Overview

An expert outdoorsman and canoe builder who has supervised the construction of more than 500 canoes, shares his voice of experience in guiding both novice and accomplished woodworkers in building a canoe with easy step-by-step instruction. Covering everything from safety in the boat to shop repairs, Gil Gilpatrick thoroughly explains the whys and shortcuts learned from his experience in the shop and on the water. A Maine guide, he uses his own canoes and tests their performance on the challenging Allagash River every summer. This revised edition includes full-sized plans for 8 well-proven canoe designs, most of which are the author's own adaptations. Step-by-step directions for building a canoe from start to finish are accompanied by more than 100 photographs and illustrations.

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9781565234833

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Reviews

I read it front to back immediately and have returned to review selected chapters since. The directions and illustrations are excellent. Thanks for making your vast experience and knowledge accessible to the rest of us. I now wish that I could take one of those Allagash trips with you.

<p> This book is the perfect book for both first timers and veterans alike. - Graham McCulloch, Publisher, Shortcuts.ns.ca

There are two ways in which people are likely 10 start building a canoe. The first is when they are already accomplished woodworkers and they see the building of a canoe as a development of their interests and skills. The second is when they have little knowledge of woodworking but have an interest in and possibly a better than average knowledge of canoes. This book has been written with both types of reader in mind; it contains a single project with a number of variations. After a brief introduction and a discussion about safety issues, Chapter 2 begins with an examination of some of the variations which are possible in canoe design. For example, the bottom of the canoe may be flat or rounded and it may be built with or without a keel. Four profiles are suggested: General Purpose, White Water, Streamlined and Freighter. These variations are condensed into the 8 designs presented; they range in length from 4.9 to 6 metres. Construction of a canoe is undertaken by first making a strongback and mounting it at a convenient height at which to work. The strongback allows erection of the 'stations' along its length. Full-sized patterns of these stations for each of the canoes are contained in a sealed packet on the inside back cover of the book. These are the key to achieving exactly the shapes required. The pre-formed strips of wood that form the hull of the craft are then laid over and secured to the stations. Once the structure of the hull is complete, including the necessary filling and sealing, the stem is reinforced and the fibreglass applied. The inside of the canoe comes next then the decks, thwarts and seats. Each step in the construction process is explained in easy-to-read text supported by clear photographs. A special chapter is devoted to the making of repairs where these may be necessary and the final part of the book covers the construction of the paddle. The author claims to have supervised the building of some 500 canoes over a period of 30 years. His intensely practical book is a revision of an earlier work which was published under the same title.

Author Information

Gil Gilpatrick has been a Master Maine Guide for over 40 years and taught Outdoor Resources at the Skowhegan Vocational Center in Maine for nearly 30 years. He has written extensively about his experiences in the outdoors and his knowledge of how to build outdoor equipment.

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