Ron Nunnelly on Boat Building

by Sherri Blifford

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"If it looks right, it probably is." That's how Ron Nunnelly explains the art of building a canoe and the way he makes changes throughout the process. At the February meeting Ron brought one of his canoes and explained how he builds boats to a standing-room-only, overflow crowd.

He has built three "strippers" (the term refers to the strips of wood used for the body), using cedar and plans to build a canvas-covered one next. This is not an art form for the impatient - it takes about 200 hours to build one canoe with wood that has been seasoned for over a year.

"Well, it keeps me out of trouble", he says with a chuckle.

In the mid-1800s strippers were built in Canada at the same time as wood/canvas boats were being built in the U.S. Fiberglass boats began as strippers. They built a frame, explained Ron and then used it for a mold.

The basic design of a cedar strip canoe is a combination of fiberglass and epoxy covering thinly cut strips of cedar. Not only are the wooden canoes beautiful, they are light (his weigh between 42 and 45 pounds), and surprisingly durable. Ron described various escapades that might have destroyed some canoes but left his with only scratches he could repair with sanding and varnish.

He uses black walnut for the rails, decks, seats, and thwarts and Western red Cedar for the hull. The strips of wood are cut to a thickness of one-half inch. After soaking them, they are steamed prior to shaping. Brass tacks hold the planks in place. Then come the epoxy and fiberglass, followed by four coats of varnish.

When he began building boats, he used plywood to build two kayaks. Now he has three kayaks and three canoes he built, plus an antique canvas on wood he plans to repair someday.

Here are the photos that are not in the printed newsletter.

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