Here are some recent images Mike sent me this morning, accompanied with a text account;

Hello gang,
Busy, busy I have been keeping myself occupied this winter.
Here are a few pics showing my progress on my Osprey cedar stripper. I’m on the final stages of trim and sanding to the of start varnishing.

--I started to weave my cane seat but had to start over has my first passes of weaving was to tight….errrrrrrrrrrrrr.
This makes it to hard to make weaving passes.

--I steam bend a round nose on my deck to bring the gunwall around the nose as shown. I like this touch and will do so for future canoes!

--Before I could finish the gunwalls I had to locate my removable yoke to cut slots in the inner gunwalls. I made a jig as shown to run my little plunge router back and forth to cut the slot. The same jig was used to cut the same slot on yoke. The yoke hardware shown is used to make the yoke easy to remove for canoeing and install to portage.

Last night I did put on a second coat of varnish on the wood trim only. After I have the wood trim sealed well, I’m going to try to spray 3 coats on the inner/outer hull….
Will see how this goes! I am making a dust proof spay room in my shop to do so. I hate to brush,,,,I hate to paint….I do not paint!!!! Did I say I hate to paint?

Cheers and hope to paddle soon.

Mike B






















Nice looking yoke Baby!!

Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

Mike, your attention to detail is just astounding. Right now, I'm drooling over your sick looking deck plates, handles and that amazing yoke. Oh and then there's the canoe as well :P

This canoe is simply fine woodcraft at its best!!!

Btw, when are you showing this? I definitely want to see this boat in action and hopefully take 100s of pics of it

Ditto from me Mike, and the bent wood nose is a touch of class. cheers Tom

That's a fine looking piece of work Mr Burns.

You know, if you're REALLY bored next winter I could come up with another woodworking project to keep you busy!

karior

That's really coming along for you. Nice work!

Wow! Top shelf stuff. I can't imagine the pride with which you'll be paddling that baby around.

Hey Mike, It looks great. I definitely want to see the finished product.
Dave

This canoe ain't a canoe until it is baptized on the White Partridge Express to see if it can stand up to the rigors of Algonquin Park.


Bo

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Markus, Only thing I did not make was the Yoke! I purchased this from Laurie Kelly at Slipstream. I heard so much praise that his are the best, I had to get one....

Noooooooooooo....No WP for this canoe Bo! To rough a ride on the wagon for my ride! You would have to feed me a case of beer to make this happen!

My Swift Osprey will be at Lake of 2 Rivers at end of July for a week...Free rides!

First time to hit the water will be at the Pinery Provincial Park at the June/July long weekend...

I don't think it will do for Markus and I and all our gear in May!

Cheers
Mike

Awesome looking canoe Mike! Great job!
Looks like a nice shop you there too!
Enjoy.

Wow!!!

You mentioned that it might not be large enough for Markus and you and gear?


You mean you would put packs and other yucky stuff in this pristine shell


I figured you would be wearing those felt booties and using neoprene shaft
covered paddles .
It's the air lift to the centre of lake to avoid shore launching
that sounds expensive


All joking aside, that is one sweet canoe and I expect you and she will
have many a nice ride in the years ahead

Rac n

Hi Mike,

Looking very nice. Like the caps on the bow and stern. Was that your idea or is it how they recommend to handle it.

Must have taken some steaming to get that bend very impressive.

Can't wait to see it on the water. Nice work. Next time post some snaps of the spray booth and a full length shot so we can admire her curves.

Sal

Just out of curiosity:

1) You call it an Osprey, so does that mean you are following the design of the Swift Osprey solo canoe?

2) How much do you figure it will weigh when it's done?

3) How much time does this take? There are some shops around that not only build canoes, but have these canoe building courses, for lack of a better word, where you build your own. Doesn't look much cheaper than buying it...but it'd be very rewarding to paddle something you made yourself I'm sure. Do you think these sorts of things are something that a beginner could sign up for with any realistic hope of getting a useable canoe out of it, or are the first few attempts usually write offs?

Karior

Sal:
I never seen the laminated caps like mine..I like to try different methods.
the wood was planed down to under 1/8" to bend. I steamed them for a 1/2 hour with no problems bending.
Yep, will take pics of my spray booth fer sure with the finish project.

Karior:
-The name is borrowed from Swift with similar traits.
-The weight will be in the 40-50 range...fills like high 40's now.
-time they say about 150 hours, but this is my first and I took my time with well over 300hr I think..I never punched in to keep track though!
I started this baby 9 months ago.
-Anyone can build one with basic tools. I know someone buiding a canoe outside in Ottawa with no background in woodworking!

Raccon:
For you, a drink for a ride sounds fair?

Cheers
Mike

Fantastic workmanship! This looks like a beautifull canoe. As for spraying it I think your on the right track. I have had some experience in auto body and paint and have also used my spray gun for various wood working and furniture refinishing projects. Using a compressor set at 40-60psi and a good quality gun will yeild a beautifull finish. Rental shops can supply all the necessary equipmant if needed.