Category: Uncategorized

  • Trim and Finishing My Canoe

    Trim and Finishing My Canoe

    Installing the trim on my canoe was probably the most rewarding part of the process. This is where I could really customize things and make it my own design. All the trim is cherry, sourced from a local purveyor of fine hardwoods. I almost was able to source the cherry from the backyard of my […]

  • My Favorite Calculator (HP 48G)

    I have been taking an advanced statistics course, and most of the number-related work is done in SPSS. However, we occasionally need to check answers or do simple calculations outside the software. My $5 four-function calculator is nice, but after a few taps it gets frustrating to me. And, oddly, I have been unable to […]

  • Installing Fiberglass

    Installing Fiberglass

    At this point in the process, a lot of people watching my work said, “Oh, cool, it looks like you’re almost done!” Well, yes, it looks like that. I mean, it looks like a canoe, for sure. But there was still a ton of work to do. Sanding was a big job, but working with […]

  • Getting My Canoe Ready for ‘Glass

    Getting My Canoe Ready for ‘Glass

    When we left off I was nearing the end of stripping my canoe. I only had a few pieces left, but of course the details always take the most time. Day Eight: The Final Strips Working from the keel line out now, the strips went in very easily. By design, I didn’t have to bend […]

  • Pauline Gourlay, 1919-2020

    Pauline Gourlay, 1919-2020

    Pauline Gourlay died on October 14, 2020 in Dearborn, Michigan at the age of 100. She was born Pelagia Bogush in Detroit on November 8, 1919 to John Bogush and Paraskievia Labaz Bogush. She was the fifth of six children, and she died as the last remaining sibling. In a family that immigrated to the […]

  • Stripping My Canoe

    Stripping My Canoe

    Day Three To be honest I’ve lost track of the days, but think of them as phases and a gauge of how long things took. The inner stems dried and cured overnight, then I installed them (form and all) onto the strongback. I used a saber saw and an angle grinder to shape the stems […]