Canoe Build: Weekend Seven: Part 2 Final Day

So, our final day came along...it was hard to believe. We enjoyed many light-hearted final moments with Roger when he kicked into his goofy mode! Again though, it was bittersweet as we had enjoyed the process and didn't want it to end and therefore, it was a quiet ride home.

We are very excited now for spring as we look forward to testing our boat out!

Thanks to Roger and my family for working hard as a team to make a beautiful canoe that we hope will be well-used, creating many memories for years to come.

Canoe Build: Weekend Seven: Part 1

I'm going to stretch 'weekend seven' over two posts as they are the last related to the building of our family canoe...which of course is bittersweet.... yes, the canoe is done, but we didn't want the process to end so soon. It went by fairly fast for us. It is quite amazing that such a lovely piece of functional art could be produced in a few weekends!

These images show that we were at the stage whereby we only had a few things left to install on the canoe.... here, we were installing the yolk and handles (i'm sure there's a more technical term, just can't remember) and we had to varnish the hand-caned seats...that varnish had to dry overnight and then we went back to install them the next day...

The car ride home both days of this weekend was somewhat sombre... mixed feelings of excited, proud and sombre I guess... thinking of follow-up projects for now and the spring! What to create?

Canoe Build: Weekend Five, Part 2

So, I made a mistake and forgot to add some photos taken on New Year's Day when our friends Anna, Rick, Aidan and Juli came to visit us. :(

Rick and Jeff went to check out the canoe and do some work on it and Anna and the kids came along later. I wasn't expecting to see the canoe like this. When I had left her last, she was shiny! Today, she had parts attached (gunnels), tools inside and sanded surfaces looking rough. The gunnels were screwed in-as in holes put in our baby! Now, I don't want to sound melodramatic here, but when you have built and babied a boat for the first time-and perhaps you are like me and don't have any experience with this type of process-you feel a twinge at the thought of a power drill, drilling holes in your artwork! :) I'm glad I wasn't there when Jeff, Roger and Lucas did it! I know it had to be done and it looks beautiful-but at the time, I felt it. Don't laugh at me!

It was nice to share the process with our friends-to have some company making the canoe. I know that Anna and Rick can truly appreciate it for what it is and all that has gone into it. Perhaps one day, our canoe will grace the shores of Algonquin or Georgian Bay when we can all be together.

Thanks for coming!

Canoe Build: Weekend Six

So, if you are looking at these pics and thinking that our canoe looks almost done, you are right. We are winding down and may just be done next weekend! It has gone by faster than we expected. Jeff is already lamenting the end of the project. But, he's happy that this process has rekindled his inspiration to work with wood.

Right now, we are working on caning the seats... yesterday, Jeff broke a piece of cane at a loop, so we went back to Roger to see if he could help us fix it...starting all over was not an appealing prospect. But, Roger saved the day and helped him out. Roger's motto is just that about anything can be fixed! He put Jeff at ease and he came home and made a lot of progress.

We have yet to varnish and add the last touches to the canoe.

Stay tuned for the final product!