WoodenBoat School

Canoez

Paddle Bait
Just returned from teaching a class on Mac McCarthy's Wee Lassie and Wee Lassie II up at the WoodenBoat School - the place is great! Anybody else ever been up for one of Jerry Stelmok, Rollin Thurlow, or Ted Moores classes?

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I attended one of Steve Cayard's classes on building a birchbark canoe but not one of Rollin's, Jerry's, or Ted's classes.
It was a great experience and I learned a lot.
-Mark Z.
 
Those are sweet little boats. I've always loved the design. Any thoughts on how they would be as lapstrake or cedar/canvas?

I built a grand total of two strippers and found I cannot tolerate the hardener for the epoxy. Even totally covered and with a proper mask I still puff up like a blowfish. So, I'm thinking of alternative methods.
 
Those are sweet little boats. I've always loved the design. Any thoughts on how they would be as lapstrake...

Well, seeing as how the original boat they were modeled after was lapstrake, I'd say that style canoe would be delightful built as such.

Attached, the ABM's example of the Rushton Nessmuk model, same as the Wee Lassie (also a Nessmuk model) at the Adirondack Museum from which lines were taken and strip versions subsequently derived from.
 

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If epoxy isn't your thing, I'd agree with Dan's lapstrake note. Another possibility would be a skin-on-frame construction.

I must say, though, I think I'd look back to the original design and not Mac McCarthy's re-interpretation for the shape of the canoe for either of those construction methods - the boat has a lot of hollow in the shape of the bow and stern and could be difficult to form.
 
Thanks Dan and Canoez for the input.

I knew that the pedigree of these little boats were the Rushton models but wasn't sure how much they have been modified from the original. I've not yet taken the time to go over the offsets from the Rushton book to find out how they differ.

That's a good point about the hollow in the bows possibily being an issue. I made up the station forms for the McCarthy Wee Lassie II back when I had hopes of doing it cedar/epoxy and thought I'd just use those for a lapstrake version but I might have to tinker with that plan a bit.

Anyways, I didn't intend to hijack the thread. I just thought it might be an opportunity to get some feedback from someone who had made one of these little beauties.
 
Scot T said:
I knew that the pedigree of these little boats were the Rushton models but wasn't sure how much they have been modified from the original. I've not yet taken the time to go over the offsets from the Rushton book to find out how they differ.

Don't waste your time working with the drawings in the Manley book except in case of last resort... there are lots of problems with those. Fortunately, for the Wee Lassie, excellent drawings by Dave Dillion are available from the Adirondack Museum
 
Dan Miller said:
Don't waste your time working with the drawings in the Manley book except in case of last resort... there are lots of problems with those. Fortunately, for the Wee Lassie, excellent drawings by Dave Dillion are available from the Adirondack Museum

None of the stuff from Manley. Were the hulls he took the lines from just that distorted? We re-lofted a Sairy Gamp from Manley and it was a pain...

I assume that's also available from the Adirondace Museum?
 
Canoez said:
None of the stuff from Manley. Were the hulls he took the lines from just that distorted? We re-lofted a Sairy Gamp from Manley and it was a pain...

I assume that's also available from the Adirondace Museum?

The problem with the plans in Manley is that they simply were not done properly and well. The boats themselves are fine. No one, to my knowledge, has documented Sairy Gamp. She actually belongs to the Smithsonian and is on permanent loan to the AM.
 
Dan Miller said:
The problem with the plans in Manley is that they simply were not done properly and well. The boats themselves are fine. No one, to my knowledge, has documented Sairy Gamp. She actually belongs to the Smithsonian and is on permanent loan to the AM.

So tell me, then - if nobody has documented the Sairy Gamp, where did the lousy lines in Atwood's book come from? Is there any intention to take good lines from her or would that take the permission of the Smithsonian?

On an aside, I've heard tell of copies of Rushton's design notes for some of his boats being available somewhere - I assume in a controlled research library somewhere. Is this true?
 
We're drifting, but since its your thread and you asked...:D

So tell me, then - if nobody has documented the Sairy Gamp, where did the lousy lines in Atwood's book come from? Is there any intention to take good lines from her or would that take the permission of the Smithsonian?

Obviously, Markkula took the lines at some point for Manley's book. Given their accuracy (or rather, lack thereof) and lack of details, I would not consider this documentation. Have a look at any of the Dave Dillion plans from the Adirondack Museum (Wee Lassie, Ugo, the guideboats, etc.) to see what a proper documentation of a small craft is like. Anyone interested in diving into the topic should latch onto Boats: A Manual for their Documentation by Lipke et al.

You would have to contact the Adirondack Museum's Curator of Boats (Hallie Bond) to find out the more about whether anyone else has taken lines and if so, if they are available. She would also be able to inform you as to whether you could do so, or if permission comes from SI, or whether there are restrictions. As I recall when I took lines off another boat in their collection, I had to sign a non-commercial build-only-one release.

On an aside, I've heard tell of copies of Rushton's design notes for some of his boats being available somewhere - I assume in a controlled research library somewhere. Is this true?

That would be his "Books of Knowledge". The originals are in the St. Lawrence County Historical Society. A copy on microfilm is at the Adirondack Museum library. There are offsets and spilings for his series of pulling boats (Numbers 101-112). The only canoes recorded therein are the Vaux/Vaux Jr. and the War Canoe. There is some information for other canoes (keel widths, for example) but not enough to build from.
 
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