“Das Boot” – 1

I began to build my second canoe on 10 Sept. 2012.  I enjoy building these things.  Don’t know what I am going to do with it, maybe put it on the water?

The first canoe I built I call “The learning Curve,” as I learned so much from it.

This second canoe is a ‘river canoe’ and is 5 feet longer than “The Learning Curve.”  I have decided to call this one, “Das Boot.”

These are the forms being set.  They are spaced 18″ apart and determine the shape of the canoe.

Here are the first strips going on.  For this canoe I am using redwood strips, with walnut accent pieces.  The first ones are put on with screws; the subsequent strips are glued and clamped.

Here the strips continue up the sides.  As they transition onto the bottom, they will close to what looks like a ‘football.’  Here you can now see the ‘football.’

Yesterday, 4 Oct. 2012 I completed the strips.

This shows the herringbone pattern I used on the bottom, and the last piece about to go in.  Each piece had to be custom cut to meet the ever-changing lengths and angles.

And finally:

The anvil is a specialized tool I use to hold the last strip in place as the glue sets.  To date I have 71 hours and 15 minutes in 24 days invested in this project.