffed grouse along the way.

After a fruitless search 2 weeks earlier, things started to look familiar this time, and eventually we walked up on it. 

Usually hunting this bush in mid November the bush is bare, but this time of  fall there's still lots of leaves and green were present, making the search a little more difficult as vision was limited. 

Sure enough we found it. 

A tree fell on it, one half on the ground, but found to be completely rust free, and in perfect shape. Likely brought in on by horse and/or on a sled all those years ago, the cabin and debris long gone. 

We were able to locate one of the trash piles, and the tin hasnt fared as well as the tank. The galvanizing, like most things, was done to last in the old days.

Usually separated, glass and steel would be in separate piles, but this being a temporary endeavour in a maple sugar bush, likely not much glass ever made it in during the short stays. 

Success! and a spot from my youth shared. We'll be back, looking for deer and just wandering .

As Tolkien said, not all who wander are lost.

Industrial/Steampunk/Vintage, whatever you call it a fully riveted pressure tank with over 200 rivets is a wicked nice addition to a shop filled with vintage tools.

Steve Cayard, bark canoe builder extraordiaire, putting ribs into a tank of boiling water to make them more pliable. 

New Wanigan for WCHA Auction

Just like building 12" of a canoe, steam bent ribs, planking and all.  Building for the auction at the assembly in Paul Smiths, NY. Since i set up and call the auction, its always fun to auction off one of your own pieces and send it home with a new owner.  This one is  built of Birdseye Maple, Mahogany and Roasted Curly Maple. Maybe not the most functional, but still a nice piece of wood. 

Sides on the form, waiting for ribs 

Western Red Cedar planking milled and cut 

Lid planed to finished thickness and sanded

Oiled!

Lid and sides, ribs and planking to go on next

Steaming ribs for bending, 200 degrees is optimal. 

Quick set up for 4 ribs, dont need the whole steambox. Custom Epifanes support!

Shop helper, ribs all on. 

Top cut to size, rib tops to be sanded. 

Oiled, ready for varnish.

4 coats of varnish will make it dance. 

My own Sailing Canoe restoration

I've written much about this boat, pulled from the woods on the shore of a small lake south of Ottawa, and its been over 7 years since it first found its way into the shop to dry out and wait its turn for attention. Some of my favourite pictures are of the day it was retreived from a fate of slowly rotting away. Indeed, had it not been canvas covered and abandoned off of the ground on large boulders, it would have been but a pile of rot like we've seen so often. Even moving boats that have settled into the forest floor essentially destroys them after years of being covered with snow and rain while sitting on the ground. This one had a different fate.

Lifting it onto the roof was a chore, and we didnt have the trailer at the time! Waterlogged and covered in canvas, it probably weighed close to 300 pounds; dried out it still weighs about 150.

Torn canvas reveals a weathered section, testament to its long slumber in the woods. Judging by the muck and green patina from the cedars, it had been in the woods likely several generations since it had last been sailed and when it was found. 

Re-rigged at some point in its life, no sailing rig or rudder, steering gear or centerboard was anywhere near it. Presumably it was separated at the time it was abandoned. 

 Initial investigations showed some very crude work, prompting some to denote it as home built, however its hull shape betrayed a more thoroughbred lineage. Not a cruising canoe or a lazy sort of design for leisurely crusing, it nevertheless didnt appear as a full out racer.  Some searching of plans provided a hint at its true purpose, as it more closely resembled hulls of the type seen below. 

Old Glory, a hull drawn by prolific and noted yacht designer BB Crowninshield. Undercut bow and stern, lots of rocker and ketch rigged. 

Uncle Sam, another hull of a similar type, both being drawn at the early part of the last century, early 1900s.

A cluttered photo, you can nevertheless see the lines and sheer despite the awkward coaming.

Nice amount of rocker, and sternpost.

Although canvas covered and built this way, as boards are gapped and have no battens backing them up, the boat is planked and decked in butternut. Used on very early Canadian boats, the planks are full length at 17' long. A comparison with a modern butternut paddle shows the unmistakable wood. 

UPDATE! brought home sails from the Assembly this year, now to get this project back and running

Main and mizzen, headed for a long soak in Oxy Clean to bring the brightness back

An undersized 16/30 set made by Douglas Fowler, they will provide all the power this hull needs

Around 70 sq feet combined, down from the typical 90 for better manners

A clamp on sliding seat of the type to be built for this boat. A permanent seat  bridge, even a moveable one with coaming cleats and multiple positions, would not be right for this boat. The earliest available units would have been clamp on boards

A very early board, with great attention to detail. Underside shot showing the bar under the bridge that clamps on to the coaming

Extended to one side

Butterfly inserts, likely to prevent warping or splitting

Nice and simple

Wing nut and bolts

Top side of bridge. 

A great piece, but couldnt stick around long enough to find the owner, and it sold to another. Not a problem, we've dimensions and enough photographs for duplication

Another move forward, white oak for all new ribs in the sailer. Older air dried stock , this will bend up very well before taking all new rivets. This came out of a barn in Muskoka during yet another trip to retrieve a canoe