Building my first canoe, HELP!

frosty · Post by **frosty** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:41 pm

Hey,
I just found this forum and thought that maybe you all would be able to give me a little bit of advice. I am trying to build a canoe with an aluminum tube frame (I'm a metal worker) covered with canvas. I would have to be able to have hold 2 people plus camping, fishing, and/or hunting gear.
Does anyone have any designs or ideas for something like this or should I just buy a kit 'cause this wouldn't work

?
Thanks

Brian Eager · Post by **Brian Eager** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:09 pm

Sure, you can build a canoe that way, after all, the folks who were in charge of this land before we came along built them with wood frames and bark or skin coverings, worked good for a thousand or so years.

Actually, there are other fabrics you may want to consider that have better abrasion resistance and/or waterproofness (is that a word?) Check the Fold-Up design details for fabric information.

If the canoe will be portaged a lot, build as light as you dare, weight is the enemy of the on foot traveller.

frosty · Post by **frosty** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:26 am

[quote="Brian Eager"]
Actually, there are other fabrics you may want to consider that have better abrasion resistance and/or waterproofness (is that a word?)quote]

thanks for the information,
I was going to coat it with some sort of finish such as shellac.

upspirate · Post by **upspirate** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:24 am

Welcome,
If you dig deep into this forum there were some links somewhere to some sites that covered "skin" covered canoes & Kayaks

frosty · Post by **frosty** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:49 am

okay, I'll do that.
Would 15 feet by 3 feet by 16 inches be a good size?

upspirate · Post by **upspirate** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:00 am

This was the post subject under human power that had the "skin" type links:

GEODETIC KAYAK