After canoeing around for a couple seasons, I’ve gotten pretty good at piloting my little boat with a standard canoe paddle. However, the designer of my single-man canoe highly recommends a double-ended canoe paddle. I decided I might as well give this a try. I tried a kayak paddle once or twice. It never quite… Continue reading My Canoe Needs a Paddle
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… Continue reading Trim and Finishing My Canoe
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… Continue reading My Favorite Calculator (HP 48G)
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… Continue reading Installing Fiberglass
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… Continue reading Getting My Canoe Ready for ‘Glass
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… Continue reading Pauline Gourlay, 1919-2020
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… Continue reading Stripping My Canoe
New Project: Building a Canoe
After finishing the launch of my podcast and my book, I felt like I could relax for a bit. It was almost a month before school starts, and I was feeling pretty good. Then a voice in my head said, “Hey! You have free time! Let’s do stuff!” So I thought about what I might… Continue reading New Project: Building a Canoe
A boycott of one
I try to be a conscientious shopper. I know that my little bit of capital doesn’t make a company rich, but I also know that I’m not the only person out there who cares where their money goes. Together we most certainly can get the attention of businesses and let them know that we want… Continue reading A boycott of one
First post at Unspeakable Vice
I just posted the first episode (well, the 0th episode) of The Unspeakable Vice Podcast. Check it out!