Students
Jasper Arnolds, Vanessa Moore, Nick Bauer
Project Description
Last year in EPICS we built a 14 ft by 34.5 in by 18 in cedar stripwood canoe. Last semester, we built two paddles out of cedar strips to propel our canoe. This semester, our project was to make additions to the canoe in order to increase stability and comfort, thereby completing our full set of canoe and paddles. These additions included building and installing gunwales, thwarts, decks, yoke, and seats. Before we built these pieces, we needed to do some additional sanding, fiberglass patching, and dusting to prepare the boat for the next steps. The gunwales are strips that sit on the top of the sides of the hull. They provide stability by reinforcing the hull. The two thwarts are placed across the opening of the canoe. They add strength by connecting the two hulls and helping the canoe retain its shape. The decks are coverings on the bow and the stern. They hold the ends together and add support at the seams.
The yoke is a cross beam through the center. Its purpose is to assist with carrying the canoe and often has an indent in the beam that is meant to fit comfortably over the head of the carrier. Lastly, the seats are placed on the outsides of the thwarts and provide a comfortable place for the paddler(s) to sit. Having completed the project, we now have a sturdy, floating, comfortable canoe. We plan on using our canoe in Lake Carnegie and sharing it with other Princeton students. We continued to use the book “Building a Strip Canoe” by Gil Gilpatrick to follow instructions on how to make the additions. This is the same book that we used to build the canoe and the paddles. The citation is: Gilpatrick, Gil. Building a Strip Canoe. Fox Chapel Pub. Co.,2010.