I'm setting up forms on the strongback for a new boat. It should be complete early to mid July.
 I'm working on the hull of a new "Fine", wearing the new Christmas shop coat; the old one having accumulated enough epoxy to stand up on it's own. Cedar is going up in price, but was able to score some nice boards, including a pretty fine 20 footer. Might try a tandem sliding seat boat?
 Just like the one I traveled across Canada with; but with a couple of upgrades. The rigger is slightly lighter,and the rear deck is cedar (instead of door-skin). The light band in the hull is yellow cedar, and I've got the oars down to 5 lbs. Put it on Craigslist today. Boat is sold! new owner in Seattle.  I'm back in the shop, having just returned from 2 1/2 months on the road. Pat and I visited the east coast by van, taking the dog; and of course a boat. 20,000 Km + in a 30 year old westfalia. It was a great adventure.  We stopped in at Mystic Seaport for the wooden boat festival, and then continued up into Canada. I rowed the boat in different places as we traveled and tried to teach the dog (a Border Collie mix) to sit in the stern...
 These canoes are crated and on their way to Italy, via the client's home in Germany.
Red Cedar, with yellow cedar and maple trim, and red and yellow cedar paddles. The seat backrests are held in place with rare earth magnets, they snap into place nicely!  The Westfalia is being pressed into service as a delivery vehicle again. I'm on the way to meet the new owner in White Rock. The van actually carries the boats well; they only weigh 95 lbs, and the westy has a Subaru engine swap to give a bit more oomph. The trick is getting the boat up there, I usually have to call all my neighbours to come and help, this would not be the time to drop it!
 Oars for "Fine" are standard sculling oars, they have to be 9' 6" overall length, and "D" shaped at the oarlocks. The carbon fiber competition oars are about 3.5 lbs, and almost $800.00 Canadian. These are my second attempt and have come in at 5.25 lbs, but are nicely balanced. They are red cedar blades, and tapered, hollow, yellow cedar shafts with maple on the compression side. You can see a slice of the construction sitting on top of the blade.
  Both the fore and aft decks were built on the bench, upside down, and then glassed on the bottom. The aft deck was also glassed on top before installation; the fore-deck was glued in place, and then sanded and glassed on the boat. I've rounded over the gunwales, and will sand them before a seal coat of epoxy.
  The boat is off the forms, and last week I sanded and glassed the inside of the hull. I made up the gunwale stock yesterday, and routed the bottom edge and glued it this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll sand the hull flush with the gunwales, and start on the bulkheads and maybe the decks.
The shiny thing on the top of the radial arm saw is a lid for a cedar strip case for my wife's new ukulele. You can build all sorts of things with cedar strip!  The epoxy and glass is on the outside of the hull, and you can really see the colours and grain of the cedar.
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AuthorRick Crook of Oyster Bay Boats Pender Harbour BC Archives
February 2020
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