says Ron Pellinen, my wooden canoe-building mentor ... I visit Pellinen to install the new ash gunwales he’s already milled. I also pick up a pint of Dutch-formulated, yacht-grade alkyd enamel ...

The Keewaydin crew made its own metal-clad wooden armature, or mold. Then, the start of the canoe itself: bending the white cedar keel and gunwales onto the frame. 2. Ribs: Next, the crew sawed a ...

He trimmed the boat with seats and gunwales made of sapele mahogany and decks carved from walnut and ebony. Nothing compares to putting a canoe in the water for the first time, says Offerman ...