I’ve been following WCHA for a couple of years and always appreciated the knowledge, skill and generosity of its’ members. I started building my own boat a couple of years ago but working out of town and other parts of life made progress slow. I am happy to say that I’ve finally completed my first boat! With a form I acquired in Edmonton Alberta, I sourced some clear white cedar, got a few tools and began cutting, shaping, bending and nailing...learning as I went along, particularly from those great books out there often cited by those in the know. I also sourced as much info as I could from the pages of the WCHA and I will always be grateful for the wealth of info in it’s records, and the willingness of members to help a novice. Anyway, the boat is 16 ft, based on Chestnut Fort/Prospector, white cedar planks/ribs, sitka inwales, cherry decks/outwales, ash seats (they look quite pale so I will change them to cherry). I’ve learned a lot from this project and can’t wait to start my second boat...but for now, I’m going to enjoy paddling my first self-built one...I do have an old Bastien Bros that I still enjoy but I suspect that one will be on Kijiji before too long. I should also say that I had a tremendous amount of encouragement from my lovely wife Debra who also bandaged my wounds. Anyway, here’s a pic...
