Canoes

I’ve been building canoes for 30+ years starting with cedar strippers. I love the beauty of the wood, especially blending different wood species.

Cedar Strip Canoe

My hobby evolved into building cold-molded canoes. Although it was time consuming to create a mold, it cut way down on production time of each canoe.

18.5 tandem just after splitting the mold.

One half of mold done. This is a red mold on a black plug.

To keep the canoe light, a foam core is vacuum bagged into place.

Vacuum Bagged Foam Core

The result is a very light, and very stiff, hull. This boat weighs 42 lbs and is 18.5 ft. long.

Carbon Fiber Kevlar canoe with foam core.

I built a few boats with foam cores, like the one above, but I really missed the look of wood. It just seemed natural to have some wood in the boat, besides the trim work. I developed a technique for bagging wood cores in the canoes and the result was a nice blend of traditional wood materials with modern composite materials.

Solo Carbon Kevlar Wood Core Canoe

16.5 Solo Carbon Kevlar Canoe