Beowulf lives!

Decked Canoes, Open Canoes, as long as they're canoes!

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valhallalongboats
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Beowulf lives!

Post by valhallalongboats »

Beowulf: 13' 2" total length. 28" maximum width.

Well,

I got the last coat of resin on the outside of the boat, got the boat off the stations, and outside so I can actually look at it. Its been in a workroom I built that is barely bigger than the boat. I put colored resin on it just to get an idea what these boats will look like when I start getting them out of the mold I will build with this prototype. It is NOT perfect, but its *$!@(*& good enough for now. Man, have I learned some hard lessons building this. As I have progressed, I have come to the conclusion that I took a difficult process and then made n-10th-factor harder. The glass I bought online was simply listed as '6-oz cloth' so I bought 25 yards of it to do the boat. What I didn't read in the fine print is this stuff is 45 thread count. Its like canvas. It is an absolute @&$%$*&, **((#*@@, @@@****!! to work with. But I bought it, so I used it. Won't do that again. My only hope is; now that I've beaten this stuff into submission, and hopefully my boat will be quite strong. If I'm delusional on this point, feel free to leave me in that state. ;) I don't want to know. Some folks on here already heard about my experiences using lacquer to prime the wood (thanks to an old cedar-stripping manual) that was fun to sand off. Won't do that again, either. I bought some bondo to shape some parts that was apparantly past its due date, it never really went off right. Scraping all that off with a razor-blade was AWESOME! Next time the bondo doesn't turn bright red, it doesn't go on the boat.
My playlist on my ipod now includes 'Don't worry, be happy' 'It's alright' '5-dollar fine for whining' and most importantly a little tune by Guns N Roses called: 'Patience'. I advise anyone else with aspirations to get into boat-building to add these songs to thier own playlist.
On the upside, I have some wooden gunnels already bent, shaped, sanded, and stained to go on this beast. They're doug-fir, but that's OK, they don't have to last...though I've built doug-fir gunnels for a boat before and they lasted for several years. Plus, total investment on the gunnels? $7.68 US dollars. I'll take it. I've also ordered some glass with a much lower thread-count for when I'm ready to do the inside. I'm not messing with this canvas-ish stuff again. The next pictures I post will be when I have the inside finished and the gunnels and thwarts installed. Thanks again to Roy, John Kaz, and everyone else who shelled out advice and encouragement! I took a lot of each for me to make it this far. I am in your debt....a long, looonnng, way.

-Rob
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Canoeing isn't a sport...its an art. Unfortunately, I am not exactly Michelangelo.
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KNeal
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by KNeal »

VERY cool! The Hull looks very sharp and slalomesque. Please include a post-paddle report when you can.
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hazardharry
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by hazardharry »

ahhrrgghh! she be a sexy beast ye'built mattie!
if its a flowin' i'm a goin' if its frozen i'm a dozin'
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Mike W.
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by Mike W. »

Looks like a good design!
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valhallalongboats
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by valhallalongboats »

KNeal wrote:VERY cool! The Hull looks very sharp and slalomesque. Please include a post-paddle report when you can.
As soon as I get the inside done I'm putting it on the water. As much as I bitch about what a royal pain in the a*& this project has been at times, (when I was spending a week sanding off the lacquer I seriously considered lighting it on fire ;)) it was amazing for me to sit down outside today and LOOK at it and go, 'holy crap, I designed that, and I built it...and it looks great'. Totally worth every bit of heartache. Thanks everyone for the kind words!

-Rob
Canoeing isn't a sport...its an art. Unfortunately, I am not exactly Michelangelo.
Bob P
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by Bob P »

Looks a little like my Cobra design except 2" wider.
I ended up adding 2"-3" of height to the bow and stern. Even with the bow flare it took on water in the bigger waves, the stern had the same problem. Now the boat is really dry though. Just uglier. :-?
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Image
Bob P
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by kaz »

It looks good Rob, and you're welcome!
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Sir Adam
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by Sir Adam »

Looks GREAT!

The miles of smiles you'll have paddling your own creation will make it all worthwhile. Please do post some on-water images and a review!

To me it has some lines of both the Cobra and Bulldog, but is certainly its own boat! I'm guessing nice primary stability but secondary might be a bit less than you'd think. If you can keep it flat (not lean it) should front and back surf like a demon too.

Just my 0.02.

Have fun, and congratulations!
Keep the C!
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valhallalongboats
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by valhallalongboats »

Bob P wrote:Looks a little like my Cobra design except 2" wider.
I ended up adding 2"-3" of height to the bow and stern. Even with the bow flare it took on water in the bigger waves, the stern had the same problem. Now the boat is really dry though. Just uglier. :-?
Image

Image
I wouldn't call the Cobra ugly...and there are some similarities. The reason Beowulf is 2 inches wider is because I'm six five and 240 lol.
Canoeing isn't a sport...its an art. Unfortunately, I am not exactly Michelangelo.
Bob P
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Re: Beowulf lives!

Post by Bob P »

valhallalongboats wrote:
I wouldn't call the Cobra ugly...and there are some similarities. The reason Beowulf is 2 inches wider is because I'm six five and 240 lol.
That picture is before I added (more-or-less tacked on) the extra depth on the ends. At this point, the boat is 12 years old and has been trashed several times. (Once when a tree fell on it during a mini-tornado, once when the boat liberated itself from the shore when I was doing gate work.) It looks great from a distance... :-?
Bob P
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