Luke McNair Larch Split Paddle & Canoe Build

Luke McNair has been very busy with some fantastic canoe and paddle related projects (previous posts of Luke's wonderful carvings can be read here and here). He recently sent me a progress update along with some photos.  They include a shot of him hard at work splitting a log of Larch with a hand-carved maul and some wedges.

 Out of this log, a beautiful paddle was carved by axe and crooked knife. He has become most proficient with these woodworking tools.

In addition to this, Luke has been very busy building a Wabanaki style canoe, but using canvas as a substitute for birch bark. His facebook page has some great pictures of the build process so far. I'm not on Facebook but was able to log in using my wife's account and copied some of the photos here. Most impressive is that he is able to build this thing inside his home! After I built my 3ft bark model on our dining room table over the spring of 2008, my wife made me promise NEVER to carve inside the house again or ELSE! I listened and the marriage has survived. Here are some photos of Luke's inspirational build...

Building frame

Carved thwarts

Canvas attached to the hull

Ribs temporarily set and sheathing being carved

Adjusting the sheathing

Canoe ends looking good

Some readers might also recall another builder in the UK, Elspeth Soper, was also building a canoe using this method (documented in Garth Taylor's 1980 book Canoe construction in a Cree cultural tradition). A visit to her blog has revealed that the Cree style canoe is also finally done - congratulations! Here is an exciting shot of Luke descending down a rapid in Elspeth's canoe...

Very much looking forward to more updates and eventually witnessing Luke's canoe on the water..