johnmetts
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
Hi Ray,
I'm new at this too and I am not a "cabinet maker" or a finish carpenter by any means. I read Rollin Thurlow & Jerry Stelmok's books and also Mike Elliot's "This old Canoe." All were very helpful. I took my time and made a lot of mistakes. My first one required 28 new ribs, new planking, inwales and out + decks. You will learn that before you do some things you should have done others first. Take your time and enjoy it. I have two canoes in progress now and hope to have both afloat soon. One in the spring and the other in the summer. This site is amazing and there are local chapters with lots of good folks who are willing to lend their expertise/ideas. Some of the folks on here are like me and others are actually good at it! However, all of us seems to love what we do.
Best of luck to you.
John Metts
Northern Michigan
I'm new at this too and I am not a "cabinet maker" or a finish carpenter by any means. I read Rollin Thurlow & Jerry Stelmok's books and also Mike Elliot's "This old Canoe." All were very helpful. I took my time and made a lot of mistakes. My first one required 28 new ribs, new planking, inwales and out + decks. You will learn that before you do some things you should have done others first. Take your time and enjoy it. I have two canoes in progress now and hope to have both afloat soon. One in the spring and the other in the summer. This site is amazing and there are local chapters with lots of good folks who are willing to lend their expertise/ideas. Some of the folks on here are like me and others are actually good at it! However, all of us seems to love what we do.
Best of luck to you.
John Metts
Northern Michigan