The Wood and Canvas Canoe

Canoes one of the best ways I know to experience nature. From a comfortable canoe seat, you can almost always see more than a hiker, for example can. You would see more from the seat of a canoe than you could from a small airplane, or even a helicopter. Since the beginning canoes have been widely used in the Adirondacks, but it is not often said what goes into building a good wood and canvas canoe. In high school I built one, and was astonished by the amount of time that goes into building just one canoe.
The first hurdle is finding the proper wood. Cedar is used for the ribs and planking, while the stronger gunwales are made of ash. While the gunwales can be made of other similar hardwoods, there is really no substitute for cedar for the ribs and planks. Cedar is light, very resistant to rot, and above all lightweight. The only problem is that "clear" cedar, cedar without any knots or uneven grains, is extremely hard to come by, and therefore fairly expensive. In the picture below, steamed cedar ribs have been around the canoe mold. In the 48 total ribs, we broke perhaps ten due to grain irregularities.

After all of the ribs have been bent successfully, they need to be evened out on the outside, so that the planking will rest on neighboring ribs equally. Using a home made sanding block the whole canoe is worked over leaving the builder with very sore chest muscles. The next task is the planking. Planking takes a very long time, since every one of the planks has to be cut and fit perfectly over the complex shape of the hull. The planks are fastened to the ribs with approximately 3,000 canoe tacks, that each need to be nailed in from the outside then "clinched" or bent over on the inside so that there are not poking the paddlers. Clinching usually leaves a dents all over this ribs, so a thorough sanding of the inside is required. 

At this point, even though most of the wood is already in the canoe, it weighs only about half of what it will upon completion. It is so light that it can be easily picked up with only one hand. After the planking has been completed, the canoe is removed from the mold, and hung in a canvas harness for several days until the canvas takes its shape. Several coats of canvas filler are then worked into hull, again leaving the builder with sore chest muscles. These layers, will lend the canoe a substantial amount of its weight and all of its ability to keep out water. 

While the filler is left to dry for a few days in the sun, all the finishing work takes place. Seats are built from sturdy maple and then cained. Thwarts (the pieces of wood that span the gunwales) are fashioned and four coats of varnish are liberally applied to the inside, making the canoe much heavier but giving it a nice glow. 

After a few coats of classic, dark green canoe paint and the installation of protective metal strips over the stems, the finished canoe is ready to be taken on an adventure. 

There is really no substitute for a wood and canvas canoe. Metal canoes are less comfortable, and make thunderous noises every time they are tapped. They are difficult to repair, and don't look very good on the water. Plastic canoes, although somewhat better, are still made of plastic, and do not have the same feel as a a solid wood and canvas canoe. With proper care, wood and canvas canoes can last many years, and usually only require a re-canvassing to be as good as new. 

NOTE: Unedited draft. I have a writing center appointment on Thursday 4/23