Build a 12 ft plywood solo pack canoe in less than 20 hrs?

[@Kwc705]

The smile on your face, when trying out the canoe. Gotta love it.

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks. Was def. a fun project!!

[@ri-jm5tn]

I’ve watched a number of plywood/built canoe videos, but I’ve never been that impressed until I saw yours. It’s even more impressive seeing how well it tracks and glides. Perfect!👍

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks!! It worked out decently well for the first time through the process. Def some things I’d do differently in the next iteration. I think the sharper ends help with tracking on such a short boat. Will be interested to see how it works/learn more about the canoe’s characteristics once the water warms up this spring/summer. Maybe make some design edits ….

[@larry78cj7]

Never seen a canoe built that way. Brilliant

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks Larry for the kind words. The method is similar to a birch bark canoe and the modern interpretation of that approach by others, particularly a designer in Europe called “Flo mo”. He built a nice gorewood canoe. I wanted to try individual panels on the CNC which worked pretty well!!! I love how it “transforms” into a canoe shape as you pull the sides “up”. Thanks, djw.

[@Gillesgip]

Well done! Huge smile padling!

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks @Gillesgip. It Was a fun project!!

[@peterkelly8953]

I like the concept! You are right about grain direction. If the grain for the pieces from the last gore to the bow & stern are tangental to the rest of the build, it would have held its shape.

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks for the comment! Yes, if I did this build again I would pay more attention to the grain and favored bending direction at all gores (was more concerned for those in the mid section). The design also was a bit to aggressive in these regions so I’d likely tone that down a bit too and maybe have more success. It was still fun to do and cool to try this building/construction method.

[@ivprojects8143]

Cool! I've never seen a canoe made like that

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks @ivprojects8143 , the concept behind this is inspired by the original birch bark canoes but with plywood/fiberglass materials. There’ve been a few different canoes like this - most notable are the “Gorewood” tortured ply designs by “Flo Mo” (there some nice build logs and examples of his designs online). I tried a few different things to the approached of Flo Mo (CNC cutting while gores and sticking them together) and an original hull shape with fine entry lines and semi-flat bottom to make a reasonably fast and stable 12 ft canoe.

[@rattytattyratnett]

Are the plans/drawings available for this on line?

[@davidjoewillis]

@rattytattyratnett : Though not the same canoe, you can google “gorewood 14 canoe” for plans for similarly built canoe that has been built by quite a few people (and inspired me to design and build this pack canoe). As mentioned in the description, I made some changes to the process in this design and build (for reasons of my own). Since this pack canoe is still in prototype stages, I am tuning the design. I anticipate building future prototypes and may release plans/cut files at some point.

[@williamfraser]

These short, light boats are such a hoot to paddle, easy to store, transport and launch.

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks! Looking forward to the summer rolling around!! Nice work on your Flo mo one sheet!!!

[@RodsFishingAdventures]

That was awesome, great job

[@davidjoewillis]

Thank you! Cheers! Glad you enjoyed. It was a fun boat to build and look forward to using it next summer some more. Maybe do a little fishing from it.

[@tomb7901]

Congratulations on a job well done! Looks great!

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks much!!

[@donmoroz5502]

Tracks and moves very well in the water. Another inch or so at the stems would make it look a little prettier, but not any more useful. EXCELLENT JOB!

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll try your suggested extension at the stems in the model software for the next iteration. Def looking forward to the warmer weather to do some more testing. Thanks!

[@2greeksandacamera]

Absolutely beautiful

[@davidjoewillis]

Thank you!!

[@billywhizz6483]

Great little boat, moves along nicely!

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks much!! Moves quite well for its length. The sharper entry seems to help with tracking

[@CONACHO]

Great job! Congrats

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks. Appreciate the comment!!

[@jungpilchoi]

Very interesting building

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks @jungpilchoi. It was a fun project!

[@mainiacjoe]

the way you made the gores was clever

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks for the comment. I think doing the gores this way might make the process less susceptible to cracking/failing at the crack tip. We’ll see if this is true over time and use.

[@corneliusoutdoors]

Very nice work 🎉

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks a lot 😊 ….it is a similar type of build to your own beautiful canoe and video. Appreciate the compliment.

[@davidmason5163]

The smile says everything!

[@davidjoewillis]

It was fun to build, even more fun to paddle it :).

[@michaelisaac8661]

Great build, thanks for the video! I'm thinking of building one myself. How have the douglas fir gunwales held up so far?

[@davidjoewillis]

So far the gunwales have held up well. The canoe has been uncovered outside all winter and things still look fine. This was a quick build. While this is my own design that I’m not ready to release, Flo Mo has his designs online for free as the gorewood series of canoes. The method is pretty easy at the end of the day and if you get the grain right it’s bends into chaos nicely. Good luck with you build if you decide to go in that direction.

[@bigjoe8922]

Beautiful man thank you

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks! Appreciate it.

[@650gringo]

Fastest canoe I've ever seen.

[@davidjoewillis]

It’s quite quick for its short length. If it were longer, I’m sure it’d be faster :-)

[@dougreid1951]

Nice build - clean, light and effective - kudos for crediting flo-mo with some of the initial thinking Will there be a mark two?

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks!! I appreciate your kind words. Yes, Flo mo has made some lovely canoes this way. There is indeed a Mk2 in the works at the moment - the CNC cutting is done - once things get a little less busy for me, I hope to put it together. Am very excited to see if some of the new design elements/build innovations work out. Assuming it works I’ll be testing it out this summer.

[@minbari001]

Ahh I see what you did there! a variation on the Flomo Gorewood canoe, only possible problem i can foresee is a sectional location error, did you include a centre scratch pass when cutting out the Panels to aid line up? she turned out lovely though and seems quite lively in the water, Nice Job.

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks @minbari001 … you are right. It is a personal hull shape design using a modification of the “flomo” gorewood style approach. I thought that cutting sections and putting them together would help to reduce the stress concentrations and cracking at the sharp end of the gore cuts (where there is some compound bending). I think that aspect worked well, but without the compound bends the hull is a little more “faceted” than flomo’s look to be. Yes…. I CNC drilled a pair of small alignment markers to show the centerline of each section panel but I also think you could eyeball alignment pretty well too (given that the gore gunwale points for each section are aligned in my section design method). It is def. on the agile side for a canoe so fun to paddle… but as a sit-in pack canoe is fares really well. Thanks for the comment.

[@minbari001]

@@davidjoewillis you could always try using some Buckle or Ratchet Straps to help pull her back then Epoxy some Ribs in to help Strengthen the Joints, weight gain should be negligible and it would stiffen her up somewhat and aid Tracking, Of course this is all hypothetical Conjecture as it's still your Boat, but fun to think out loud sometimes, Happy Paddling

[@kaisailor1]

Your canoe looks like it has more freeboard. May I ask what you measured it at for your build. The problem with a lot of the lightweight solo canoes that I see is that they have about a 12" or less depth. But yours looks a little deeper than the rest.

[@davidjoewillis]

I just went and measured it. It came out to the design value pretty much exactly 12.5”. Maybe why it doesn’t looks quite as sleek as the other solo canoes

[@kaisailor1]

@davidjoewillis Hey thanks David. 12" is pretty standard. I just think they look better and feel more substantial with a little bit higher sides.

[@jasonixo]

Cool David! What’s your router work envelope?

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks! The router is a lead 1510 - I usually limit myself to 4ft x 2ft sheet stock. It could go a little bigger, but I’ve been hesitant to go to close to the limits. Hopefully get some more time to CNC in the summer on a few new projects.

[@jasonixo]

@@davidjoewillis I have a Shapeoko XXL (1000mm square) that I'd like to put to use for a similar project but I wish I had a longer dimension on one side.

[@kaisailor1]

Do you have plans for it?

[@davidjoewillis]

I am still working to improve the design, so am not sharing plans at this time. There is a similar canoe family (though different design) by another person called FloMo called “gorewood” - google “gorewood canoe flomo” to check it out and get a pdf.

[@stevenwarner7348]

I wish you had had audio going. Just talk. I am very very interested in what happened when the duct tape was used. That bulge in the end looks like only one end but were both ends bulging? Did you make a cut there? All good but only if you had explained your process at that point. Any time duct tape comes out I am Paying Attention. Try taking a discount car cover ~ van size preferably ~ $13.00 ~ all water proof nylon cloth ~ and turning it into a rain fly for your Oh So expensive six person high tech tent. ~ That somebody stored over the winter with the roll of toilet paper so the mice got into it! Duct tape tabs for another layer over the tent. Oh yea! ✨🌸🙏🌸✨. Thank you.for sharing this. ~ from New Hampshire.

[@davidjoewillis]

@stevenwarner7348 - good idea on the audio. Thanks for the suggestion and feedback. Will try to do a talk along in my next project recap. This time the duct tape was there to hold the two sides closed together at the entry/exit lines of the bow and stern so that thickened epoxy could set and cure. The bulge was worse on one end than the other and on one side than the other (ugh). I left the canoe outdoors for the epoxy to cure once the gores were glued together and it rained later on the day. The wetted wood dried quite warped (as might be expected). Additionally had some re-gluing of the initial gore joining to do at the one end making bending tougher due to local stiffening. Next time I’ll be smarter with the ends of the canoe and the grain direction too. I learned a lot in that region of the design that is not well reflected when making paper models (also was too aggressive for the entry angle and transition along the entry). No additional cuts were made in the design - I stayed with the gore geometry off of the CNC router.

[@stevenwarner7348]

@@davidjoewillis Thanks so much. It looks like you did a great job with shaping the ends eventually. Nice.

[@aaronbrown9578]

can I ask how much epoxy did it take to complete this? and nice job

[@davidjoewillis]

Hi, thanks. Sure, I used left over total boat polyurethane - I had one gallon that wouldn’t keep over the winter so used it all. Probably could get away with less with a lighter application and lighter glass cloth (I used 6oz).

[@davidjoewillis]

Also, you def. Need a really good respirator/mask for PU.

[@halhammond6831]

Can I buy a flat pack at IKEA? Next best-can you share cnc cutting files?

[@davidjoewillis]

I’m not currently sharing the design/cut files. That said, I wonder if IKEA wants to work with me on a flat “pack” canoe. It’d have to have a cool name - kanot maybe? Check back in for future updates. Once I figure out the next iteration or two, we’ll see what’s next with the design.

[@ttwil9810]

gorewood style

[@davidjoewillis]

Yes, it is a gorewood style. The difference is that it uses multiple panels instead of “dart” cuts. Enjoy!

[@ml.2770]

First I will have construct two Muskoka chairs and a cnc cutter.

[@davidjoewillis]

I guess so. But if done right, you get to sit in the chairs while watching the CNC doing the hard cutting work after that :) worth investing into the system.

[@genekloszewski5484]

Interesting technique,..a beautiful blue..but not a good rescue/retrieve color

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks!! Yes, you are right, the color isn’t great for water rescue…but it does look great with the varnished wood :). Maybe I’ll switch to a new color once the blue gets scratched up.

[@fftr5647]

อยากได้แบบครับ❤

[@davidjoewillis]

Thanks. Stay tuned. Hopefully can improve the design. For the time being, check out the Flo Mo Gorewood design (online).

[@zvonkovarda8682]

It looks too bumpy

[@davidjoewillis]

It is def a bit bumpy. This is mostly because I went with ~10 inch pieces/gores so there is quite a bit of angle change from gore to gore. I’m hoping with smaller gores (~6”) the bumps are less pronounced. That said, it doesn’t take too much extra effort to paddle this vs. another of similar size.

[@panther105]

CNC router? Pass......

[@davidjoewillis]

I get that. Made sense to me to use a CNC rather than cut the pieces by hand. I get it though, not every garage has a CNC router in it. I’m def lucky to have that available to me for these types of things.