|
From birchbark to plywood
This spring I'm starting my canoe project. Living close to the Rockies, there is not too much water
around, but still enough to make this project worthwhile. It's a good Canadian tradition to build your
own canoe. Over the years, this has been done by many in birchbark, wood and canvas,
fiber-glass and today's most popular cedar strip with epoxy.
My plans are a bit different and I like to explain here why. I like the shape and looks of the
classic planked canoes with ribs. Probably because they have more rhythm than the modern smooth
hulled strip epoxy canoes. And although I like the color and pattern of wood, I also think there
is nothing wrong with a canoe painted in a nice bright color.
Further, when you visit one of today's wood selling stores, it's tough to find a straight piece
of timber. Which is a development you can fight by going to expensive specialty stores, but
isn't it much more interesting to see what you can make with what's regularly available? Didn't
the Indians build their canoes too with locally available materials? So, what for them was
birchbark and white cedar out of the forest will for me be plywood and glue from the local
home improvement store.
The goal of my project is to build a canoe with a classic design, but using modern
easily available materials and the corresponding low costs. The name of the canoe I have
already decided on, it can only be "La Mina", applicable for a laminated plywood construction.
At the same time it's a little
in Dutch.
Please come back and stay tuned . . .
|