i said we are building a canoe!

we are attempting to build a stitch and tape canoe.

[isaidwearebuildingacanoe]

I've been gone for a while, but I am back.

So I cut the pieces out of the plywood, with a jigsaw, leaving about a .25 inch safe area around my drawn lines. Then with the pieces clamped firmly together, I belt sanded the hell out of them, making my way down to my lines. This SHOULD make all of the pieces symmetrical and ready for the next stage of the build.

[isaidwearebuildingacanoe]

Drawin' out the shapes

My 3 sheets of 4x8 Douglas Fir were ready to go, so following my Selway Fisher instructions, I drew my guide grid directly on the wood, forming 12" squares. I plotted out the coordinates, and used a piece of thin pvc pipe to help me draw the appropriate curved lines. This whole business was a little tricky, since Selway Fisher is a British operation, THE MEASUREMENTS WERE IN METRIC AND IMPERIAL?!? but i was able to convert them to American before I started, so it didn't cause too much trouble. With the pieces drawn out and ready to cut, a warm tingling sensation filled my whole body. I could see the thousand golden river sunsets that surely await me.

[isaidwearebuildingacanoe]

After studying the plans and process I got the courage to start collecting materials. (I'll detail the materials I used as we come to them in the visuals, but the first thing I needed was wood.) So when you're building a stitch and tape canoe you use plywood. I chose to use 1/4 inch marine grade Douglas Fir. I know there's lots of talk about exterior grade (EXT) vs marine grade (WBP) plywood, and that Okoume is the best choice, but Douglas Fir was an easily available and a solid middle of the road option for me, so I went with it. Buddy enjoyed sitting on my plywood whenever possible.

[isaidwearebuildingacanoe]

choosing the canoe

I spent a few weeks last winter looking for canoe plans that I could attempt to build. Not knowing much about canoes, I spent a lot of time comparing canoe styles and specs for each set of plans. The two sites I spent the most time on were Jem Watercraft and Selway Fisher. I went back and forth for a while and had a hard time deciding what I wanted. They've got dozens of beautiful boats! I really liked Jem's 15' Sasquatch, and Selway Fisher's 15'8" Prospector, and15'7" Peterborough. Ultimately I went with Selway's 15'7" Raven after I found a good blog with process pictures, and realized a boat with fewer chines might be a little easier for a beginner like me to handle. So the Raven is was. I put in my order, and a few days later my plans arrived from England.

[isaidwearebuildingacanoe]

So did I mention that we are building a canoe? Last Christmas, I got the idea to acquire a canoe for the upcoming Spring/Summer/Fall camping season. My lady love and I had rented canoes in the past, and really enjoy canoe camping in our BEAUTIFUL Minnesota State Parks, so I thought we should take the plunge and get one for our very own this year. I searched around Craigslist hoping to get the my hands on one quick and cheap, but of course it being the middle of winter and all, there weren’t a whole lot that tickled my fancy. So, as with most great decisions in my life, I decided that why on Earth should I wait to check the listings later in the year, when I can just start building one? I have been working on the canoe off and on over the past few months, documenting my progress along the way, that I will now begin sharing it with yall, in the hopes that everyone reading this can witness what I believe will go down as my greatest achievement, but will most likely become my worst nightmare, and the bane of my existence. (Did I mention that I have no boat building experience?) Follow me readers, as we descend into what can only be peril and heartbreak!

[isaidwearebuildingacanoe]