lots of questions

buildingacanoe · Post by **buildingacanoe** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm

Hey, i'm looking at the free design on this site, and it looks like a nice canoe. I'm planning on building it, but have little to no knowledge on building boats. i have a good knowledge of woodworking, but not sure about the method used to build this canoe. Will cheap plywood work? is there another thing to use besides epoxy? do i need to do stitch and glue or can i use the method used here: http://www.bigdamfish.net/freeplans.html ( cheap canoe, ccanoeM.PDF, page 14 15 and 16) How difficult will this be for a first time canoe builder? anything else i need to know? thanks for the help

Post by **jem** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:42 pm

Best place to start is here: http://jemwatercraft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6

and here: http://jemwatercraft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7

There's some good info about cheap plywood in the second link.

buildingacanoe · Post by **buildingacanoe** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:45 pm

thanks for the quick reply, i'll check that out. Also, how much epoxy would i need? I want to get buy with minimum cost here. Is there a good place to buy it online or in stores?

buildingacanoe · Post by **buildingacanoe** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:52 pm

i looked at the step by step walkthrough and it looks good. just one question. The section about butt blocking only has information on splicing. What is butt blocking and how can it be done? sorry to be a bother.

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:02 pm

Buildingacanoe,

May I ask, for what do you want to use the canoe when it's complete? Will it be just you in it? Will family members or others also be in it? Do you want to use this oat for along time or just a short time then replace it?

These areas may have bearing on how you build your boat.

buildingacanoe · Post by **buildingacanoe** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:08 pm

I plan on using this for fishing and just fun canoeing on a lake and possibly a river, but many rivers around here are too shallow. . I'd definitly like this to last for a long time, and hold two or more people. Could it hold three if i put a lawn chair in the middle? i for some reason doubt it but if it could that'd be awewsoem. Also, how much weight could this hold approx?

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:20 pm

Matt will provide you some good advice. My advice will come from my experience. Advice of others will vary, according to their experience and preferences.

In my experience, hull integrity is worth a lot on a boat. If you venture into water over waist deep, it gets critical. If you have others in the boat with you, it gets critical. If you paddle far from civilization, it gets critical. The primary job of a boat is to remain afloat.

In that light, I never use second rate materials. (Another reason is that I'm probably not that good a craftsman to be able to use lesser materials - I need the best to make up for my ham fistedness.) I use only Okoume 1088 (Grade A on both sides) plywood. I use 4mm or 1/8" for light weight. Strength is gained from using fiberglass inside and out.

Others use different techniques. This is one I learned, and it has served me well. I take my boats onto and off of rocks if that is what is required to launch and land. I go over obstacles without hesitation. We carry my boats, fully loaded with camp gear, by grabbing the end handles and walking off. My boats are tools to be used in the outback. They have been reliable, and do not fail me.

Other builders use lesser woods and seem to get by. You may too. I simply choose not to. To me, it's like trying to economize on a parachute. You may get by, or you may not.

Post by **jem** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:33 pm

The free plans are limited in info because they are free.

But if you open up the Bill of Materials, you'll see what you need to buy.

JEM customers get a 5% discount at www.raka.com . Just order directly with them and ask for the JEM discount. I've recently been appraoched by another vendor about offering their brand of epoxy. I'm looking into that now but it may be a while before that's available.

Other similar plans, like the Iroquois, http://jemwatercraft.com/proddetail.php?prod=Iroquois include highly detailed assembly instructions complete with illustrations that take you step-by-step through the entire assembly process.

If you'd like, I can send you a file showing the assembly instructions for the Simplicity pirogue I have. Just send me an e-mail.

Oldsparkey · Post by **Oldsparkey** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:54 am

buildingacanoe

You advised that you have wood working experience or a good knowledge of wood working. This can be a help or a hindrance in building a boat since the process of building a boat is relative simple.
It is a matter of just assembling some pieces of wood, then glassing them and paddling it. It is not brain surgery, it is a fun project.

I like to tell folks, if you have built a wood, model, airplane then you have all of the skills needed to build a boat.
Some of the builders that had no knowledge about building a wood boat have built some really nice boats and are using them for there enjoyment.
The trick in building a boat is knowing what the steps are ahead of the one you are working on at that time, always think ahead.

As Jack told you, good wood makes a better boat so I guess mine are junk because I use the $9.95 a sheet Luann Plywood.
My guess is that no one has told them because they are serving me quite well and have over the years I have paddled them. I do baby them by paddling carefully with them in the swamps around here, keep them in side and out of the weather when they are not being used. Plus I clean and check them over after each trip.

To be honest I have made a kayak out of the Okoume plywood and one pirogue out of red wood strips but all the rest of the boats are from the 1/8th inch Luann ply. All of them have been epoxy saturated and glassed inside and outside.
( Epoxy saturation is when you apply epoxy to the wood and let it soak into the fibers of the wood to strengthen them and waterproof them before the fiberglass is applied. It also gives the epoxy something to bond to when you glass the boat )

You could associate the boats to a peanut butter sandwich.... The wood is the peanut butter (the filler and form) and the glass is the bread,( the skin to protect the wood) except in this case you can see the peanut butter and not the bread even though it is there.

The up side today compared to when I started building wood boats is that today there are a couple of web sites (this one included) that help folks who are building boats with any questions they might have.

Don't be scared to ask a question because the only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

Chuck.

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:47 pm

Oldsparkey wrote:... Don't be scared to ask a question because the only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

Well, I used to think that. But since I've been reading some of my questions on here ....

JEM Watercraft

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