Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

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  • MoMan
    Flaccid Member
    • Nov 2009
    • 1062

    #46
    Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

    Originally posted by Fitz
    What Lazy Jack said. I would check into this first. If you look at the photo of my Prospectors above, there is some "hollow/cheekiness" in these canoes. Take a good look - especially if it does it on both ends.
    Yeah, the concave curve was the first thing I thought of, but I can't see from the plans that this model is supposed to be like that. The lines on the plan look straight. When I get back home, I'll take a closer look at the plans and my canoe craft book.

    Any other prospector builders out there who have encountered this?
    “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go -- so long as you do not stop.”
    -Confucius

    Comment

    • Fitz
      Wood Canoe Nut
      • Mar 2001
      • 2822

      #47
      Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

      I just took the trash out to the garage and there was a strip laying there next to my Prospector. I taped it onto the canoe and sure enough, a gap is right there. The gap is probably closer to 1/4 inch on my canoe. This canoe is a 17 footer.

      I suspect you and your little wooden companion are right on and your accuracy is paying off.



      "Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. " - Thoreau

      Comment

      • Terry Haines
        Senior Member
        • Jul 2009
        • 387

        #48
        Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

        Originally posted by MoMan
        ... If I had enough clamps, I could do the other stem tonight also, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow.
        I hate to get serious even for a moment but the gardening section of your local hardware store should have bundles of plastic cable clamps sold for tying up plants. They only work once but they're cheap, cheaper and longer than the identical ones sold for electrical use. Should work on the stems of the next boat; also perhaps on Andy. There's all sorts of el-cheapo ties that are great substitutes for clamps, but I'm scared of the Net morality police ...

        On the hollow entry issue, amke sure the batten is along one of the planking lines. I have several FreeShip file of Rushton's Wee lassie that I took a look at; from certain viewpoints there are places where the planking looks sharply concave, but none of the plank curves actually reverse.
        Last edited by Terry Haines; 01-10-2011, 05:45 PM.

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        • MoMan
          Flaccid Member
          • Nov 2009
          • 1062

          #49
          Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

          Originally posted by Fitz
          I just took the trash out to the garage and there was a strip laying there next to my Prospector. I taped it onto the canoe and sure enough, a gap is right there. The gap is probably closer to 1/4 inch on my canoe. This canoe is a 17 footer.

          I suspect you and your little wooden companion are right on and your accuracy is paying off.
          Thanks Fitz--That's a big relief for me. That's some canoe addiction you've got going. How do you store them all? That's one little problem I haven't tackled yet, but I'm guessing I've got a few months before I really need to start worrying about it.
          “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go -- so long as you do not stop.”
          -Confucius

          Comment

          • MoMan
            Flaccid Member
            • Nov 2009
            • 1062

            #50
            Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

            Originally posted by Terry Haines
            I hate to get serious even for a moment but the gardening section of your local hardware store should have bundles of plastic cable clamps sold for tying up plants. They only work once but they're cheap, cheaper and longer than the identical ones sold for electrical use. Should work on the stems of the next boat; also perhaps on Andy. There's all sorts of el-cheapo ties that are great substitutes for clamps, but I'm scared of the Net morality police ....
            Great idea Terry. I make liberal use of the electrical sorts. I gotta check out the plant versions. I also have some giant 36" ones that I've used to strap some drainage pipe along my garage rafters (great for storing long, light pieces like trim and dowels). I discovered that I could reuse them by unlocking the ratcheting mechanism with a small knife or screwdriver which allows you to reverse the strap back out. It's good when you're desperate and run out.
            “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go -- so long as you do not stop.”
            -Confucius

            Comment

            • podunk
              Junior Member
              • Dec 2010
              • 2

              #51
              Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

              I just built a 15' Prospector Ranger from Bear Mtn. I lofted all the dimensions out of the book "Canoe Craft" and there is some cheekiness in that area. If your building with staples it won't give you any problems holding it to the form. I did mine stapleless using the fishing line method (no holes) and it was sometimes a challenge to keep the strips tight to the forms. That's half the fun!

              Comment

              • Fitz
                Wood Canoe Nut
                • Mar 2001
                • 2822

                #52
                Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                That's the problem with canoes. You can't have just one. They are like golf clubs where you need the exact right one for the job. You need your trippin' canoes, your solo canoe, your "courtin'" canoes, your really special really old canoe, the kayak for the wife, the various canoes you are fixin' for friends, the inherited canoe, the canoe for the kids, and then all of these forementioned canoes come in various sizes...it is just never ending. 'Course none of them are plastic.

                The supa dupa rack holds eight, and then there are various relicts all over the place.
                Last edited by Fitz; 01-10-2011, 07:45 PM.
                "Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. " - Thoreau

                Comment

                • thedutchtouch
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2010
                  • 486

                  #53
                  Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                  although it seems that the form is the right size based on the previous replies- you could "fix" it by simply bending a strip of the appropriate thickness around the form and fastening it in place- wood glue/epoxy/whatever holds it there (or perhaps you'd rather just cut a new one i dunno)
                  -Justin

                  Originally posted by JimConlin
                  I appreciate craft as much as the next guy, but someone has had too much granola.

                  Comment

                  • switters
                    S/V Pi
                    • Oct 2007
                    • 8883

                    #54
                    Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                    Originally posted by podunk
                    I just built a 15' Prospector Ranger from Bear Mtn. I lofted all the dimensions out of the book "Canoe Craft" and there is some cheekiness in that area. If your building with staples it won't give you any problems holding it to the form. I did mine stapleless using the fishing line method (no holes) and it was sometimes a challenge to keep the strips tight to the forms. That's half the fun!
                    please post pictures, esp any construction pictures you would like to share and any tips with the fishing line. I'm getting a strong back ready and have bee giving some thought to that method.

                    Thanks.
                    Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.
                    TOM ROBBINS, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues


                    Comment

                    • Sailor
                      Senior Member #4610
                      • Feb 2002
                      • 5229

                      #55
                      Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                      If you take a look at my redbird progress thread, there are a number of photos of how I built mine stapleless. If you have any questions about something in particular with how I put the boat together without staples I'll do my best to explain and see if I have a photo to demonstrate clearly what you're asking and what I'm talking about with my answer. This project is fun. Enjoy it. I am.
                      If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
                      -Henry David Thoreau-

                      Comment

                      • podunk
                        Junior Member
                        • Dec 2010
                        • 2

                        #56
                        Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                        Switters,
                        I am a little technically challenged with the pictures but I will say I thought the fishing line method worked well for me. I stapled the strip on the stem and then wound 10 lb test around it down the length of the canoe, wrapping it around screws placed inside the forms, tying off and stapling to the other stem. works great on the sides, gets a little tricky at the bilge and football area. I did have to put a few staples in this area. Pros are you can put alot of strips on in one session, 7-8 per side. cons are it gets difficult in the football area. I used some bugee cords, weights and other apparatus as needed to keep the strips down on the bottom. I did have to use some staples though. Bear Mountain Boats has a good forum and searching it you should be able to find some pictures. The first strip on each side gets stapled as it will get covered by gunwales. After that you can make some real progress.

                        Comment

                        • MoMan
                          Flaccid Member
                          • Nov 2009
                          • 1062

                          #57
                          Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                          So now that I feel more confident about my station mold positions, it is full steam ahead with shaping the stems. I drew my center line, clamped the first inner stem onto the mold and started making wood curls. Then, as I re-read my plans one evening, I got a funny feeling and went out to the garage to have a second look. Sure enough, ...

                          Andy had already figured it out:

                          My bigger problem is that I'd already started carving, so drawing accurate reference lines based on the edge would now be impossible. Just then, Andy earned his keep:


                          Since most of the stem's edge was intact, Andy's solution worked great. I drew the reference lines and went back to carving. Brilliant!



                          I got a lot of help from the Stanley brothers.


                          I have to say, I'm not in love with the spokeshave, probably for a couple of reasons. First, I'm a total novice, so I'm probably not not using it right, and second, using it to carve the stem while it is clamped onto the mold is awkward: I have to crouch down below the stem and pull the spokeshave down. Anyway, I much preferred the low angle block plane, especially after I honed the iron and waxed the sole.

                          I was hoping to router my bead and cove edges today, but because of the lengths, I have to open the garage door and it rained all day today. Perhaps tomorrow, since I have MLK day off.
                          “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go -- so long as you do not stop.”
                          -Confucius

                          Comment

                          • floatingkiwi
                            country member
                            • Nov 2008
                            • 3603

                            #58
                            Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                            Andy is actually pretty cool looking mate. Did you make him?

                            Spokeshaves are different shapes for different surfaces one in working on. Flat, curved and curved every way on concave faces usually, where a plane spans the area, making them useless.. There is a feel to them as to where the weight works right for sure. But then you already know this , right?
                            Last edited by floatingkiwi; 01-17-2011, 02:30 AM.
                            ..don't judge a man till you've walked a mile in his shoes..

                            Comment

                            • P.L.Lenihan
                              Junior Cinq-etoile
                              • Oct 2005
                              • 7472

                              #59
                              Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                              Originally posted by MoMan
                              using it to carve the stem while it is clamped onto the mold is awkward: I have to crouch down below the stem and pull the spokeshave down.
                              In time, you'll come to appreciate Andy even more if you would just let him handle those tight and difficult spots. God knows Simon has earned his keep ten fold by always doing the tight and gritty work for me since I'm too big an oaf to get into small tight spaces and places. Mind you, if Simon is busy and I just have to get-in-there-and-do-it, I usually fortify myself with some bleu medicine until the pain goes away and I begin feeling like a super-hero. Never failed me yet!

                              Continued progress and success Mike!!


                              Cheers!


                              Peter
                              Do it,do it,do it,do it,do it,do it,do it,now!
                              J.Lennon

                              This boat was built with ten thumbs.No fingers were harmed in anyway.

                              Comment

                              • MoMan
                                Flaccid Member
                                • Nov 2009
                                • 1062

                                #60
                                Re: Build-A-Bear, mountain-style canoe

                                OK, so it's minimal progress, but that's better than no progress at all, right?? Mid afternoon on MLK day (Martin Luther King's b-day, a national U.S. holiday), the sky finally cleared, so I dragged my lumber out onto the deck to sort it.





                                I ended up with three piles: dark, medium and light. Now for the moral question: Is it bad that I segregated my lumber according to color on MLK day? I swear I'm not a racist! Just ask my co-workers!!
                                “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go -- so long as you do not stop.”
                                -Confucius

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