by Paul Kessinger
Then I put the sandpaper down. “Nope. This boat is done -- and it’s pretty damn good.”
Building Wee Rob, a glued-lap double-paddle canoe reminiscent of late-19th century British craft, was a challenge and a pleasure. People who don’t build boats have trouble understanding the feeling, but watching three sheets of plywood transform themselves – with a little help – into a beautiful object floating on the water is a wondrous thing. Most of us have a short list of times in our lives when we feel pure, unalloyed joy – weddings, births of children, lottery winning. Boatbuilders get to add a very special day to that list – boat launching, with boat finishing running a close second.
I’m posting this site for folks who really want to build a glued lap boat of some kind. Instruction books and classes will take you a long way, but the boatbuilder working in his home shop with epoxy up to his elbows, tools that aren’t quite up to par and a head full of questions (with nobody there to answer) needs all the help he can get. I’m finding the Web tremendously helpful as I move on to more difficult projects as a resource for materials, designs and techniques. I hope this site will add a bit to the collective wisdom (?).
Consider the following – I would highly advise not spilling a cup of epoxy as your last activity before heading off to bed. Planks should be glued to the BOAT, not the bench. And it really hurts your toe when you kick the tablesaw before getting out a chisel to destroy $30 worth of plywood.
pkessinger@frontmark.com