My little boats stirred a friends memory of this.

"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod"

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889. The original title was Dutch Lullaby.
*from WIKIPEDIEA

Maxfield Parrish

His and Hers

So Liz's boat is finished.  I really like it.  All the wood and varnish make it look special.  I am eager to see her in it and on the water.

I decided to change the rowing situation on the pram for the 4th time, I think.  Brought it up to the shop and worked on it then took the opportunity to see both boats together.

His & hers.

In some ways the boats are very similar and in others so very different.  I have enjoyed watching the evolution of my building style and methods.  I suppose I am giving myself a education that moves in baby steps over a long period of time.  I have built 3 boats over a year and a half, all of similar type, but each different in the particulars and the intended use.

Pram & Double paddle canoe

I took off the red oak oar locks that were on the pram for 2 reasons.  First, the red oak just looked out of place on the boat overall.  Second,  If I was to use the double paddle option then they would be in the way.  I had always intended for the oar locks to be removable so that either rowing or paddling could be chosen.  Now I have a 1-1/2" x 3/4" x 12" thole pin that bolts to the frame with a bolt and wing nut for easy removal.

My fleet is growing.  Seems a bit crazy at times to have so many boats, but I am sure they said the same thing about Imelda Marcos and her shoes, and we know she was as sane as any of us, right?  I think that building boats is like any addiction, "Hi, my name is Richard and I am a boat-aholic".  Actually it feels more like a therapy, the way painting a canvas or throwing a clay pot, or playing guitar, are therapeutic as well as artistic.
I think I am ready for the next phase of my apprenticeship.  I am not sure what that is but it feels like I have done the "One sheet of plywood, flat bottom boat" and of my own dimensions and could move on.  Maybe a multi chined boat, maybe a stitch & glue, definitely a longer boat.
I like that these boats are inexpensive to build, really cheap, and use very little "milled" purchased wood.  The plywood is a guilt trip for me to some degree.  It takes a bit of manufacturing and shipping and cutting to make a sheet of plywood, as well as some chemicals that aren't so nice.  I think these boats already have a limited life span because of the type of plywood, glue and finish I am using, so I go ahead and use the Plywood.  If I could build a traditional planked boat, or dug out, all with found materials I would, but then again, I don't know that I could build the type of boats I would use with that method, so then why build at all?  I have built 3 boats and used 5 sheets of plywood.  I think that's OK.  I don't feel too badly about it.
I think about building for other people but I don't know that anybody would want one of my boats.  They are easy enough to build and I think people should just build their own if they want won.

shiny

Liz's boat.  I am pretty happy with the way it came out.  The test will be how it works for her.

first coats of varnish

The floors have gotten varnished too.  I decided to just varnish the entire boat.  There is something very, very pleasing about the wood grain and the gloss finish.

So the boat is basically done, but for a few more coats of "shiny".

I like that this boat, these boats that I have built, won't last for ever, maybe not even the rest of my days.  the wood and the varnish allow for some moderated aging.  All things should eventually crumble and decay.  The pleasure of building a boat is such that I think lots of people should get the chance to do it, so the idea of handing down a boat to another generation becomes less appealing to me.  Let my children have the experience on their own.  Let me have it again when the time comes, when these boats are beyond repair.

fiberglass

Got the bottom glassed up today.  I used 3 oz. glass clothe which is half the weight of what I have previously used.  I chose this weight because I wanted to toughen up the bottom but wanted the boat as light as possible.  3 oz. is very thin.

3 oz, glass clothe is very thin.

 I masked off the bottom of the boat and fitted the glass to the bottom.  Usually I wet out the wood with epoxy first, but this stuff is so thin I decided to just pour the epoxy right on top and then work it out and thru the clothe.  This seems like it should be fine.
As I was doing this I decided to put grounding keels on the boat.  These will give some small protection when on the ground and will give the frames inside the boat something to rest on other than the thin bottom.  They may also add a bit of directional stability, or tracking.

Glass on grounding keels epoxied and weighted in place.

I am just using epoxy to attach the grounding keels rather than gorilla glue and screws as I have done in the past.
I didn't get a chance to trim the extra clothe when the epoxy was partially cured, as I usually do so I may have to do a bit more sanding after I cut of the excess.  I am busy for a few days so all should have plenty of time to cure.

Ready for Glass Armor

I glued up the gunnels and sanded them all down.

Gunnels On.

cedar floors/seat are 3/8" by 1-1/2" by 24", screwed to frames.

I then decided to make the floors using the cedar stock I had.  That turned out pretty nice I think.

I have finished off any shaping that needed to be done and sanded the whole boat down.  I suppose it is ready to be finished off.

It's a canoe!

Now I can see what the boat turned out to be.

When I was done I walked past a board that was leaning against the wall and I got a wild idea.  I drew out a shape for a greenland style paddle and cut it down to size with a draw knife and a spoke shave.  It isn't a good piece of wood and not very practical but it was fun to do and let me see how it looks on the boat.

Ready to paddle!

I am not sure about the finish.  I'd kind of like to leave it all bright, varnished, but I am not sure how that will hold up.  I was very careful to be neat about pencil marks and scratches this time and it certainly could just be varnished.  I will glass the bottom and then decide.
I think I have decided not to put a keel on it.  I think it will sit deep enough in the water to not need one.  I can change my mind later if it turns out not to track well.

inwales

I started putting in the inwales yesterday.  I decided that rather than have them meet up flush to the thwarts and breasthooks and stem, I'd have them tapper off at their ends.  This makes it a little easier and in the end will look just fine.

the inwales (3/4"x1/4" yellow pine) will be glued in as well as screwed thru to the
outwale with 1-1/4" ss screws.

 These inwales are mainly there so that I can fasten thru them to the out wale and make a sandwich of the plywood sides, for protection and strength and the layers of different wood will look nice when finished.

the small pieces in the bow will just be glued in place

The thick gunnel adds a visual heft to the boat that it didn't have before.

Another rainy day

Another rainy day makes for very leisurely work on the boat.  Today I caulked the seam between the stems and the sides on the inside, so that I might attach the breast hooks and not have to work around them later.

Seams caulked with clear (it dries clear) house caulk.

 I then proceeded to attach the breast hooks that are now shaped and sanded.  They are attached with 4 screws each and G-glue.  I probably should of varnished them before attaching but I do like to do things the hard way sometimes, or so it seems.

breast hook attached.  Note the shape of the stem.  I have since cut
down to the dado.

I also cut the stems down so that they are 2 inches proud of the sheer and matching the sheer line.  The cedar is such a soft wood and shapes easily, but that means it will also get abused easily.

Almost ready.

I guess next I will put in the inwales.  I decided to do them in sections so each side will have 5 separate pieces.  Once that is glued in place I will screw thru it to the gunnel.  This will keep the plywood and cedar sandwiched between the tougher yellow pine.