"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
I understand that people have built Canadian style canoes that join in the
centre. Do you know how the join is made as a friend wishes to build one
but is not sure as to how he can get a watertight strong seal.
Thanks
Dave

Ive seen dinghys made in this way, and it wouldnt be unfeasable to do it
with a canoe. I would think the material would have to be aluminum though,
which is tough and specialised to work with. as long as you got a good true
face on the join, all you would need is a good rubber gasket, and the right
number of fasteners on the join to get a good tight seal. I suppose you
could also make it out of wood and make a custom flange out of steel that
would bolt to each half and then bolt together too, but unless you are very
handy with an oxy torch and a welder you would be looking at some pretty big
$ to have one made for you. Another alternative would be to have someone
draw one up for you, then have it CNC plasma/oxy/waterjett cut, then weld it
yourself or get someone to weld it for you.

There are collapsable canoes out there for sale, some that you can actually
carry in a suitcase. Paul Theroux travelled extensively around the south
pacific with one, and they seem pretty sturdy, but not cheap. The trouble
with making a canoe in two halves is that you'll probably have to
overengineer it making it heavy and not really attractive looking....

Shaun

I suppose you could make two water tight sections that then bolt
together creating a bulkhead in the middle of the full canoe. Seems
like it would add weight, but the issue of a water tight seal
disappears. You could even un-bolt the sections and paddle away in
two, 1/2 size canoes with square sterns ;-) .

On 24 May 2007 06:37:59 -0700, Todd wrote:

I suppose you could make two water tight sections that then bolt
together creating a bulkhead in the middle of the full canoe. Seems
like it would add weight, but the issue of a water tight seal
disappears. You could even un-bolt the sections and paddle away in
two, 1/2 size canoes with square sterns ;-) .


One could build a two part canoe that used some sort of a flange
joint. Then as you say it would need to be hell for strong and even
then the attachment to the skin on the boat would be a problem.

The problem is that you would have to assemble the boat on dry land
and then launch it. The two part boat with bulkheads at the joint has
the advantage that (1) the join is much easier to build - the ones I
have built had a 1/4" ply bulkhead with an additional 1/4"
reinforcement about 3 inches wide at the bulkhead where the bolts
fitted, and (2) you can assemble them in the water. As they were built
as yacht tenders and were disassembled for storage on deck this was
a distinct advantage
Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

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On Thu, 24 May 2007 02:32:05 GMT, "Shaun Van Poecke"
wrote:


"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
I understand that people have built Canadian style canoes that join in the
centre. Do you know how the join is made as a friend wishes to build one
but is not sure as to how he can get a watertight strong seal.
Thanks
Dave

Ive seen dinghys made in this way, and it wouldnt be unfeasable to do it
with a canoe. I would think the material would have to be aluminum though,
which is tough and specialised to work with. as long as you got a good true
face on the join, all you would need is a good rubber gasket, and the right
number of fasteners on the join to get a good tight seal. I suppose you
could also make it out of wood and make a custom flange out of steel that
would bolt to each half and then bolt together too, but unless you are very
handy with an oxy torch and a welder you would be looking at some pretty big
$ to have one made for you. Another alternative would be to have someone
draw one up for you, then have it CNC plasma/oxy/waterjett cut, then weld it
yourself or get someone to weld it for you.

There are collapsable canoes out there for sale, some that you can actually
carry in a suitcase. Paul Theroux travelled extensively around the south
pacific with one, and they seem pretty sturdy, but not cheap. The trouble
with making a canoe in two halves is that you'll probably have to
overengineer it making it heavy and not really attractive looking....

Shaun


You don't need to use metal. I have build several plywood dinghys that
were joined in the center. I've got a three piece one sitting on the
dock right now.

Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

--
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