canoe building

[jon r]

Hello

I really want to make a canoe! Something like a Birch bark canoe but without the birch bark. Instead of the bark could i use some kind of canvas? Can anyone recomend a type of canvas?

Ive been watching Ray Mears you see, making his canoe in Canada. They used Cedar for the majority of the other wood but i dont have any of that, could i use a wood like pine instead or are there better woods? I need lots of advice, please help!

:You_Rock_

Jon

 

[leon-b]

patrick m used a £5 tarp instead of birch bark

leon

 

[jon r]

yea looked like a good idea but i want something a little more natural looking, got any ideas?

 

[leon-b]

no sorry mate i havent
leon

 

[spamel]

Although I can't give you any links, there are many ways of making your own canoe. You can make them from sheets of plywood which is then covered with epoxy resin and this seals the canoe up and I'd imagine offers a bit of preotection against knocks and the like.

There were a few shots a while back of somebody on the forum who made his own canoes, as I remember he lost one in a barn fire that wasn't quite finished. There are lots of different places on the internet where you can order plans, although I cannot remember any off hand!

 

[spamel]

Try this thread, it looks like there could be some useful info in there.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=1955

 

[Jester2]

You could post your question on the linked Song of the Paddle site, several members of SOTP have built open canoes and I'm sure they'd offer advice on choice of materials. If you need plans, suppliers of materials, you can probably get ideas for them too. Several people have posted details of their build projects so you may get some ideas from seeing their photos and write ups
If you haven't a specific design in mind I'd post your thoughts on what you intend to use the canoe for, the approx length, one or two people paddling, open water or rocky moving water, and there's a fair chance someone will be able to suggest a design for that purpose.

 

[chrisanson]

how about stretching some canvas over a wooden frame and then using bitchumen to waterproof it?
chris

 

[Fenlander]

This may give you some ideas (scroll down the page)....

http://www.flintknapping.co.uk/sue.html

I've seen it and it's really nice. Hoping to try it out next time I'm over there.

 

[torjusg]

I have made a canoe of spruce bark. It was ok, but you need to be very careful when removing the bark. That is to make sure there are no cracks. Cracks will curl and be very difficult to patch properly. Knot holes are much less difficult than cracks.

Anyway, I would advice you to shape the bark first. Clamp on the gunwhales and ends and leave the bark to dry. It is better to reconstitute it later to do the sewing.

If you sew it right away, it will all go loose when it dries up.

Be careful when fitting the ribs, birch bark go the other way and withstand the tention of the ribs much better. The ribs must be tight, but do not try to stretch the bark. That will more than likely lead to failure.

A last tip for now. Don't be lazy such as me and try to cut the gores instead of scraping the outer bark. Spend a day scraping off all of the coarse stuff. That will save you a lot of trouble, both in crimping the gores and folding the ends.

If you have any questions. Feel free to ask.

 

[ilan]

As with all things its a case of balance . Whilst i would love a real birch bark canoe they i belive need a lot of attention and also need to be used (kept wet) and are high maintanance. Perhaps you could get one of the Percy Blandford designed canvas covered designes not sure if he made an open canadian style but used to have one of his canvas designes years ago eskimo style . Or you could look at the selway fisher designes in either strip plank if you are wanting a challenge or good old ply and stitch for a quicker and usefull boat which will take some use . good luck ilan

 

[weaver]

Cedar has a lot of natural oil that keeps the wood from soaking up the water. Pine will soak in the water and rot unless it is well protected.

Cypress, red cedar, teak, white oak and mahogany are all very resistant to rot.

Wood that is rich in oils or closed cell structured will do well for framing.

 

[torjusg]

Cedar has a lot of natural oil that keeps the wood from soaking up the water. Pine will soak in the water and rot unless it is well protected.

Severely damaged pine will often become very rot-resistant. Many buildings here have kept for more than 7 centuries by using such pine.

 

[John Fenna]

Alan Bridges of Bisch Creek Canoes not only produces the finest Glassfibre canoes I know of but also sells full size patterns for 4mm stitch and tape plywood canoes which are also fantastic. Google his name for a current contact

 

[jojo]

http://www.wolfintextiles.co.uk/

For canvas try these people. I have bought canvas from them and its was good stuff, untreated in any way. You can use either boiled linseed oil to waterproof the canvas, it will look a lot like skin, less the awful smell . you can also use ordinary oil based house paint on it. I have built some skin on frame canoes and also a kayak using it.

For the gunnels and longitudinals, you could use pine at a pinch, you could use pinseed oil to protect the wood. It can absorb quite a lot of water, but your canoes does not stay in the water long enough compared to a boat that would stay on the water all the time,
For the ribs, I have used willow branches about 1/2" diameter or a bit bigger, but they need to be quite close together I used 6" apart, you alternate the "butt" ends on each sides of the canoe to balance the tapering of the branches. To tie the frame together, I used "artificial sinew" ,thats very strong, although it does not like friction too much. but I have had no problems with it. The resulting canoe is very strong, light and flexible.

I have also used some polyester fabric, but I must say I did not like it as much as the canvas. Look on the Norfolk & Norwich group thread to see the canoes.

 

[pierre girard]

The Chapelle/Adney book, "Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America," shows a (1880s, I believe) canvas covered canoe done in the birchbark style. It would be pretty fragile too.

Canvas covered canoes are not the same thing, as they have a rigid wood canoe inside the canvas cover. A birch bark canoe, or canvas covered canoe built in the birch bark style - is not rigid. The ribs are friction fit, and the whole canoe will undulate over a big wave - with the exception of the gunwales.

http://www.amazon.com/America-States-National-Museum-Bulletin/dp/B0006BMG5A

 

[nobby]

I've got an old Percy Blandford canoe that I recovered with the fabric that is used for lorry sides.
Nothing natural about the covering but it glues with Evostik or cobblers glue. Copper tacks go through it ok and it can be sewn. Lastly, it makes a light canoe.
HTH

 

[weaver]

Severely damaged pine will often become very rot-resistant. Many buildings here have kept for more than 7 centuries by using such pine.

We used to have a pine here that was very rot resistant, Loblolly I believe it was. The kings men took them all away. Could well be some of what you have there now. Not seven centuries of course.

 

[Diederik Pomstra]

Sorry, more canoetalk. Love the subject. I built mine of spruce (ribs and planking, inner gunwales), ash outer gunwales, front and back and elm what-do-you-call-thems (the pieces of wood that connect the gunwales). Be sure you cut the spruce for the planking 100% across the grain or it will go all wobbly becasue of the water. I had a rather heavy canvas (do not recall weight, sorry) and stretched into a kind of hammock. When all done the canvas was finished with a mixture of paints (can look it up for you sometime if you want) and then painted with normal waterresistant woodpaint (three layers). All wooden parts were well treated with linseedoil. Most important but very boring: bending the nails and knocking them back into the wood. Otherwise they may pop out and cut the canvas. Mine is ten years old this year and still going strong, so take time to do it right.
And to defend what I love: contrary to what many people think they are absolutely fit for serious wildernesstrips. I've paddled whitewater in them many times and had some collissions with rocks: no damage to the canoe whatsoever. Of course you can't go scraping down a low-water rapid. A wood&canvas canoe teaches you to paddle. They're great. Sorry for the long message.

 

[gunnix]

I'd like to build a skin over frame canoe as well. I do a shipbuilding course, but the work needed to build solid wooden boats is crazy, a skin over frame boat must be way more enjoyable to build.

I really loved to see ray mears build the birch bark canoe in the open air with so little tools! No noisy machines and indoor building. I'd really love to build canoes that way

Torjusg, what do you mean by "damaged pine" ?