The Lazy Weekend Canoe is officially a boat now.  I didn’t have much time to work on it this weekend, but I did get a chance to put on the final gunwale.  That was the last major piece that needed to be installed.

Actually, I think that I am likely to install a skeg on the bottom of the boat, so perhaps it wasn’t the last major piece.  However, the boat does finally look like a boat, and most everything I need to do now can technically be considered trim.

Yes, I know, it is all semantics, and I still have a pile of work to do, but I am feeling happy about my progress for a minute.  Please don’t harsh on my mellow.

My technique for installing this gunwale was a huge improvement over the last gunwale.  Like last time I dry fit the gunwale and I drove screws into the stem and stern posts so that I could orient the gunwale one I had added the glue.  However, with this gunwale I turned the boat on its side to help keep the glue in position and I did glued up the gunwale in pieces.

First I marked the bottom of the gunwale in pencil so that I could line it back up.  Then I removed half of the clamps (and the screw at the stem) and buttered up the boat with glue.  instead of trying to manhandle a flopy 16 foot 3/4 inch by1 1/2 inch noodle, which was covered in glue, I simply had to lift the gunwale up; squirt glue on the side of the boat, and then drop the gunwale back down and clamp it into place.  I started at the stem and worked my way to the stern.  The middle of the boat was a little tricky, as I had to lift up a lot of gunwale, but installing the gunwale this way was still a clear win.

I probably should have taken pictures, but it is hard to take pictures when you are gluing stuff down.