Finally underway!

After considerable effort in procuring the building materials, and generally getting my life in a semblance of order, I'm finally taking the first steps towards realizing my dream (or one of many dreams, at least). It feels like it has taken much too long to get here, but I am happy to be at task anyway.

Building the forms and the strongback is a critical and time-consuming process, but proper attention to detail will ensure a straight and clean-lined vessel. I elected to forgo this part of the process however, allowing my somewhat limited free time to be allocated to the actual building of the boat. I was fortunate to find a kindly chap who had just finished building his own, and was willing to sell his forms and strongback to me (thanks Dean!). These sort of things tend to get passed along unless you are a professional, or at least a habitual, boat builder. After all, what could you possibly repurpose a set of round shaped plywood pieces and a 20 foot long beam on legs set at knee level? I was thankful for the excuse to drive the 4 hours to Nelson to pick it up, as I was able to visit a number of friends in the area whom I hadn't seen a while. The strongback, being strapped upside down on top of my truck, garnered many puzzled looks from passers by, and more than a few "What the hell is that thing?" comments from interested folks.

Since I wasn't dead set on any one specific design, I was more than happy to adopt the design Dean had chosen for his. As such, I will be building a 17'9" Freedom, designed by the well-known yacht and canoe designer Steve Killing, and is one of the offerings from Bear Mountain Boats, the source of all things wooden canoe (not the only one, but probably the best known one). It is more of a modern design, as opposed to the more frequently observed traditional and native designs, with relatively vertical stems with little curvature (i.e. less sideways wind resistance). The bow is more narrow than traditional canoes, with the widest point located aft (behind) of the center of the boat, making this particular boat a fast one. The size is relatively large, but I'm building this with the intention of using it, lots. Going far and long, big loads and all. And ample room for the beer cooler, lest ye be without proper hydration. Perhaps I'll build a smaller boat for day trips and fun, once this hobby becomes an obsession!

Set up was a snap thanks to all of Dean's prior hard work, save for a couple new forms that had to be built, and a general check to make sure everything was plumb and straight. The stems, the first pieces of the boat to be dealt with, were steamed in a jerry-rigged contraption consisting of a PVC tube (originally, and likely still is, my fishing rod depository), an antique jerry can, some washing machine hose, and my good ol' trusty camp stove. Once properly bent and dried over the stem molds, the narrow laminations were epoxied together and re-clamped over the stem molds again. These pieces will provide the attachment points for the cedar strips later on, and really are a vital component of the canoe's structure. Western red cedar was used for the inner stems (for weight savings and workability), and white ash for the outers (for durability and color scheme).

Stem laminations getting glued up and clamped down.

Everything set up and underway.