Creating an outrigger canoe

I have recently come across another person that may be as crazy as myself. He has a large fallen tree (from one of our many hurricanes) that he wants to carve into an outrigger canoe. I am hoping that someone here may have some guidance/advice/experience for this project?

This will not be a decoration. We want to be able to use this - at least once (PFDs are optional), so it will need to be functional.

Here's a very good start:
http://www.boat-links.com/linklists/boatlink-31.html#multis
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/
http://www.friend.ly.net/~dadadata/proas.html

The Mother of All Maritime Links is a great resource. If you can't find out how to build a proa, then there ain't no cows in Texas. You're gonna love it.

Thanks Foamy. That is a great resource. It may take me a few days just to go thru it all.

My pleasure. I'm particularly fond of the proa concept. Much more asthetically pleasing than catamarans and trimarans (though, a bit trickier to sail, as you cannot tack them. They are required to "wear"). They are the fastest straight line sailors out there. I think you're gonna have fun. Keep me/us posted, I'd love to see how it turns out.

It won't be as conplex as a proa, more of a surf kayak. I don't have that much ambition.

"A cool buzz and some tasty waves!"

What kind of tree is it and how large is it?
Where is it located and where will the work be done?
In the south Florida are are a few Seminole Indian Museums which usually have a canoe or two carved from cypress logs. You may be able to view one first hand.

The tree is a medium size cypress (about 18" in diameter and 6' in length), the rest of the tree has been hauled off. I also have an abundant supply of Ficus from a VERY large tree that fell in a friends yard (the trunk is 22' - yes feet - in radius, it covered his entire back yard). I'm not sure how the ficus wil react in the water?

I spoke with a guy this weekend and he actually builds kayaks. His pointers were pretty generic (make the bottom straight, make sure it floats, make strong outriggers). He has the mentality of "do it and figure it out as you go". I'm cool with that. This is definately a power tool project - so I have to get the chainsaw tuned up. Wish me luck.

sounds like a fun project. Keep us posted, then fly us down so we can can surf the waves with it!

You didn't say where you were in South Florida. I may come visit. The Ficus may not be strong enough but can be made water tight, no problem. When id is dried, it is fairly light so making it thicker would not be an issue. Here is a Redwood Canoe I did for the Tropicana Hote and casino. It never was put into the water and was not watertight, but could have been with good ol'e Taror more authentic "Pitch"

Wow! that looks great. Was that made from one piece of wood or did you add the bow from another log? What did you use for the supports on the outriggers (was that redwood as well)?

I inspected my cypress log last night and ther is a nasty crack forming along the log. I may have no choice but to use the ficus. I'll know more as the wood dries.

I'm in Deerfield.

Ahh Deerfield. That is where I used to carve. I had a place in a Nursery at 10th Street and Powerline road. Kraft nursery. They sold out and moved up here and since my wife worked there, we came along.
The outrigger and poles all came from inside the canoe. I took the whole block out in one piece.

Kraft Nursery - wow. Searching the memory banks and I believe I may have met you. I moved into my house about 7 years ago and bought all of our landscaping from Kraft and the guy across the street. I remember seeing the carving there and inquired about some of them. My wife quickly refocused my attemtion to the trees and shrubs. Its a small world.

Yes it's a small world. Are you sure it wasn't 10 years ago cause I left there in '93 or '94 although they had several of my carvings around as decorations.
That is all a big office/warehouse complex now.

Well did you make your canoe yet???
First you shape the outside of the log to get your bow and stern shaped.
Then shape the bottom and then the top.
Now what you are going to do is cut out a square piece from the middle of the boat.
Lay it on its side and lay your saw on the top side to figgure where you have to cut'You want the boddom to be 2" thick and you want to cut throuhg 1 side all the way through to the Inside of the other side, If it is 20" across, you put a clamp on 20" of saw bar and chain so it won't go deeper. you want your cut to leave the bottom of the canoe flat and 2" thick for the whole length of the cut or canoe bottom. With the canow still on its side and at the line you have marked 2" paralell to the bottom of the canoe yo Plunge your saw the depth of that 20" and keeping the saw at right angles to the side of the canoe make that cut from front to back stopping before the canoe begins to tapir to a point.
Now you have cut the bottom slice of the rectangle you will remove from the canoe in a few minutes.Stand the canoe up so it is in Normalfloating situation. The cut you made should be on the bottom.
Now just cut a 2" right side wall and the same for the left. Now go for the bow end and cut across ther where you stopped the bottom cut.
Now the same for the stern and when you turn the canoe upside down the perfect rectangle should just fall out whan you lift up the canoe.
The canoe will have a box shaped hole dug into it. You will have to cut a piece off the rectangle to wedge and glue into the first cut you made on the bottom of the canoe because you left itwith a slice through one side wall at the bottom.
Next, finish shaping the bow and stern and get the grinder out for sanding and then add whatever detail you would like on your canoe. The piece that came out of the middle of the cnoe can be used for small tikis, or pontoons and opoles or a park bench for all I care. Basically your canoe is done and it has only taken 8 hours and the people are already asking you if it will float and are you going fishing in it and all that crap.If you are lucky you won't have to make another one.

*On 2006-04-27 18:46, Benzart wrote:*Basically your canoe is done and it has only taken 8 hours and the people are already asking you if it will float and are you going fishing in it and all that crap.If you are lucky you won't have to make another one.

:)

Ben, ya made me laugh! That's what happened to you in Vegas right? :)

Man, I can see it.

You're tired and hot and sweaty at the end of the day... just finishing up the canoe around sunset and all the beautiful people are coming out of their hotels to dinner and casinos just reeking of perfume and aftershave...

You're full of sawdust and splinters... reek of oil and gas mix and they're just all staring at you...

"A canoe, huh?"

"Does it float?"

"Where ya gonna float it?"

"Ya gonna go fishing in it?"

:D

I totally know how you feel Ben... and I'll never do another carving demo at a craft fair! :D

I still want to make one of these though... still looking for the right log.

If you're looking into building a oc1 from wood, check out this kit

http://www.marzanboats.com

The island racer!