Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/06/25/arts-crafts-build-a-can.html
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I’m wondering how Nick Offerman would react. Would he admire the resourcefulness, or condemn the choice of materials?
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a little of both I would think. He is a big fan of people making their own stuff and getting back to building things. I think he would applaud the fact that he made this instead of buying it and then say “ugh, varnish, really…ugh”.
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I don’t know what’s in the kit, but in my case, it had better end with 6 cans of FlexSeal.
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I love a good canoe trip.
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I have a buddy who built his own kayak from aluminum tubing, highway signs, kevlar and a lot of hand stitching. It’s an amazing boat but it breaks down a lot.
Me? I bought a second hand ocean kayak, milk jug plastic rotoformed, big, heavy, tough. We’ve dropped a different buddy’s same brand plastic yak off the top of his jeep once and the thing just bounced…
Once landed at a pier and hauled out. As we were watching some otters play, two little old ladies paddled up and one got out of her boat. I offered to help her with her wooden kayak, she accepted. When I lifted it up the thing was amazingly light! Spruce mainly, some other woods, beautiful inlays and layering. She was in her 80s and her sons had made it as a birthday present. “Ma’am you have some awesome sons!” “Indeed I do!”
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My ancestors along the Columbia River used to make canoes by taking a tree trunk, and carving it.
The process mostly lost, there has been a revival. Indeed, one reason to make canies traditionally is to visit other people, there are events where grouos of canoes go visiting.
If I was building with modern matetial, I’d copy George Dyson’s baidarka work.
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Looks like a classic cajun pirogue.
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'Round these parts, they like to race log canoes
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I was going to scoff at his “quick canoe” clearly being a multi day affair with many many hours of tedious sanding, but according to the plans you can put one of these together in about 4 hours. Presumably the 4 hour version will look a lot rougher, but it’s much closer to what I’d consider “quick”.
Why do I have a hard time thinking of a flat-bottomed boat as a canoe? I certainly don’t seem to take issue when the bottom is nearly flat. Something about the square corners rubs me the wrong way.
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Jeezus, how much epoxy did he use? That’s probably more than half the entire cost right there.
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I think he had the epoxy donated. He griped about the cost of the plywood and then just started slathering every surface with a thick coat of epoxy so I’m guessing he wasn’t paying for the epoxy.
If I built this I’d be tempted to leave most of the “temporary” screws in place, especially the ones getting covered in fiberglass and painted. Maybe it’s better to remove them, but I like the idea of having some positive connection besides just the epoxy.
In any case this isn’t a canoe I’d take on a whitewater excursion.
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Back in the 1980s my father built one a pirogue out of plywood, similar to the one here. I took it out on the Mississippi several times when we lived in Galena, Illinois. It was a good little boat, even if it only lasted a few years. I moved to Germany, and my parents to Texas, and the little pirogue was scrapped.
I now badly want a canoe. I would live to go down the Isar until it meets the Danube in a boat that reminds me of my French Canadian ancestors.
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marine ply might oops help
my late dad made a ten inch reflector with steam treated ply
(quite a job)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarchi/2186333210/in/album-1170254/
it did not float but the mirror was sort of
The designer’s website says “Boats have been built for budgets of $130 – $250 and building time has been as short as 4.5 or 5.5 hours from two experienced builders, though a nice job will take around 20 hours for a first time builder.”
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There’s a more traditionally shaped one from the same designer, though it’s a bit more complicated to build:
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Boats from 0 to 120ft are built without screws or nails. Just glue.
Check for the rivets of the airliner next time over an ocean 
And wood is way easier to glue than aluminium!
Every fastening is a means for water to get into the structure.
If glue is adequate (a 50 year track record) then fastenings aren’t needed.
Best wishes
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One 5’x10’ sheet of coroplast, a few cable ties, some plastic conduit, a couple of elastic cords and some silicone.
