What a beautiful piece of wood. If you have time someday, it would be interesting to hear how you find and recover sinkers. (I know there's a photo on one of the other threads - looks like a day's work at least).
handmade or deja vu all over again
- Thread starter seedtick
- Start date
it was exploratory, we needed to be sure it ended before it got too close to the bottom of the boat
the cant is soaking wet. Water splashes on us as we chop it out. It would take years to air dry that log so we work it wet. It's easy to work wet, but you have to slow down the drying process to minimize checking. That's why the ends were painted and we routinely coat our dugouts with linseed oil or shellac during the building process. We've worked on logs that have been out of the water for several years and they're still wet as you dig into them.
I don't have any idea how long it would take to fully air dry a 3 or 4 foot diameter log, so i have to assume most were worked wet.
We do stick stack and air dry our planks (one year per inch of thickness) before building a plank boat. It alows the board to stabilize and the glue and varnish to stick
graybeard - i'll put something together and put it in the general section
the cant is soaking wet. Water splashes on us as we chop it out. It would take years to air dry that log so we work it wet. It's easy to work wet, but you have to slow down the drying process to minimize checking. That's why the ends were painted and we routinely coat our dugouts with linseed oil or shellac during the building process. We've worked on logs that have been out of the water for several years and they're still wet as you dig into them.
I don't have any idea how long it would take to fully air dry a 3 or 4 foot diameter log, so i have to assume most were worked wet.
We do stick stack and air dry our planks (one year per inch of thickness) before building a plank boat. It alows the board to stabilize and the glue and varnish to stick
graybeard - i'll put something together and put it in the general section
When you get both sides curved to match the top profile. Turn the cant upside down and layout the bottom. We aim for at least 12 to 14" of flat across the bottom.
Now you have to round off the bottom edge to the sides. This is typically roughed out with a hatchet.
Refined with a drawknife.
And finished with a plane.
At this point of the build we aim for approximately 90% completion of the outside before starting on the inside. This allows us to make small refinements to the outside based on what we run into on the inside
Now you have to round off the bottom edge to the sides. This is typically roughed out with a hatchet.
Refined with a drawknife.
And finished with a plane.
At this point of the build we aim for approximately 90% completion of the outside before starting on the inside. This allows us to make small refinements to the outside based on what we run into on the inside
Sorry for the foot dragging but I've been in Houston for the arrival of my new grandson
this is the slow part of the build, so it does take a while - especially for a couple of old geezers who can't swing heavy tools like we used to
Anyway....Shape one side of the boat to what you think is pleasing to the eye and duplicate that shape on the other side.
We're only looking for about 90% completion of the outside at this time. This gives us some wiggle room in case there are some surprises when we start on the inside and the final shape needs to be tweaked a bit.
With the outside at 90%, flip the cant over and start on the inside
First step on the inside is to hollow out wood at each end. This is to help us manage the egress of the water from the wood. Water is trying to leave the wood primarily from each end. So we've got a lot of water trying to burst out through those ends. A way to shortstop it is to dig out a cavity about 10" from each end. This lets the bulk of the water try to escape into the cavity from the center of the boat. We don't care if the wood splits from the center of the boat to the cavity as that wood will be discarded.
this is the slow part of the build, so it does take a while - especially for a couple of old geezers who can't swing heavy tools like we used to
Anyway....Shape one side of the boat to what you think is pleasing to the eye and duplicate that shape on the other side.
We're only looking for about 90% completion of the outside at this time. This gives us some wiggle room in case there are some surprises when we start on the inside and the final shape needs to be tweaked a bit.
With the outside at 90%, flip the cant over and start on the inside
First step on the inside is to hollow out wood at each end. This is to help us manage the egress of the water from the wood. Water is trying to leave the wood primarily from each end. So we've got a lot of water trying to burst out through those ends. A way to shortstop it is to dig out a cavity about 10" from each end. This lets the bulk of the water try to escape into the cavity from the center of the boat. We don't care if the wood splits from the center of the boat to the cavity as that wood will be discarded.
If you don't mind my asking, how did you learn all this? This kind of wisdom must have been worked out over generations - it is great that it won't be lost.
for friend Keith - spend the last 8 or 10 years....
for me spend the last 6 years..........
tracking down old boatbuilders and try to get as much information as you can from them before they die
May sound kind of gruesome but much of the information we have was never written down, it was all in the heads of the old time builders.
Most will share information, some won't
We can also make take-offs (measurements) of existing boats to determine design parameters
for me spend the last 6 years..........
tracking down old boatbuilders and try to get as much information as you can from them before they die
May sound kind of gruesome but much of the information we have was never written down, it was all in the heads of the old time builders.
Most will share information, some won't
We can also make take-offs (measurements) of existing boats to determine design parameters
with a cavity cut out at each end, start chopping out the middle
leave a couple of inches around the edge, to be refined later
leave a couple of inches around the edge, to be refined later
are you wetting that log occasionally or does the wood discolour that fast in open air.
What a wonderful thread, thanks so much for keeping up with it.
What a wonderful thread, thanks so much for keeping up with it.
the log, even though it's been out of the water for several months, is still wet
so wet in fact, that water splashes out on our hands and faces as we chop
from day to day the very thin top layer will dry out but as we chop down, wet wood emerges
the dark coloration that you see along the edges is the result of theshellac that we add to slow down the drying and prevent cracking
we don't shellac the wood in the middle because it will be removed
so wet in fact, that water splashes out on our hands and faces as we chop
from day to day the very thin top layer will dry out but as we chop down, wet wood emerges
the dark coloration that you see along the edges is the result of theshellac that we add to slow down the drying and prevent cracking
we don't shellac the wood in the middle because it will be removed
thanks guys for sharing the progress . real interesting stories. i,m glad some of us are retired. :wink: :lol:
Really coming along, what is the purpose of the places along the sides you skipped while bringing the sides down to the thickness you want? Also, it looks like you chopped a little deeper where your depth measurement stick is standing. I guess you do that in a couple places and then work to that depth? Is that an alternate method as opposed to drilling the hole and plugging later? One more, in real working time, you know, not counting this, that, and the other distractions, how much time to this point? Any rough guesses? Once again, thanks for sharing this with us.
you're really paying attention
the places we skipped on the sides will eventually be the supports for the seat
you're correct about the sticks, if you measure from the top down instead of the bottom up, you don't have to drill holes
so far we've had about 35 real working days - not counting getting the log, filming and other big distractions.
a working day for us - due to small distractions - is typically 2 to 5 hours, so we probably have something like 100+ hours in it and will probably have 150+ hours in it at the end
we tell folks that it typically takes about a month at full time to make a dugout and this one is pretty much on that track
the places we skipped on the sides will eventually be the supports for the seat
you're correct about the sticks, if you measure from the top down instead of the bottom up, you don't have to drill holes
so far we've had about 35 real working days - not counting getting the log, filming and other big distractions.
a working day for us - due to small distractions - is typically 2 to 5 hours, so we probably have something like 100+ hours in it and will probably have 150+ hours in it at the end
we tell folks that it typically takes about a month at full time to make a dugout and this one is pretty much on that track
When you get the inside about 90% dugout, flip it over and finish up the outside
Friend Keith is real good at rounding off
when done, just slap a coat of linseed oil on the outside to keep it from drying out too fast
turn it back over and start back on the inside
Friend Keith is real good at rounding off
when done, just slap a coat of linseed oil on the outside to keep it from drying out too fast
turn it back over and start back on the inside
I haven't posted anything on here except one editorial comment on one of seedticks posting...... So if you don't mind I want to actually post my thoughts on here about what all of us are watching and really enjoying.
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Seedtick & Friend Keith......
I want to thank you for taking all this time while building that beautiful boat the way they did in the early days and sharing the information ( History in progress ) with us. It sure looks labor intensive , even , the information and pictures you are posting on here , to be shared with and enjoyed by everyone is priceless.
In these fast times of World Wide Communication and microwave meals you are letting us see the history and to revisit the past when they cut down a tree , took a lot of time to hollowed it out , shape it and have a boat from a Cypress log.
Something a few folks know how to do today and you are the keepers of the early boat building history, the really early boat builders. Please Continue....The process is extremal interesting and the questions being asked offer more information about the process on how to make a Cypress Dug Out Boat.
I don't think any of us will be doing it but that knowledge is something we can think about when we make our boats , enjoying the easier building process. :wink:
Chuck.........
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Seedtick & Friend Keith......
I want to thank you for taking all this time while building that beautiful boat the way they did in the early days and sharing the information ( History in progress ) with us. It sure looks labor intensive , even , the information and pictures you are posting on here , to be shared with and enjoyed by everyone is priceless.
In these fast times of World Wide Communication and microwave meals you are letting us see the history and to revisit the past when they cut down a tree , took a lot of time to hollowed it out , shape it and have a boat from a Cypress log.
Something a few folks know how to do today and you are the keepers of the early boat building history, the really early boat builders. Please Continue....The process is extremal interesting and the questions being asked offer more information about the process on how to make a Cypress Dug Out Boat.
I don't think any of us will be doing it but that knowledge is something we can think about when we make our boats , enjoying the easier building process. :wink:
Chuck.........
I think it was Dizzy Dean who used to say, "We're rounding third and heading home"
Probably don't have much more than a five gallon bucket of shavings left to remove
even got the seat roughed in
the seat ended up being the outside slab of an old weathered cedar tree - here's a shot of the back side (or outside of the tree)
Probably don't have much more than a five gallon bucket of shavings left to remove
even got the seat roughed in
the seat ended up being the outside slab of an old weathered cedar tree - here's a shot of the back side (or outside of the tree)
finally got the dugout out on the maiden voyage with its new owner - Chef John Folse
he looks pretty happy
he looks pretty happy
There is no way you would ever get that smile off his face and I can't say I don't blame him for smiling. What a boat.
In Summery ........... Can you tell us the length , width and height of the pirogue plus a guesstimate on the weight since I see he is not car topping it.
Chuck.
In Summery ........... Can you tell us the length , width and height of the pirogue plus a guesstimate on the weight since I see he is not car topping it.
Chuck.