I live in the country close to a river known for its tendency to flood ( La chaudière) – my friends tease me trying to explain by this my fascination about smallboat building. After building several wood strip canoes , rowboats and a sea kayak I was ready for something else. I found by chance Brian’s site and knew THIS WAS IT! For several good reasons- the quality of Brians exceptional teaching videos -his generosity for putting the prep course for free. It also reminded me of my years of work in Arctic Quebec
In the last 2 years I made 3 F1s – one for myself a second one and a third one for my daughter . The second one was close to a disaster I made all the mistakes I could have done ( hopefully) poor quality wood , cheaper skin and a different coating I ended up with a nice boat full of small holes ! The third one was a success – But I realized to bring a friend or a spouse along I needed another vessel, So the F2…
All the previous boats came out of my basement shop but there is a limit to size- so I needed another shop and I moved the whole bazard further from the river to safer ground .
And I started to prepare and gather the proper material I had difficulty finding good quality western cedar but thanks to Ron Frenette from Canadian canoes in Mississauga I put my hands on beautiful lenghts of fine grained cedar boards and started to work on the project.I had to scarf joint the long boards For this I use a handmade jig
My wife gave me a helping hand to control the cockpit coaming …a much needed hand.
After cutting and marking I use a mortising machine it facilitates the job but beware it does not prevent you from a mistake in the 25 deg angle…which I guess I am not the only one to make
The other significant improvement I made is to buy a steamer – I should have done that a long time ago . Goodbye old kettle.
By the time paddling season was over and before ski season really started I was ready for the real fun . Getting the deck ready and installing a myriad of ribs
securing the stem, stringers to the ribs the bow and stern is a smooth process – The information in the courses is precise and easy to follow.
I made a small improvisation for the middle ridge. Instead of steaming a single wood strip I laminated 3 thin Ash strips directly on the site- the fit is perfect and just as solid.
After sometime spent skiing time to relax and skin the boat – the process is simple just need to be patient and meticulous
Next operation : dye followed by Corey Freedman’s 2 part urethane : exciting moment !!!
Then I spent a lot of time on my figurehead design
And at long last…in the water
Many thanks to Brian – Corey Freedman and Alan from customfloat bags ( the fit is perfect )
