Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Has anyone built a cedar strip canoe?

I've been wanting to build one for 5 years now, have the books, and most of the tools. I just need some motivation.

Denny

Denny, I've never done that. What type cedar wood?

white cedar.

I seriously toyed with the idea about 20 years ago. There's an outfit in Duluth that sells a real nice kit and has great designs.

The name escapes me...

I'd think a shaper, or good router table would be a must.

Bead and cove type routing from what I recall.

Canoe Tripping forum.......those guys are up to speed on many styles and latest materials.

For me, building would be more fun than paddling it!

Built an oak strip canoe for my senior project in high school, won the state fair and sold it for a nice price. Not sure how similar what you are doing and not sure how much I remember, lol.

A oak canoe? How heavy was it?
I couldn't imagine portaging a oak canoe in the BWCA.

Problem with the last one was , every time the radio hit some bump and grind music, it stripped and sank! Never again. (Though the tips floating on the water were nice....)

I have the one my late brother built, they are very nice and good looking out on the water, he made a woven seat for it, that you can tie on in what ever position you want, good for when you have two paddlers, or move it up when just you.

Wasn't to heavy, the oak was 1/4" strips, with a bead on one end and cove on the other. The fiberglass it was coated with is what gave it it's strength. Never even put it in the water, although I wanted to, but when your offered $5000 for it at the fair, the 3 of us that built it took that in a heart beat!

IIRC, one of the History Channel "Mountain Men", Eustace Conway, built a cedar strip canoe in one of that show's episodes.

My good friend in Abilene, KS, built two of them back in the early 1980s and we used one of them on float deer hunt on either the Solomon or Smokey Hills River in 1985. I remember that it was a heavy SOB, much heavier than any of the Old Town wood and canvas canoes that I learned to canoe in.

If you have fairly good woodworking skills and good plans, tons of fun. Attention to detail and precise cutting and setup of the frames will make for a fair hull. If you do not have a table saw and router table, buy the pre-machined strips (typically western red, white cedar very expensive). Fiberglassing is a sticky PIA but again, slow precise work and follow directions. And above ALL else, you must like sanding, and sanding and then some more sanding. Good luck, you will love the results, it is hard to hate a 22 lb canoe.

Here is a link to a school I teach at, they have some classes that might get you that motivation to start...


https://northhouse.org/

Go to Duckworksmagazine.com Thet all are ametuer boat builders and you can find all you need there. free site

A 22 lbs. canoe made from anything would have to be pretty small. I have an Old Town Pack canoe that is short and unstable, but light at about 33 lb.

EDIT: Changed the weight of the Old Town Pack canoe to 33 lbs. from 45 lbs.

This guy is an old Toolmaker buddy of mine from way back. He built a cedar canoe that he has hanging from the ceiling of his house. I wish I could find a picture of it.

http://freeplans.com/ww/Article/Virgil-Johnson-Building-a-Houseful-of-Beautiful-Fu-4292.aspx

The one I was going to make was around 52 pounds. I wish I would've done it.