Seliga Canoe

Craig Johnson

Lifetime member
I am moving this thread out of the serial number section.
When I agreed to take on this project I didn't realize Joe used 6" wide western red cedar for the period of time in which it was built. So serendipity but several years ago I connected with an Amish sawyer to get some sassafras for paddle making. We got talking about canoes and woods used in them. Some time later he contacted me (via post card) to let me know that he had some 32' long 100+year old WRC utility poles. We cut them to 16' and I helped decide how to saw them to select out the clear stock for planking. The poles were maybe 24' diameter at the base and had unbelievably tight grain.
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Any way, lucky for me or Mike ( the owner of the canoe) that I had this on hand. I pulled out a piece 14" wide by 2" thick and milled up some beautiful clear planking today. Have to put in the new stem and a couple of new ribs and I will be all set to plank.
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Nice wood.

Craig, be sure to measure the existing planking before you plane to thickness. IIRC, the 6" that Joe used was a bit thicker than "standard thickness" planking.

Dan
 
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The book said he finished it to 5/32”. I checked several places and that’s what I came up with too. Of course that’s after sanding. It is matching up pretty well. I appreciate any tips that can keep me on track and have really enjoyed researching Joe. I never met the man but I started my interest canoeing at Charles L Sommers in 1969 so working on this canoe has special meaning for me.
 
Ok, as long as you checked. My '58 was thicker but he likely thinned it out at some point.
Early on when he started using the 6", it came pre-planed to finish thickness.

How about some pics?

Dan
 
Back to work on the Seliga after finishing up a couple other canoe projects. I only had to replace one rib but there was more damaged planking than I expected. I am really liking that 6” wide planking. Does anyone have the profile or cross section of the outwales? I don’t know if the ones I have are original, they look like all right angles.
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P4160009.jpg P4160011.jpg Bent the gunwales on the Seliga yesterday, first time I got around to doing it before canvas and paint. Interior has all but final coat of varnish. Should have it canvased and filled this weekend so have started on my own Peterborough Champlain Cruiser that I picked up from Andre on the way up to Assembly in 2018.
 
I dont understand your unit of measurement, but the fact that i dont own a forklift gives me some solace....
 
That planner is very nice but not unusual in wood shops.
Go visit OWWM for plenty of other examples.
(I just have a little 12" Boice Crane, comes in at about 500lbs.)
 
That thing makes me feel weak in the knees. With that lift door right behind it.. I think I know where to take the 19 foot piece of cherry I have in the garage.
Sorry, only 17’ on the infeed side. Would have to put a window in to accommodate your cherry.
 
Started painting the Seliga. The owner remembers a Charles L Sommers decal on the bow of the canoes so I was researching to try to find an image to reproduce and I stumbled upon this old movie.
This really brought back some memories. Any way, back to the image. Here is the image I found DDD6FCB0-CBB1-44F4-9AD9-4413F2792327.pngwhich is correct but the wording on the bottom says
National High Adventure Base. The older ones said
Wilderness Canoe Base B.S.A. As in this image of my patch.
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I haven’t been able to find this one. by the way I assume the wooden canoe the guide is using in the movie is a Seliga.
good stuff.
 
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