The Heron

Here is the completed boat. This one was shipped to a couple who live on one of Michigan's beautiful lakes.

Planking the Bottom (The First Side)

When the side planks have been completed, one side of the bottom will be completed before starting on the other side of the bottom. Each plank must extend past the centerline so that it can be trimmed to the centerline later.

Once the centerline is marked on the bottom, the planks are rough trimmed to the line using a sharp chisel. Because of the way the grain of the wood intersects the centerline, it is always best to start in the middle of the canoe and work towards the ends.

The trimming process is finished up with a couple of small planes. Small spacer blocks are put between the hull and the molds to raise the hull enough so the plane clears the molds.

Planking the Sides

When the forms are set up at the appropriate spacing to result in the desired length canoe, the sheerstrake is installed. Much care is taken to make sure this plank has a fair curve to it because this determines how all of the following planks will lay.

Planks are normally stapled to the forms, but we have added outer ribs to the forms so that they can be clamped using wedges. This adds to the aesthetics of the canoe by eliminating all of the small marks left on the finished canoe by the staple holes.

Small dowels are placed in the fragile cove edge to protect it from the bungee cord (which also clamps the planks together). Dowels are only used in the bow and stern areas where planks will be added later. Protection isn't needed in other areas because that edge will be sanded flat and will be part of the gunnels.

The planking progresses by adding planks to alternating sides. This is where the numbering on the planks is used to keep the color scheme similar on each side. This is most important when planking the bottom because both sides are seen next to each other.

On this canoe, the dark accent strips were taken from a very dark cedar board and the white strip is from a spruce/pine board.

More planks will be added where the blue tape is after the bottom has been completed. The added planks will make up the raised bow and stern section which will give it a traditional look befitting of this type of canoe.

16 Foot Cedar Strip Canoe

This project started when we received a call from Tom who said he and his wife Vicki had recently seen one of our canoes on display at the Eagle Nest Lodge on the Big Horn River in Hardin Montana. Tom said they would like to have a canoe built for use on the lake at their cottage. They wanted it to be about 16' long and have a traditional look to it.

The "Bob's Special" design was selected for the following reasons:

• Pleasant all around recreational boat
• Very light weight
• Good carrying capacity
• Width and flat bottom
• Low ends to minimize windage
• Good for both tandem and solo paddling
• Moderate rocker and soft bilges
• Stable to fish from
• Very steady

The plans were purchased from the very reputable Bear Mountain Boats (www.bearmountainboats.com).