new pirogue

[keith]

me and seedtick went to the store for some lumber. the price was right but you had to load it yourself

here the sawed planks are laid-out and cut-out. these planks are 1" x 18" x 15 feet.

now we have the stem piece in on the bow

with the bow glued and nailed ( no glass ) we are pulling the stern together

with the jigs in place ,we are still pulling the stern together

 

[Kayak Jack]

Those are some serious planks! Solid wood, ehh - no ply?

Our Michigan rivers have some sinkers in too. Helluva logging industry (read rape of the land) here in the late 1800's. A few craftsmen have been mining them and making things too. Mainly dust collectors, though. Not many boats.

 

[hairymick]

G'day Keith,

You have just impressed the heck out of me. :shock:

Do you mind if I borrow your piccies and post them on an Aussie forum?

 

[bearridge]

Friend Keith,

I am lookin' forward ta the end on this one. Mitey purty wood.

respectfully
bearridge

I distrust camels, and anyone else who can go a week without a drink. Joe E. Lewis

 

[seedtick]

hey Jack,

We've been looking for some of them plywood tress so we can build an UJ pirogue but all we pull up is this durn old sinker cypress. Guess there wasn't that many plywood trees around here back then :lol: :lol:

 

[bearridge]

nice hat :wink: What iz the water beyond the trees in the pichur with ya standin' next ta the sinker?

regards
bearridge

Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. Aristotle

 

[keith]

this is going to end up being a Uncle Keith's marsh pirogue made from a cyrress log that was about 800 years old and had been under water for a few houndred years. the log was cut into 1-1/8" planks and we planed 3 down to 3/4". the head stems were cut from 4" x 4" x 18" long. the sides will take from 3 hours to 3 days to bend. we use NO steam, hot water or anything, as if, just cold bend and let the wood relax and bend some more, let it relax and bend some more untill its bent. we dont want to screw up the oil in the wood, that new 200 year old stuff dont have no oil in it yet.

Mick take what you want and thanks, its a compliment. you want see many of these. later Keith

 

[bearridge]

Friend Uncle Keith,

Bout how long will the boat be 'n how much will it weigh?

regards
bearridge

In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time. Edward P. Tryon

 

[keith]

Mr bearridge we're going into Lake Maurepas, its the small lake next to Lake Pontchartrain, next to New orleans. fuel cost so much to get out there,we stay about a week or so.
the pirogue is suppose to be 15 feet long, 28" bottom beam and 42" at the top, that should give me about 30 degrees on the side @ midship. its going to have 3 floor ribs, one in the middle and one under each seat. there will not be any side ribs, the seats will hold the sides open. being 28" wide on the bottom requires some support for the floor. as for the weight 3+ 18" x 15 ft boards are heavy, I'll let you know when I'm done, but I'll guarantee it will be buoyant. Later Keith

 

[catfish]

Seedtick & Keith , you guys better keep a close eye on your wood. Some of these geezers will try to con you out of it . (chuck) Better be glad Mick lives a few from us. :lol: :lol:

Nice looking wood.

 

[Kayak Jack]

hey Jack,

We've been looking for some of them plywood tress so we can build an UJ pirogue but all we pull up is this durn old sinker cypress. Guess there wasn't that many plywood trees around here back then :lol: :lol:

Our local nursery sells seed for plywood trees. I'll send you a packet.

I'm lucky, cause I live in a good town. The hardware here has post holes, polka-dotted paint, and smoke-shifters for sale. Getting in some bacon stretchers after the holidays. We're moving right along here.

 

[keith]

we have both ends (head stems) installed.

we now have 3 jigs installed

we got the jigs worked into the right spot and letting the wood relax

Later Keith

 

[Kayak Jack]

Keith,

I like your work; would like to make shavings alongside you one day. But, I probably never will get to. So, I'll have a drink for you tonight. (You'd best appreciate my sacrifice here!)

 

[aeromotorwindmill]

Boards

Any Idea where I might could buy a couple of those slabs, I have another boat planned I want to build and would like for it to be out of some of the old growth cypress ( sinkers )

 

[keith]

ha K-Jack, I do appreciate you and all of your sacrifices. come on down, we're about 30 miles from piper / Ponchatoula. we use to have a lot of that marine plywood here from when they made those boat in New orleans for the WWII. the salt water bugs must have killed the trees because 50 years later, its all gone. just like the cypress, it might come back, lets hope so.
and cat, me and seedtick just leave those big cypress boards laying under a oak tree, we're kind of geezers too, it takes 2 good men to pack them off but they could get the little stuff we use for boats, we keep it closer to the house and that dog, he'll watch it.
ya windmill we got or can go get another log of wood, like we said the price ant bad but the shipping will kill you. more photos tonight we're working in the rain. later keith

 

[Kayak Jack]

Heck, Windmill, the town of Georgia, Tennessee can't be all that far from Keith's Bayou. A day's drive, a cuppa "Luuzzianna lemonade", and yer on the road for home.

Kick Piper in the leg on your way by. Heck - kick him twice. Once for me.

 

[a Bald Cypress]

cypress

Keith,

Just a question or two , maby three or four. How do you find the cypress that you recover?. Isn't it mostly sunk into the mud and muck of the bottom?.

Do you own or hire a rig to retrive it ? A 15-18 foot log must weigh a great deal, do you own a wood hauling truck or hire it out ?


However y'all do it. Y'all build some fine looking boats.

 

[keith]

we got every thing in the right place so for. we got 3 ribs in the botton ( and the bottom is up) and the 2 seats are in (glued and nailed and the nails are going to stay in, my choice)

we got the bottom on

this one should have 2'nd

 

[keith]

I can only do one thing at a time, the pictures kill me, I dont do it enought.
Bald, most of the stuff is in the mud. "they" been pulling them logs out for more than 50 years, they do got all the easy ones. some times a big storm will roll one up, we rine the banks then.
me and tick give-up good jobs to work our butts off doing what we want when we want. we dont want another job, we dont want/own a rig. we like people, we got friends, we help them and they help us. what more can I say, life is great.

 

[seedtick]

hey Bald

once folks see this picture, they're not much interested in a picture of a four or five foot diameter log

yes the sinkers are heavy, they're more dense than water (or they wouldn't sink). Coming out of the water they weigh a little better than 5 pounds per board foot. So a 1" X 24" X 25' board is in excess of 250 pounds. It's about half that weight when dry.