How to Make a Canvas Canoe
Canoe building is a popular activity for boating and construction enthusiasts. It is often carried out during the winter months, when water is frozen over and outdoor activities are limited. Because of the existence of more technologically advanced materials, canvas canoes are a largely antiquated type of boats. Nonetheless, they are light and mobile, and make an interesting building project.
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Instructions
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Find or make a pattern. Before you start building a canvas canoe, you must have a design in mind. If you are an experienced boat builder and are familiar with appropriate ratios and pieces of a boat, you can design your own. If you are new to canoe building, you can buy patterns from places like Northwoods Canoe Company, or find free plans online.
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Assemble the pieces of the canoe. Based on your pattern or design, cut the pieces of the canoe from your chosen wood. Pine is often used for canvas canoe frames. If you are using a kit, your pieces will come pre-cut. Common pieces used in the construction of a canvas canoe are a keel, rib bands, gunwales, forms, bow pieces, outwales, cockpit frame and deck braces.
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Frame your canoe. Attach your keel and stem/stern pieces (one for the front, one for the back) using a half joint. Next, attach your forms to the keel. These will form the shape of the canvas canoe. Attach two side strips to form the top edge of your canoe. Bevel the ends so that they can be nailed to the stem and stern on both ends of the canoe. The two strips will fit to your forms.
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Add side strips. Take your long, thin side strips and nail them to the stem and stern post at each end. The number of strips will vary by boat, but a good general number is 10. The strips run the length of the canoe. At this point, install gunwales, outwales, cockpit frame and deck braces.
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Install strengthening ribs. The ribs of a canvas canoe are installed on the inside of the boat, and further reinforce the structure. Because the boat changes shape from end to end, the ribs will change based on their location in the canoe. Ribs near the center of the boat will have a rough U shape, and ribs closer to the ends of the canoe will have a shape closer to a V.
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Cover the canoe with canvas. Flip the canoe frame over, and pull your canvas tight across the frame. Secure it first with tacks at each end, and then add temporary tacks at intervals across the frame. Be careful to stretch the canvas and get rid of wrinkles or folds. To harden the canvas, coat it with several layers of boiled linseed oil, allowing each coat to dry fully before adding the next.
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Paint your canoe. Choose a paint color for your canoe, and paint directly onto the canvas. Use water-resistant paint and add two coats to the bottom.
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