Here is a shot of my form for the wood canvas canoe I'm working on. It is about 75% compete. Still needs sanding, some tweeking, and metal bands for clenching tacks.

Awesome. I've been thinking about doing the smae thing for the last few month. Keep us posted.

-Nick

I re-canvassed a 1943 Thompson Rowboat about 15 years ago. I think canvassing is probably harder than wood strip with fiberglass and epoxy construction.

If you're anywhere near Chicago, stop in at Chicagoland Canoe Base, they are a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

Nice! You are a brave soul.

I'll be building a Main Guide wood/canvas canoe this fall. I already have the form.

Tom

You guys are braver than I am. Post your progress pics here though - I might be inspired to leap into the fray!

Thank you for the encouragement. I'll post pictures as it progresses.

The form has been a lot of work, but I'm not in any hurry and I've wanted to build a wood canvas for at least 10 years. I decided it was finally time to get started.

A wood strip form is definately easier to construct and especially to store, but I'm stuborn and wanted the wood canvas for some reason.

inspiring. What boat is this? Whose design or plan? Solo or tandem?

I purchased plans for the Stewart River Pal from Stewart River Boatworks. I also got the how to build the form video and how to build the canoe video. I've found them to be helpful. Also have a copy of the Wood Canvas Canoe.

I don't have a picture, but the ribs are bent around the canoe and I'm getting ready to start planking. As life normally goes, this project is taking longer because I can't spend that much time at it. The time I have spent so far has been enjoyable though.

I have made some progress on the canoe. I have attached a picture of the current state. The form is finished, and I have attached the stems, inwales and steam bent the ribs over the form. I broke several ribs while steam bending, experience has taught me that I have more time to bend the steamed rib than I think, so don't rush. I think a minute and a half to two minutes is a reasonable working time from when the rib comes out of the steam box.

Steam bending was fun. I broke several ribs on the tight radius bends near the bow and stern before being successful in getting them done. Patience and not rushing were the key, sounds familiar I bet. I soaked the ribs in water (pvc pipe with cap on one end) for at least 2 days, and then steamed them for at least 20 minutes. I've read they can be steamed too long, but I didn't run into that problem.

The next step is to start adding the planking. Hopefully I'll be able to start that tomorrow or this weekend.


I have also attached a picture of my steaming set up. A 8"x8" box built out of OSB, a left over metal can, some flex tubing for automobile exhaust and a coleman car camping stove. It works and was basically free. I was surprised how fast the setup will make steam. The key was to only put a little water in the can, so I wasn't heating up 2 gallons of water for a steaming session.

beautiful ribs ...... nice work

I was able to get some of the planking done this weekend. Here is a shot of the skeleton with the canoe still on the forms.



And then I enlisted my lovely assistant and we're off the form



Sorry about the picture quality.

Why do you take the canoe off the form at this point? I would have thought you'd wait until all the planking was done.

The metal strips don't extend all the way to the inwales on the canoe so the planking has to be put on after the canoe is removed from the form and then use a clenching iron to back them up. Also, there are a lot of clamps along the inwales that doesn't allow planking to be placed over the top.

I maybe could have put one more plank on at the front and back, but I would have had to work around the block holding the tip of the inwale, and decided to do it off the form. This is my first canoe, so next time around I may be able to make better use of the form by adjusting the width of the planking. I used 3.5" planking and 3" would maybe get me more placed while on the form.

Also, it becomes more difficult to remove the canoe from the form as more strakes are applied. You really need to pry that baby off the form as it is with the gunwales being well secured into the form.

I'm assuming you already have some straps or clamps on that canoe to keep it in shape. The ribs will want to open up and will cause considerable resistance to maintain their proper shape.

Sparetime,

I have a lot of respect for you building your canoe. There are very few people building wood canvas canoes these days. I've built close to a hundred strippers but finally finished my first wood canvas canoe. I feel like I finally grew up.

But not to dis the strippers. Now that I have built and used both strippers and WC, I'll say that a stripper is considerably stronger in every way than a WC. I beat the crap out of my stripper canoes. They get used very hard. I see my WC as being very, very functional but requires a bit more TLC.

-Tom

The canoe has been off the form and I finished fairing the hull today, so it's ready for canvas. I've been working on other projects, basically holding off on the canoe because I don't have a heated workspace where I can leave it for several weeks while the filler dries, so I'm patiently waiting for spring when the evening temperatures hold above freezing so I can do it in the garage without the heat on.

sweet looking

No pics, but the canvas is on, and the filler has been applied. Now I'm waiting for the filler to cure so I can paint and varnish. Hopefully, we'll get some warmer weather to facilitate the curing.

"The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga" is a great book with good instructions, but it looks like you are well beyond instructions. What are you going to use as filler?

I used the filler from Stewart River Boatworks. First time applying it, went ok. I can see issues with it, but overall I'm satisfied with my first build. I did get the Art of the Canoe from the library during the build. I also stopped by camp Widjiwagan in Ely after a canoe trip. The guy running the boat shop took time out of his day to show me around. It was really cool, and generous of him to do so. Saw the Nora canoe up close, that's neat too.