Building a flat bottomed canoe

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by troy2000, Jun 18, 2010.

  1. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    If someone wants to get my credit card numbers, I doubt starting out only knowing my license plate numbers will help them much. There are much simpler ways to find victims for identity theft than that.

    What's to stop them from writing down my number in the parking lot of a mall or store, if it's all they need? I believe in reasonable caution, but I'm not wound that tight.

    I don't obscure the serial numbers of my guns either, when I post photo's. People have said, 'what if someone writes down the number, goes to the police and claims you stole the gun from them?!?'

    My answer is, 'well, what if they do? They still have to prove it.' No court is going to take my gun and give it to them, strictly on their say-so. I'm the one who knows the provenance of it, and can document how it came into my possession.

    I've never freaked out when a newspaper published my name and picture, either.
     
  2. ancient kayaker
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    Location: Alliston, Ontario, Canada

    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    My boat roofrack is also from QDCI - but a much earlier model. Looks like their build quality has improved some in the past few years :)
     
  3. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    It is a good canoe rack and the canoe is very nice.
     
  4. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    They get around, don't they?:)
    Thank you.
     
  5. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    We put the boat into the water at Perris Lake this morning, and had a blast with it.

    Quick, what's wrong with this picture?

    [​IMG]

    That's right; no PFD. I had to fetch it from the truck, and toss it to him.

    Next, we'll work on teaching him to buckle it. Baby steps....

    [​IMG]

    The grizzled, sea-wise old captain at his post, alert and ready for whatever may happen:

    [​IMG]

    Our destination: a point on the other side of the lake from Sail Cove and Perris Beach, north of Bernasconi Cove.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The old man showing off a little for the kid. I'm very pleased with the maneuverability of the boat; I spun it in a tight circle around that rock.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So of course the kid had to try it standing up, too. His balance was fine, but he was too tall for the short paddles (we have a longer one, but left it home). So I got a few pic's of him just paddling.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Being an evil dad, I also got a shot of him catching a crab....

    [​IMG]

    Back at Sail Cove. If you look above the boat, just left of center of the picture, you can see a dark little clump of trees and bushes on the far shore. That's where we paddled to, and back from.

    [​IMG]

    All in all, I'm quite pleased with the boat. It has a slight tendency to lift its bow and drag its stern, unless you put the center of weight a little farther forward than you think you should, but no big deal. It's very stable for its width. It tips easily to a point, then firms up like a rock right before the white gunwale touches the water.

    And unlike some flat-bottomed, narrow boats, it tracks straight even when it's leaned, with a chine digging in hard. It looks like I got the curves right this time. The last one I built had an unfortunate tendency to circle right when I leaned left, and vice-versa.

    Back on the truck, and ready for the road. I need to build something to cushion my truck cab, and tack some carpet around the cross bar of the rack. Or buy a trailer....

    [​IMG]
     
  6. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    add: the boat is also a little wide amidships for comfortable paddling. If I were soloing I'd set my ice chest and anything else up towards the bow, and scoot back.

    We also need a couple of legless chairs. Back support is nice, when you sit on the bottom. I've seen pic's of some on canoe sites; I'll go look at how they built them.
     
  7. lewisboats
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    lewisboats Obsessed Member

    What about a stadium seat?
     
  8. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    That's the general sort of thing I'm thinking of. There was a guy on a canoeing website who made some with wood frames. They not only folded; the back angles were adjustable. And in the evenings, they used them for kicking back around the campfire.
     
  9. ancient kayaker
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    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    Did you try it with 2 aboard? Knee protection pads are great for paddling canoes, more power is available in the kneeling position.
     
  10. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    We took it all the way across the lake with two of us aboard. But there wasn't a third party, to take pictures of both of us in it....it was about an hour each way, and that's probably more trekking than this boat will normally do.

    I agree that for power and distance, kneeling is the way to go. But the little Blue Bayeau is intended for fishing, not wayfaring. We built it with the backwaters of the Colorado River in mind: places like the Palo Verde Lagoon, Pretty Water, Cibola Lake, Ehler's Backwater, etc.

    I don't want permanent thwarts. They limit weight distribution, and get in the way of shoving ice chests, tackle boxes and camping gear around. I do want reasonably comfortable seating - for paddling around, and for sitting with a line out.

    It's definitely going to need rod holders, though. Some style that doesn't stick up high enough to interfere with paddling.

    It sounds like you're a hard-core kayaker or canoer compared to us; moving your craft across the water is what you do for fun. But to us the boat isn't an end in itself; it's a means to an end. Although I have to admit we built it as much for the fun of building it, as for the use we'll get out of it.
     
  11. ancient kayaker
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    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    -moi? :eek: Actually, I got to admit I probably spend at least as much time building the boats as I do using them.

    -i'm going to pretend that I didn't see that ... :)
     
  12. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    I hope I didn't say it loud enough for the boat to hear.:(
     
  13. muddin redneck
    Joined: Jun 2009
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    Location: Muscatine, Iowa

    muddin redneck DO IT IN THE MUD!!!

    i have been following this thread quietly and watching this boat come to life and i think it has turned out damn fine.
     
  14. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    I made 2 "legless chairs" out of plastic lawn chairs. I cut the legs down to stubs and they work perfectly. It is the rainy season and algae is growing on everything left in the weather. Here is the picture so you can see they are very easy to modify.
     

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  15. ancient kayaker
    Joined: Aug 2006
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    Location: Alliston, Ontario, Canada

    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    Or, for something a little less prosaic -
     

    Attached Files:

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