A few more glue tips

Tip: Use a short piece of 2x4 to keep the boat up above the adhesive on the chine log/sheer clamp while you are nailing it from the middle. This allows you to keep the glue from getting smeared all over the hull panel.

Tip: Clean it up when you are finished nailing. We got sidetracked a crying, hungry one year old and left a couple of good sized smears of adhesive on the hull panels. A full paint job is obviously in store for this Peace Canoe!

Adhesive Advice

The wedges that CLC uses to pack the chine log sections and the sheer clamps make nice adhesive spreaders. Today we are spreading the adhesive prior to nailing. I think this is going to give us better adhesion.
Tip: Use the included wedges/shims for adhesive spreaders.

Trust me, get the gloves!

Do yourself a favor, get a box of gloves for anyone helping on the canoe. You will thank yourself. I was picking adhesive from my fingers for days after my last building session.

Ready for more chine log and sheer clamp

We got the time this morning to nail and glue the second side chine log and the sheer clamp.
I pulled out a tube of glue that I opened two weeks ago and it was still good. I had put an uncut nozzle back on it and that kept it from curing.

Check out the curve in the sheer clamp, it was surprisingly easy to form with two sets of hands.

Tip: Keep one tip from the adhesive tubes uncut and use it to cap unfinished tubes. It works.

Lots of glue!

Here you see us nailing the sheer clamp. The glue that CLC sends with the kit is some tenacious stuff, made for through-hull fittings. I was pretty generous with my nailing and I am starting to think I may need another box of nails, but we will see about this as I progress.

Tip: Keep a roll of paper towels around for gluing, the stuff can make a serious mess.
Tip: Get some disposable rubber gloves, you will thank yourself.
Tip: If you can use the same nozzle from one tube of adhesive on another tube, you will have a spare, uncut nozzle that you can put on the seal off an opened tube that you did not finish off.

Nailing the Chine Log

Here is neighbor Rick (poor sucker didn't know what he was getting into when he stopped by to see how things were going; two hours, a chine log and a sheer clamp later I released him back to his family.....) as we nail down the sheer clamp.
You can see how the chine log is run long, we will cut it flush later. The same goes for the sheer clamp.

Bending over nail ends

Here we are bending over the ends of the nails that stick through. This is the inside of the floor of the boat. Larkin was my nail-finder: "Hey Dad, there's one here, get it. Hey Dad, there's one here, get it!....."
See how the butt plates for the bottom stop the inside of the edges? That is where the sides sit and you nail through the bottom into the chine log. It all starts to make sense and it is apparent how much thought went into designing this boat.

Keel Work

Laying down the keel under the supervision of Phin. This is where keeping the cardboard panels around came in handy.

The bottom side of the floor with the keel laid on top.

-Tip: make sure the joints of the floor panels are not on top of the panels of the keel. This will ensure the strongest joints.

Assembling the floor

Larkin with the floor. Once again, it is so easy a kid can, and will want to, do it!

Nailing the butt plate to the side panels

Emily and Larkin nailing the first butt plate to the side panel. They are nailing on the side of the panel that will become the outside. The nails are a little long for two layers of 1/4" plywood, but they bend over just fine.
Tip: remember that you can bend the nail over so it is laying down with the grain of the wood, this way there will be fewer strands of wood fiber that stop the tail of the nail from laying down.

Butt plate goes down

Getting ready to glue the first butt plate. They come with predrilled holes so you know which way they go in relation to the side panels

Jigsaw puzzle panels

Here are a couple of the side panels prior to gluing them together. They fit very well, the cuts, just like all of the kit, were right on the money.

Laying out panels

Laying out the panels. Make sure to save to cardboard panels your kit was shipped in. They come in handy laying out your panels.

The glue and a plane

The tubes of adhesive and the plane I ordered. I also picked up a pull saw as well as a rasp. All good investments that are going to last a lifetime and I plan on willing to my kids.

Unpacking the kit.

The kit came very well packed, everything came as promised. CLC shipped it quickly and once you open the kit you realize that everything they say in their ads, catalog and the web site it true. This thing is obviously well thought out just as well constructed.

Welcome to the Peace Canoe Blog!

My family and I are in the process of building a Chesapeake Light Craft Peace Canoe!
I thought I would blog what we are doing and give you my opinions on the building process and the final product.

So far we have unpacked the kit, assembled the side panels with their butt plates, assembled the floor with the butt plates and the keel and laid the chine log and sheer clamp onto one of the side panels. We did this in about 7 hours of my time, a couple of hours of my wife's time and a couple of hours of a neighbor's time. Larkin, my (almost) five year old helped and Phin, the one year old supervised.

Below are some of our pictures of the first day.
I will keep adding pictures and descriptions as we make progress. I will leave the blog open for comments so that people can trade their experiences, leave tips for others and just enjoy the overall community of Peace Canoeists out there.