Building the Strongback Part 1

 As you can see on the left, the mould stations are finally complete. It feels strange now working on something besides them, but I have gotten all to use to it. Sadly, the stations are not perfect. But even though the forms at times are off by about a  1/16 in, I consider them "perfect." The first process after making the mould stations is building the strongback. As Ted Moore's in Canoecraft states, "The strongback is the backbone that supports the mould sections and controls the finished shape of the canoe and, as such, must be perfect as possible, level in all directions, straight, and solid." The second picture at right are the legs to the T-Beam. There were many different strongback designs I could have followed, (or made up my own) but Ted Moore's plan appeared to be the simplest and stongest. Built with a 2 x 10 plank 30 in. long, and two 2 x 4 planks 24 in. long, my strongback has two more legs than Ted Moore's plan, because I feel like it will be more stable. The 2 x 6 pictured is temporary and was placed there "just for looks" to help you envision it better.

Mistakes happen...

Today, as I cut out stations 0 - 2, I realized how large this canoe is at the middle. Working with the smaller stations for so long had me convinced that all stations were that size. I was wrong. Working with the bigger stations meant more room for error and thus even though I was able to circular saw, band saw, and sand them, I was a bit off with my measurements. At first, I was a little flustered, but then realized I don't live in a perfect world and that David Hazen in Stripper's Guide to Canoe Building was right when he said, "I have to remind myself not to mess around with the suffering, whipping myself for making mistakes. Perfect boats do not exist. The only question it makes sense to ask is, "What's next?" So, taking a step back from my mistake, I realized I could attach a small strip of wood to the bottom of Station 1 to make it even. and then when that is done, sand all the bottom's of the stations to ensure that they are even.

Pictured below, are all the stations but zero and one. Look's better in real life. The picture doesn't really capture the amount of work attached with them...

Building the Mould Stations Part 3

 This weekend has been a canoe packed, but I have enjoyed every bit of it. This blog post is more informative of what I did today, and so therefore it is shorter because of the repetitive  nature of the construction process of each station. Having completed three stations at this point, the process is time consuming. (That is only if you want favorable results.)  Part III of the construction process started with cutting the screwed together plywood into sections with a circular saw. Then, my dad thought of the idea to use a "straight edge clamp" for the Circular Saw, to ensure an absolute straight edge, rather than just the Circular Saw because it will ultimately attach to the top side of the "strongback." Then using a saber saw and a band saw, pictured at right, I then sanded the crudely cut outline with an oscillating horizontal sander. Sadly, the sand paper broke, which ended my day, but I look forward to finishing each station and the stern/bow and attaching them to the "strongback."

Building the Mould Part 2

 As I continue to work on the mould, the shape of the canoe begins to take shape... (or at this point, at least in my mind) Ever since the last post, I purchased two 4 x 8 sheets of plywood from Lowes and some Adhesive Spray from Hobby Lobby. As you can see in the pictures at right, the plywood is clamped down at several stations making sure that the stations will not move when screwed together. However, before each station is screwed together, each paper station is sprayed down to the plywood to ensure that the form does not "slip off" and I figure it to be more accurate to have the original paper shapes attached rather than cutting from traced lines. I could be wrong, since I am not following a "cookie-cutter" step by step directions, but in my opinion I thought it to be a vary viable solution. As David Hazen in The Stripper's Guide to Canoe-Building states about his informative book about Cedar Strip Canoes, "This book is about achieving a certain technical result, and I know that if you pay attention to the result and ignore the awareness of how you are doing it - the awareness of your feelings, attitudes, sensations, and memories - the result will be sterile." So when following along on the process, it is not only acceptable but also suggested, to blaze your own path to making Cedar Strip Canoes. Ted Moore's in Canoecraft and many other builders draws their plans onto carbon paper, but I am using brown paper from a Kraft Paper Roll. The bottom line is it is alright to be different and experiment a bit in your building of your Cedar Strip Canoe.

Preliminary Problems...

As Ray Klebba states in his website 'www.raysdreamboats.com,' "I believe the more you know about the canoe, the more you will understand its beauty and your appreciation of its beauty will heighten and brighten until you are propelled to find out more about it." This quote is very pertinent to building the canoe mould and the rest of the canoe, in fact, for when building each station, you know exactly how your canoe will look, rather than relying on some one else's work and buying pre-made moulds. The preliminary problem I faced was that as I finished cutting out the station #0-#7, the part was to graph and cut out the stern/bow (words can be used interchangeably because the craft is symmetrical.) After graphing the points and connecting them, I realized that the design if followed the way I was reading it, would have a large hump in the middle. Confused, I consulted my neighbor, who said he would be my "advisor" to answer my questions and help me out. He said that the stern should be measured from Station #6 and the way to read the graph for the other stations is different from the way to read it for the Stern. The more he explained this it made more sense, and I wondered why I had not thought of that earlier. Thus, I am beginning to appreciate my canoe more as I begin to learn more about it. 

Building the Mould Stations Part 1

 Writing this post about week late, I officially started on the actual build process... well sort of... For there are five main sections toward building a Cedar Strip Canoe: Building the mould, planking the strips, Preparing for Fiberglassing, Fiberglassing, and Miscellaneous. The first step so far has proved to be tedious, yet enjoyable. First, by drawing a 2in. x 2in. graph on paper, each point from the Peterbourough model in the graph in Canoecraft was plotted. A process that needed to be checked and rechecked, for accuracy is key. For the name "Peterbourough" means the "Acme of Perfection in Canoe Construction," according to Hallie E. Bond in Boats and Boating in the Adirondacks, and therefore having each point spot on is key. The next mini step is to connect the points. But not like connecting dots as in the children's game. The points must be connected by a batten, which in my case was a small piece of Balsa wood from Hobby Lobby. And then after there was a smooth curve as pictured, I cut it out being very careful I was cutting on the line. As already stated each step may seem long and tedious but it is very intriguing to watch every station mould being draw and cut out, and placed on top of each other, to see the curve of your "Poor Man's Yacht," as Ted Moore's states in Canoecraft.

Getting Started...

After reading through the plans for canoes laid out in Ted Moore's Canoecraft, I decided to build a Cedar Strip Canoe following the original Peterbourough design. Doing a little research, (more to follow) about the design, I learned that the Peterbourough Canoe Co. was one of the primary Cedar Strip Canoe manufacturers in Canada from the 1850's to the 1950's. Exciting about working on a Canoe with a rich historical background, I noticed that there was even a book written by Ken Brown called "The Canadian Canoe Company and The Early Peterborough Canoe Factories." Just realizing that Canoes alone are a deep part of history all over the world for milleniums, is intriguing. For to think what other mode of transportation was available for the Native American Indians? a raft? a sure bet to be stranded in days. The Indians, rather, on Birch Bark Canoes traveled hundreds of miles through rivers to transport thousands of pounds of goods. And the question continues where did the Indians think of the idea? Therefore, I fell like I will apart of history when this project is over.