The Six Hour Canoe
A Flat Bottom Cajun Style Pirogue (pee - row)
I've seen these things on the web and figured that if they advertise that a boat could be put together in 6 hours it might make a nice little short term project. I got a kit from Uncle John's. It was nicely packaged and the pieces are accurately cut and are already sanded. Heck, I might be able to finish thing in less than 6 hours. It should make a great little boat; ought to be just the thing for cruising the bayous of central California searching for the elusive and mythical Viking alligator. Actually, we don't have a lot of water around here and the Kings river which flows nearby is  just a trickle for most of the year and with this little canoe I ought to able to navigate ankle deep water.
This is how it turned out. Note, with a happy 130 pound paddler, the bow and the stern just touch the water. Continue reading to see how it was built.

I can't wait. Let's get started!!!
"Laissez les bon temps rouler"
(lay - zay lay bon ton rule - ay)
"Let the good times roll !!"
Love that Cajun talk!!
Step #1
The instructions say to glue the frames together. Epoxy was used in the interest of strength. It went pretty quickly because the parts were pre-sanded and the joints were marked with matching numbers.

 
Step #2
It wasn't necessary but a router with a round over bit was used to radius the insides of the ribs. Does this count in the six hour schedule?

 
Step #3
Instead of 1/4 inch plywood, (4) sheets of door skin were used and laminated together using epoxy and then the laminations were vacuum bagged. In this view the vacuum inlet connection is shown below the end of the table. A length of PVC pipe has been sawed in half lengthwise and runs the length of the sixteen foot long table to act as a header for the vacuum system.

 
Step #4
In this pic you can see the scarf joint prior to the application of epoxy. The light strip shows the tapered joint that had been made with a belt sander

 
Step #5
After the panels are coated with epoxy, they are laid and aligned on the table with the two scarf joints slightly offset. Under the cover sheet a piece of plastic netting, the kind used to protect fruit trees from bird damage, is laid down. This creates channels so that the vacuum pressure is distributed evenly. A plastic cover sheet is laid down and the vacuum system is turned on. Now it's a matter of waiting until the epoxy is cured

As progress is made I'll be updating this page
This update was done 7/20/2001

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Jim Rudholm
jmrudholm@psnw.com

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