BIG 2 CANOE
ANNOUNCING: a 7 Day CANOE BUILDING CLASS
working in the woodstrip-epoxy environment and
USING A NEW STAPLELESS METHOD
Course Instructors
WHY USE A NEW METHOD ?
Bob, Brian and other volunteers demonstrate canoe building using the stapleless method at the annual Marshville Heritage Festival in Wainfleet, Ontario- a small town located in the Niagara Peninsula region of Ontario.
The canoe is then completed with students during the winter, to be raffled the following year. All proceeds go to the Marshville Heritage Festival Building Fund. The quality of the canoes has earned them a reputation for high quality, artistic craftsmanship, with a big “OH WOW” factor.
Brian and Bob have been encouraged to pass on their method of canoe stripping to others who are anxious to achieve a new level of quality in both appearance and durability.
THE HAPPENING
So, with encouragement from Ron Frenette (of Canadian Canoes), they will be conducting a seven-day intensive canoe- building course: May 23-30, 2010.
THE INSTRUCTORS
Brian Heaslip, a retired fire-fighter, has a passion for wood-working and wood-carving and has built eight canoes in the past six years, most of them using the stapleless method.
Bob Arthur, a communication trouble-shooter, is another passionate wood-worker and wood-carver who built his first cedar strip canoe, using his own stapleless method, in the summer of 1994.
WHAT IS THIS NEW METHOD?
Bob’s method of building stapleless hulls has evolved from using bricks and water bags for weights, advancing to homemade C-clamps and wedges,
to the current method of straps and bungee cords with custom-made hooks.
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Below, in this July 2008 image, the viewer can observe the newest version of the staple free construction process. Many of the parts were cut using accurate CNC technology.
The canoe under construction is a 15 foot Prospector RANGER and was built at the WCHA Assembly at Trent University.
To obtain informaion about the STAPLE FREE KITS, click on the next line:
Together, these fabulous innovative methods have produced extremely tight seams, held closely to the stations, and require minimal filling prior to fiber-glassing.
There are no staple holes to contend with, or look at.
Brian has come up with a “wiggle stick” that helps join the bead and cove seams so tightly that they snap together cleanly.
Bob’s latest stapleless method, using the straps, holds the canoe strips to the frame and to each other so well that they feel the method is absolutely superior, in all ways, to any other existing method. Working together over a number of years, Brian and Bob’s emphasis has been, to constantly improve their process and finished product. It became evident that the “C”-clamp / wedges process has inherent limitations. In order to address these, this new process evolved. Although the stapeless method has been slower and more labor intensive in the past, this new process is so much faster and simpler, that it is now possible to offer this new stapeless method in the “Week Long” format.
The overall visual appearance is absolutely astounding .
There is little doubt about this latest concept for stripping up a cedar strip canoe.
RECOMMENDED
Ron Frenette (of Canadian Canoes) is very enthusiastic about this new method that raises the bar for quality canoe construction, somthing that all hobby or production builders can achieve. It goes well beyond home-made C-clamps and wedges.
THE COURSE ...
... will teach the stapleless method with an extremely high emphasis on quality workmanship and artistic finish. The course will complete canoes to the point of being ready for final sanding and varnishing.
Two canoes will be built in each class with five or six people working on each canoe. Students may enter a raffle to purchase the finished canoes for the price of materials.
The finished canoe will not only perform well, but will be a work of art on anyone’s dock or living room wall.
The courses will be held in the Village of Wainfleet, on the Marshville Heritage Festival grounds, a collection of fifteen historic buildings, offering a very peaceful and spacious setting for building classic canoes.
PREPARATION
Canoe plans and guide lines are from Ted Moores’ Canoe Craft book (required reading)
(available from www.bearmountainboats.com ),
and the canoe kits are from Ron Frenette of Canadian Canoes (www.canadiancanoes.com ).
THE LOCATION
Wainfleet Township is on the south shore of the Niagara Peninsula between Dunnville and Port Colborne, 45 minutes from Hamilton, 45 minutes from Niagara Falls. A map will be provided.
There are several motels, restaurants, camping on the lake and lots of great people in the area.
COURSE FEE
Cost: $900.00 per person.
For more information contact Bob Arthur at: big2canoe@lastmilenet.ca
