This tutorial is a great resource for somebody building a wooden canoe. It is not the only thing that the do-it-yourselfer needs to build a wooden canoe. It would be impossible for me to accurately guide you along the path of building the station molds in simple layman terms. When building a boat hull, the task of lofting is cumbersome to the savviest of boat builders. Lofting is the science of using mathematics to scale out all the station molds so they will form the proper shape in symmetric form. This is the hardest part of building a boat and I have no clue how to do this correctly. So I did what the smarter do-it-yourselfer boat builders do, I bought a set of plans for a wooden canoe from Bear Mountain Boat Shop that was designed by Steve Killing. Steve knows how to design canoes and he includes full size station mold patterns. I have included a button for their web page on the navigation bar located on the vendors and purveyors web page for your convenience.
Who you buy your boat plans from, or which model of boat you decide to build does not really matter as far as this tutorial is concerned. What will matter is that you have a set of plans that has full size station mold and stem mold patterns. Without those drawings this tutorial is simply informational at best, but virtually useless for helping the do-it-yourselfer actually build a wooden canoe. If you have a set of plans and are ready to go, the instructions to build an elegant boat in your own woodshop are here at your disposal. Try your hands in my most advanced project to date with bead and cove joinery and fiberglass reinforcement.
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In the interest of safety, remember to always wear safety glasses and keep a tidy working area by cleaning up the sawdust as often as you need to.
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