Perd'near there

Seems much too long since my last update, enough that I don't recall where I last left. Most of the work of late has been focused on getting the little bits up to snuff, and then moving the whole operation back over to the garage at my place. The borrowed space was a gift and an almost necessary one at that, though it always came with an expiration date. So, after cleaning the new garage in preparation of its new habitant and building some fancy canoe cradles to hold the thing, I finagled another gullible friend into helping me move the craft up and off of it's form and onto the top of the truck, gingerly mind you, for the very first time. A simple process, but a monumental one to be sure. Following that, another garage clean up, this time involving vacuuming ceilings, copious floor sweeping/vacuuming/sweeping, and the like. Didn't figure on creating such a mess, but then again it's not unusual for such things to happen to me.

Resting now in it's new home for the short time, I finally set into varnishing the interior and all the trim. I celebrated by buying my first real-deal, expensive bristle brush, and set to task! But wait...more sanding first. Ugh. Remember all that shiny fresh epoxy? Now it was to be sanded into a dull opaque hue, hopefully getting a sexy smooth surface free of runs, bubbles, and other oddities in the epoxy. Once coated in spar varnish, the gleam comes right back, so the buff effect is short-lived.

Unfortunately this new garage is uninsulated, and so I've been applying the varnish pretty much right at its minimum temperature threshold, which is actually set at a surprisingly low 40F/4C. Even still, funny results ensued on the finish, enough to bug me but not bad enough to make me throw in towel. The trim (i.e. bare wood surfaces), however, really took a shine and have turned out very well. The colour contrast between wood species, not to mention the crazy grain patterns on the decks, is really apparent at this point, and has really brought the boat to life.

In between waiting for coats to dry, I finished up carving the carrying yoke with a wood gouge, thus giving rise to my first successful foray into wood carving. Granted a shallow dish isn't all that remarkable compared to, say, a Bill Reid carving, but still. Mis-drilled seat holes were refilled with epoxy (once again saving the day), and various other little bits finished and varnished up.

Remaining? Exterior hull varnish, which will get about 6 layers for a robust finish worthy of some serious use, finally installing the thwarts and seats (now that I have the correctly sized bolts), and a final touch of adding the stem bands. Not much really, hopefully all done within the week.

Stay tuned for the final product!

Shiny finish, gone gone gone. But ooh yeah, it's silky smooth.

Coaming added to the bow deck to keep those pesky waves out of the canoe.

It's small, but hopefully will keep things a little drier while at sea.