Brad Story - Ranger

I finally finished my first canoe, a 15' Ranger. It took me four months including the time to make the paddles and seats. I ripped, beaded and coved all the cedar (I'd use a surface planner next time). If I would have had perfectly uniform strips it would have saved time throughout the entire project. The gunwales and trim are Honduran cherry. The seats and thwart are honey locust and cherry. The paddles, decks and seat spacers are lots of pieces of walnut, cherry, honey locust and maple. The "eyes" in the front deck are natural knots in the walnut filled with epoxy resin. For the rope ties at the bow and stern I used 3/16 brass stock. I drilled and taped it to accept stainless steel bolts then shaped and polished it. I have read four books on building canoes and by far yours was the best. The rest leave out too many details. A suggestion ...when making the outside stems, if the last strip is the same material as the gunwales, the color of the trim will match around the ends. Brad Story, Webster Groves, MO