Building the Sassafras 14 Canoe

Building A Stitch And Glue Canoe

I am not a boat builder by profession. But since January 2008 I have been building a Sassafras 14 lapstitch canoe using plans from Chesapeake Light Craft. The 14 foot plans are no longer available on their web site (only the Sassafras 12 and Sassafras 16 canoes), I used the plans and instructions found in Chris Kulczycki's book - The Canoe Shop.


It has been a long process, involving many "breaks" from building while life interfered. But it has not been difficult, starting with a sheet of plywood and using simple power tools the stitch and glue format makes it rather easy to build. When I get the urge or have some free time I head out to my garage and do a little more work to make a beautiful wooden canoe. The latest goal is to complete the canoe in time for the first trip of a trip in 2012 2013 the near future!

 

 

 

Year Two of Building the Sassafras 14 lapstitch canoe.

Good, level sawhorses will help a lot.
Good, level sawhorses will help a lot.

Sawhorses.

The first task for Year Two of building the Sassafras 14 canoe was to build a pair of sturdy sawhorses. They needed to be level and strong since pretty much the rest of the canoe building would be done on them.

 

      Make the height comfortable for you to work at.   Protect the floor from the mess to come if needed.  
   

Important step, making everything level and symmetrical.
Important step, making everything level and symmetrical.

Shaping the canoe.

With a level platform to work on I spent a lot of time tightening the wire ties to bring the planks snuggly together. You also have to make sure the Sassafras is level and symmetrical, or apparently you'll be paddling around in circles.

 

Looks good to me?   Everything needs to be checked twice.   Eyeball it to make sure it looks good.
   

The shape looks complicated, but it was easy making the bulkheads.
The shape looks complicated, but it was easy making the bulkheads.

Installing the bulkheads.

With the canoe leveled and the right shape it was time to make and install the bulkheads. The measurements are in the plans and it was easy to cut them out of the plywood. I stacked two pieces together and was able to cut both at the same time. Then they get wired in place. Drill for your drain plug before you wire everything in place.

 

Plotting the bulkheads was straightforward.   I cut out both pieces at the same time.   Bulkhead positioned to wire in place.
   

The stems hold the ends together, do a good job but it doesn't have to be pretty.
The stems hold the ends together, do a good job but it doesn't have to be pretty.

Filleting the stems.

To have the canoe maintain it's shape the first step is to epoxy the stems and bulkhead. The inside of the bulkhead won't be seen so it's a great place to learn how to use epoxy and fiberglass. Especially if, like me, you've never done it before.

 

      Check everything is aligned before you start epoxying!   You want enough epoxy for strength, but not too much for weight.  
   

Bulkhead securely in place.
Bulkhead securely in place.

Filleting the bulkheads.

The bulkheads get a fillet as well. On the outer face of the bulkhead you will want to do a good job as it will be seen. Try to smooth the epoxy out to a nice shape before it sets up. I didn't and the surface was very rough and almost impossible to sand smooth.

 

Tape the edges so you get a nice clean fillet.   Now is the time to smooth the surface of the fillet.   Keep an eye on the shape of the canoe, make sure it's staying level.
   

I taped the inside of the seams to prevent leaks.
I taped the inside of the seams to prevent leaks.

Preparing to fill the seams.

Epoxying the seams is what makes the canoe keep it's shape. Turn the canoe upside down, tape areas you don't want epoxy on and make sure you are happy with the shape!

 

Canoe upside, leveled off and ready to start.   A shot of my epoxy station.   The tape really helped avoid having runs on the inside.
   

Seams filled with first bead of epoxy.
Seams filled with first bead of epoxy.

Filling the outside seams.

Most sources tell you to use a syringe of some sort, I found these ones with a big bulb on the end and they worked well. Run a bead of epoxy as deep in each seam as you can get it.

 

You're trying to get deep in the seam.   Watch out for those sharp wires.   Try to be neat, it will avoid sanding later.
   

Dozens of holes in your canoe!
Dozens of holes in your canoe!

Remove the wire ties.

After the epoxy in the seams has cured you can go around and remove all of the wire ties. The canoe can now hold its shape. With the wires out of the way you can now fill the seams fully.

 

Carefully untwist and wiggle out.   The start of a smooth hull.   A bucket of scrap metal.
   

Patched wire holes in hull.
Patched wire holes in hull.

Fill the wire holes and seams.

After getting the wires all pulled out you fill the leftover holes in with epoxy. Some people mix sawdust or wood flour to colour match the plywood, but I didn't bother as I plan on painting my hull.

 

Some wire can't be removed, sand them flush.   Again, I taped were I didn't want epoxy to run.   The seams should be full, double check now.
   

Mahogany door jamb cut down for gunwales.
Mahogany door jamb cut down for gunwales.

MacGyvering gunwales.

Since getting 16 foot length mahogany stock would be tough (and pricey) I found another way to get it. Door jamb material that I had carefully removed during a house renovation. Came in very handy!

 

Don't waste anything, it'll come in handy some day!   A couple of passes through the planer and they are good to go.  
   

Pieces ready to glue up. 8:1 scarf ratio.
Pieces ready to glue up. 8:1 scarf ratio.

Scarffing to get 16 feet lengths.

Of course it's a little more work to turn short pieces into a 16 foot long board. But it's not very hard and saves you some money. I don't think anybody will even notice the joint.

 

Scarf joint setting up. Lots of clamps again.   More ingenuity to get a 18 foot long flat surface.   Wax paper used again to keep the epoxy to where it should be.
   

Gunwales ready to go.
Gunwales ready to go.

Rounding over the gunwale edges.

Now that I had gunwales long enough I ran them through the router to round over two edges. It was a job to get enough support on both sides of the router - right out the garage door!

 

Needed 34 feet but my garage is only 20 feet long!   Finally, gunwales long enough to fit the canoe.  
   

Start at the center and work your way to each end.
Start at the center and work your way to each end.

Installing the inside gunwale.

Starting at the centre of the canoe, epoxy the gunwale to the inside aligning it to the top of the plank. Cut to size and do a dry run through to make sure you know what you're doing and have enough clamps.

 

Dry fit to make sure everything fits.   You'll need more clamps for doing the real glue-up.   Repeat on the opposite side.
   

Leave the Outwale a little long and trim later.
Leave the Outwale a little long and trim later.

Installing the outside gunwale.

What you did on the inside has to be repeated on the outside of course. Try to have the top edges of both gunwales even with the top of the plywood to avoid having to do any sanding to level it out.

 

Ensure the tops of both gunwales are even.   Try to get a little epoxy squeeze out to make sure you have good coverage.  
   

Sand as you go, but now is the time to get it right.
Sand as you go, but now is the time to get it right.

Preparing outer hull for fibreglass.

Now's the time to get out the sander and sandpaper and give the outer hull a good going over to prepare for fibreglassing.

 

Nobody likes sanding but it's an important step.   Round the gunwale ends to your liking.   Clean off all the dust, the next step is fibreglassing.
   

You should have smooth lines and surfaces.
You should have smooth lines and surfaces.

Sand some more.

When you think the hull is looking good, sand a little more. This is your last chance.

 

Looking good. Other than the little wave that developed.   After sanding you get to clean up the sawdust.  
   

Saturate all of the cloth but not too much.
Saturate all of the cloth but not too much.

Fibreglassing the canoe bottom.

To save weight only the first panel gets fibreglassed on the outside hull. This is the area that will be hitting bottom and rocks etc.

 

Cut your fibreglass to just slighty larger than the panel.   Tape the edge to prevent epoxy from spreading where you don't want.   It looks impressive when you get that first epoxy coat on.
   

All the business edges are protected now.
All the business edges are protected now.

Fibreglassing the canoe stems.

The stems take lots of abuse, ramming beaver dams and what not, so they get additional fibreglass. This cloth should be bias cut.

 

Cut the fibreglass with the weave on the diagonal for extra strength.   Even out the wet edges to decrease the sanding needed later.   You could pretty much paddle it right now!
   
     
   

Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3