greybeard canoes & kayaks

canoe widow [kuh-noo wid-oh]  -NOUN    The partner of a canoe builder whose recollection of his/her spouse is prompted by a whiff of sawdust that emanates from the garage.

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After what seems like an eternity of stripping, the football is now filled. The children will now have to do without the tedious and vaguely distressing jokes (and associated mental pictures) of their father-as-stripper.

I got ahead of myself a little and started planing and sanding parts of the hull. The left side of the picture above shows how smooth the hull will eventually look against the roughness of the right side of the hull. There are minor gaps to be filled, but overall the strips are tight and level.

But there are a few details to complete before I turn my attention completely to planing and sanding. I’m using some of the off-cuts from the main portion of the hull to fill in the bow and stern of the canoe. These shorter pieces will be shaped after glassing the outside of the hull for form the upsweep of the bow and stern.

Once I have these pieces in place, I’ll be able to form the outer stems, but that’s a topic for another day.

Today, I’m taking out a canoe widow.

Tagged: canoe building, cedar strip canoe, cedar strips, greybeard canoes, stem, stripping