On the water
28/05/14 05:23
A phrase that is often printed in the magazines I read goes something like this: “There is no feeling like taking to the water in a boat that you made yourself.” It is true, I suppose. I’ve been paddling and rowing handmade boats for more than 20 years now. My first homemade boat, a 17’ canoe, was a project started simply because I couldn’t afford to buy a boat. I bought cedar boards from a lumber mill, cut them into strips on my table saw, and fitted them together around a set of frames to craft a canoe. I followed a set of plans that I bought through the mail from an advertisement in the back of a magazine. My results were acceptable. There were a few uneven spots in the milling of the cedar. I used butt joints because I didn’t have a router to put cove and bead edges on the planks. I used a knife, a chisel and a small block plane to get the edges to fit and sometimes they didn’t fit quite properly. My mistakes were covered by a single layer of fiberglass cloth embedded in epoxy. I built the canoe outdoors on a covered patio. I still paddle that canoe occasionally.
It was a thrill to paddle that canoe for the first time, but there was also the sense that I could have done better. I saw mistakes that others didn’t notice. And I learned quite a bit about the shape and design of boats in the process. By the time I built my second canoe, I had obtained a router and a table so that I could mill coves and beads into the strips. They fit much better and even though that boat is made out of the lowest grade of fence cedar, so it is full of scarf joints, the results were very gratifying. That boat was the lightest and most nimble of the craft that I have made. I suspect that as I age I will begin shedding boats. That second canoe might be the last to go as it is the lightest and easiest to get to and from the water. It is, however, strictly a solo canoe and part of the joy of being in a boat is sharing it with someone else.
After the second canoe, I guess the bug had bitten and I just kept making boats. I swamped a canoe in the Puget Sound, with no injuries or trauma. I just got wet. The result was my first kayak. An expedition kayak was my first venture into skin-on-frame boats and I made enough mistakes with that one that I’m eager to make another to correct those mistakes.
Along the way, I have obtained some boats that were made in factories. I have two moulded plastic kayaks. One is a very inexpensive little boat that I don’t have to worry about encounters with rocks and gravel and other things that scratch the varnished surface of my wooden kayak or would tear the fabric of my skin-on-frame boat. The other is a play boat designed for floating in creeks. It is fun in the surf at a beach as well. And I have a treasured 1960 Old Town canoe that was headed for the garbage dump when I rescued it and restored it. It is a beautiful boat and paddles wonderfully. I have nearly as many hours invested in that restoration as I might have put into building a new boat.
I seem to run in streaks. Last year was a summer of paddling canoes. I made a few paddles in kayaks, but most of the time I paddled my canoes in the lake closest to our home. I was working hard on my freestyle paddling and each adventure in the canoe was filled with lots of things to learn. I bought a new paddle and made my first paddle from local spruce. I’ve still got a lot to learn about paddle carving, but it is a new challenge for this phase of my life.
I haven’t made it to the lake as much this year. As I mentioned yesterday, I have a cluttered calendar, but the boat that is out and ready to go is a small rowboat that I made a couple of years ago to celebrate the birth of our first grandchild. The boat is named “Mister E” after Elliot. I like puns and all boats are a bit of a mystery.
The Mister E was constructed from plywood according to a design by John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft. It is similar in shape to the Whitehall boats of New England with a plumb bow and a distinctive wineglass transom. The boat feels light and nimble under oar and makes good time in the water. I have two moveable seats and foot braces and set oarlocks in three different places so the boat can be rowed solo or tandem. The boat carries 450 pounds, so I can take a couple of other people with me. After all it was made to take a grandson out for messing about in boats.
I’ve found that there isn’t much appreciation for rowing craft in our area. People have asked me why I don’t mount a motor on the little boat. I guess they have never known the thrill of rowing a nicely-designed boat with plenty of glide. I can row all day long at a moderate pace in that boat. Even this spring, with my body out of shape and carrying a few extra pounds from the winter, I can row for an hour without the need of a break. I guess that when I’m out on the lake for recreation, I have no need for speed and I enjoy the peace and quiet. I’ve watched others with their speedboats and jet skis and I’m sure they are having fun, but I don’t have to mess with fuel other than an occasional sandwich. I can launch my boat and row halfway across the lake in the time it takes them to fuel, launch and start up their boats.
It does feel good to be out on the water in a boat I have made with my own hands. But it also creates a bit of a desire to start building a new boat. After all, we have a granddaughter due to be born in the next couple of weeks. And I think she deserves a boat with her name on it as well.