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

I designed this 12 ft pack canoe, 28" beam, ~12" freeboard, 35lbs. It takes approximately ~15 hours to build (not including shopping runs and waiting for liquids to dry/cure). 3mm Okoume marine plywood, with 6oz fiberglass cloth on exterior, Douglas fir gunwales and interior floor covered with 6oz fiberglass to increase strength and rigidity.
Yes, one could spend double or triple the time making the end product more refined/more beautiful woodwork, etc., but the goal of this build was to get on the water before the water got too cold/hard (ice) to test a new design :-) -- functional, but not a lot of attention to detail.
This manufacturing process was inspired by the Gorewood canoes by Flo-Mo (flo-mo.weebly.com/gorewood-14..., but this canoe is a ground up original solo hull design with some alterations from the original Gorewood designs and manufacturing process. Were things learned? Sure they were (the design had too aggressive a water entry/cheeks (trying to get a Hornbeck classic look/feel), the strategy for the bow and stern wood cuts should be modified for exploiting plywood grain/favored bend direction, you can goop on thickened epoxy in the moment, but once it is in place, it is a pain to get rid of, so, better to take care while it is workable).
Music Credit:
Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/

Пікірлер: 59

  • @Kwc705
    @Kwc7056 ай бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks. Was def. a fun project!!

  • @ri-jm5tn
    @ri-jm5tn4 ай бұрын

    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

    @davidjoewillis

    4 ай бұрын

    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 ….

  • @dougreid1951
    @dougreid19517 күн бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 күн бұрын

    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.

  • @ivprojects8143
    @ivprojects81437 ай бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    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.

  • @Gillesgip
    @Gillesgip6 ай бұрын

    Well done! Huge smile padling!

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    6 ай бұрын

    Thanks @Gillesgip. It Was a fun project!!

  • @CONACHO
    @CONACHO7 ай бұрын

    Great job! Congrats

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks. Appreciate the comment!!

  • @billywhizz6483
    @billywhizz6483Ай бұрын

    Great little boat, moves along nicely!

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    Ай бұрын

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

  • @halhammond6831
    @halhammond68315 сағат бұрын

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

  • @RodsFishingAdventures
    @RodsFishingAdventures5 ай бұрын

    That was awesome, great job

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    5 ай бұрын

    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.

  • @2greeksandacamera
    @2greeksandacamera7 ай бұрын

    Absolutely beautiful

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    Thank you!!

  • @williamfraser
    @williamfraser4 ай бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    4 ай бұрын

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

  • @peterkelly8953
    @peterkelly89537 ай бұрын

    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

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    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.

  • @bigjoe8922
    @bigjoe89227 ай бұрын

    Beautiful man thank you

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks! Appreciate it.

  • @donmoroz5502
    @donmoroz55024 ай бұрын

    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

    @davidjoewillis

    4 ай бұрын

    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!

  • @corneliusoutdoors
    @corneliusoutdoors5 ай бұрын

    Very nice work 🎉

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    5 ай бұрын

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

  • @mainiacjoe
    @mainiacjoe3 ай бұрын

    the way you made the gores was clever

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    3 ай бұрын

    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.

  • @michaelisaac8661
    @michaelisaac86613 ай бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    3 ай бұрын

    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.

  • @jungpilchoi
    @jungpilchoi7 ай бұрын

    Very interesting building

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks @jungpilchoi. It was a fun project!

  • @650gringo
    @650gringo3 ай бұрын

    Fastest canoe I've ever seen.

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    3 ай бұрын

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

  • @rattytattyratnett
    @rattytattyratnett7 ай бұрын

    Are the plans/drawings available for this on line?

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    @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.

  • @jasonixo
    @jasonixoАй бұрын

    Cool David! What’s your router work envelope?

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    Ай бұрын

    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

    @jasonixo

    Ай бұрын

    @@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.

  • @aaronbrown9578
    @aaronbrown9578Күн бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    Күн бұрын

    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

    @davidjoewillis

    Күн бұрын

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

  • @stevenwarner7348
    @stevenwarner73487 ай бұрын

    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

    @davidjoewillis

    7 ай бұрын

    @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

    @stevenwarner7348

    7 ай бұрын

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

  • @user-vy7es9eq9m
    @user-vy7es9eq9m4 ай бұрын

    Hi. Can I have plans of this boat? I really liked.

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    4 ай бұрын

    Thanks. I’m working on a new and improved version. Stay tuned!

  • @rebuildingnoseas
    @rebuildingnoseas27 күн бұрын

    Do you have plans for it?

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    26 күн бұрын

    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.

  • @genekloszewski5484
    @genekloszewski54842 ай бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    2 ай бұрын

    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
    @fftr56474 ай бұрын

    อยากได้แบบครับ❤

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    4 ай бұрын

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

  • @ml.2770
    @ml.27702 ай бұрын

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

  • @davidjoewillis

    @davidjoewillis

    Ай бұрын

    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.