Canoa de Rancho by JacquesCousteau - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - Lake Chapala Fishing and Cabotage Vessel

[JacquesCousteau]

I finished up the front of the locker, and I'm happy with how it turned out. I've wanted to improve my skills at cutting precise joints, and the framing, while very simple, was a good opportunity to work on that. Initially I was going to do a miter joint at all four corners, but I messed up the angle when cutting the bottom frame piece. Valuable lesson about measuring twice and cutting once! I considered making a new piece, but realized I could flip it upside down, as the cleat across the bottom will cover the misshapen corners. I also decided to do a rabbet joint at the bottom, as I thought it looked better. (Feel free to correct me if I'm getting the joint names wrong!) 

Getting everything lined up took some patience, especially cutting the sides to size, but I got the pieces in place.

I had considered doing some sort of lap joint for the crossbeam, but I decided against it for a few reasons--the wood is very thin, and any mistake would require extra staining that would likely leave a large dark blotch. I went with a simple butt joint instead. In any case, the crossbeam wouldn't have much pressure on it, as its purpose is mostly to keep the vertical planks behind it from buckling or shifting under weight and to add to the sturdiness of the overall framing.

Test placement in the hull with the figure for scale. Once the decking is in, it will effectively be about 4 inches (at scale, 1/8 inch) shorter. I'll glue the cleat in place after the locker is permanently attached.

Changing gears, I finished cutting the frame bottoms to the proper thickness. I won't be able to fair them in the hull, as they need to be stained before placement, so I needed to get them consistent now. I stuck them all together, in order and up against each other, on a piece of masking tape. As can be seen, I did not have the smoothest or most consistent cuts. Like with the locker planks, I probably could have made it more consistent if I had cut the frames from a long beam/strip that was already of the right thickness/height.

The tape made it easy to sand along the top with a sanding stick. The frames are now much more consistent than before, which will make the deck planking run smoothly.

 

I'm trying to do briefer updates instead of lengthy walls of text. Not sure if I'm really succeeding, though! 

[JacquesCousteau]

A very brief follow-up. I did another test fitting of the frames and locker front. Next up: cutting the top of the frames to the correct height and finessing the frame joints.

 

A couple things. First, I had marked the mast step location based on the plans I drew up, but I'm thinking it might look better shifted one frame back. Second, while I'll be staining the frames, I'm still debating whether the basswood planking is too pale to leave natural (with only a sealer/varnish coat). Things to consider.

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Short update before travel takes me from the build again. 

 

At this point, I can't really fine tune the joints between the pieces of the frames without having one frame stuck in place, so I'll need to attach the upright portions. I've stained them with the stain pen in preparation. Overall I think they turned out ok.

 

One in particular is a bit blotchy--the piece split a bit during sanding and needed to be glued--so I might redo it.

 

I also conducted an experiment with the locker front. The upper frame will be mostly covered by the lip of helmsman's platform, so I decided to try approximating screws there. I did so with the smallest drill bit I have, making a small and shallow hole. After the first few (from the left) started going a little awry, I realized I needed a straight edge. I used one, but it's still a little uneven. As the unevenness makes clear, I'll have to be careful if I decide to do this in a more visible location. I'm still deciding whether to do the rest of the frames like this, as a learning experience, or whether to leave it. I think I like the look, but only if I can get a straighter row--I should practice a bit more on scrap first.

Edited October 8, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[JacquesCousteau]

After traveling again, I'm back at the build.

On the Canoa de Rancho, I remade the frame piece that I earlier noted looked too blotchy. I also added a false stem made of 1/16-inch-thick basswood, and sanded it into a rounded triangular cross section.

I decided that I liked the look of the "screws" on the locker, so I added them to the middle and bottom frame pieces. Unlike the test on the top frame piece, I didn't use a drill bit, which I think skated a bit on the surface and helped cause the unevenness in the line of holes there. Instead, I just used a needle as an awl. I think I came out more even, and it's a slightly more subtle look. I also darkened each hole with a sharp pencil. 

Upon consideration, I decided to go with the natural wood color for the hull interior. So, next, I coated the interior with sealer-varnish and glued in the side frame pieces, using clamps to hold them in place. I also glued in the locker front and the rear bottom cleat, as well as the rudder support beam running vertically across the exterior of the transom (not pictured). Next up, I'll be adding the bottom frame pieces, some cleats, and the mast step, and fabricating the locker lid/helmsman's platform.

 

 

I'm happy with how it's coming, but there are a few challenges I see up ahead. First, a few issues with the bottom. While I haven't had trouble erasing pencil marks before, I was unable to erase the lines across the interior of the bottom. (Before you ask, this was before I added the sealer). I'm not sure if I let them sit too long before trying to erase or what, but the bottom will be very messy. Also, the floor pieces of the frames, which were stained, seem to have turned out blotchier than the side pieces. I don't think either of these issues will be much of a problem, as I will be installing floor paneling, and I plan on leaving only very small gaps between floor planks--the gaps on the Cargo Canoa are too large, I think. So, there will be very little visible beneath the floor planks.

But, that brings me to the next issue: the layout of the floor planking. As I've discussed earlier, there are no photos of the flooring and what evidence there is about layout is vague. I'm operating on the assumption that the planks must have been removable so that the bilge could be drained. Earlier, I was intrigued by wefalck's suggestion that removeable deck pieces arranged across the breadth rather than lengthwise would be easiest to allow for removal and bilge drainage--longer pieces would be a bit heavy and awkward to remove. However, José María Angulo Sepulveda's drawing of a canoa--the only depiction of floor planking I have--does show lengthwise planks (although he only depicts them at the bow, going for a cutaway style aft, and of course I've noticed some inaccuracies and irregularities in the drawing).

 

One option I'm weighing would be a hybrid solution. I could install a few removable planks running across the beam amidships, where bilge warer would be most likely to collect, especially around the mast step. I could then have lengthwise planking fore snd aft of this.

BUT: this hybrid option is a bit complicated, which may not comport with my sources. Ramón Rubín's novel La canoa perdida doesn't provide much detail on the floor planking itself (he just refers to it as a "tarima de panel" (75), which unless I'm missing something is a pretty generic term for planked flooring). But he strongly implies that the flooring is very simple. For reasons too complicated to get into here, the novel's protagonist, Ramiro Fortuna ends up taking his canoa before the boat builder has fully finished it. Among other things, it still needs a tiller, a mast step, and the flooring. Although not a carpenter, Fortuna is able to make these himself or with a friend's help, with very simple tools, very quickly. Granted, this is for a small fishing canoa, not a Canoa de Rancho, but this suggests to me that the decking likely was made from whatever planks were readily available.

A few other flooring notes:
* If this vessel is intended for fishing, they have to expect to take on water. Nothing I've seen suggests that canoas had cambered decks, so if the deck was caulked, water could easily pool, which could be a problem. I think that leaving small gaps between planks for drainage to the bilge makes more sense.
* Laying planks lengthwise over the frames strikes me as easier to do than laying them crosswise and having to prop up any that end up unsupported between frames.
* Lengthwise planking is also how they planked the elevated foredeck, according to photos, which may suggest they would do the same for the main flooring.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

 

[wefalck]

Coming on nicely!

 

Didn't we have discussion of the flooring already? I think panels made from individual lengths of planks, tied together with cross-pieces would be an option. These panels should be short enough to be taken out between any eventual benches etc. to allow bailing out the boat.

[Paul Le Wol]

Jacques, the locker (and everything) looks great. Using the needle really made a difference. Very nice work.

[JacquesCousteau]

On 10/19/2023 at 1:10 PM, wefalck said:

Coming on nicely!

 

Didn't we have discussion of the flooring already? I think panels made from individual lengths of planks, tied together with cross-pieces would be an option. These panels should be short enough to be taken out between any eventual benches etc. to allow bailing out the boat.

Thanks! We did discuss the flooring earlier. If I'm understanding what you're suggesting, I think it would be a very good option. Each panel could be long enough to go across a couple frames, but without being so long as to be unwieldy.

 

Interestingly, while poking around at some photos on the mediateca site, I came across an image I had forgotten about that does show the interior of a canoa, albeit a smaller fishing canoa. It's a little hard for me to tell whether it has flooring or not (other photos have shown that small vessels at times did not)--I'm not sure if the dark lines across the bottom are frames or the shadows of the crossbeams.

 

https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/fotografia%3A194349

 

On 10/19/2023 at 2:20 PM, Paul Le Wol said:

Jacques, the locker (and everything) looks great. Using the needle really made a difference. Very nice work.

Thanks!

Edited October 20, 2023 by JacquesCousteau
Added photo, edited comments

[JacquesCousteau]

The frame pieces across the bottom (which, if I understand correctly from build logs of much more complicated ships, are called floors?) are in. I also added the cleats toward the bow that seem to have been common features of these vessels.

 

As mentioned, the frame floors didn't take the stain nearly as evenly as the frame sides (futtocks? Timbers? I'm sure there's a correct term). This is very visible in the photo below. I'm not sure why this happened. The floors were certainly sanded as smoothly as the sides, which came out pretty even. It's not a problem because they'll be almost totally covered, but it's good to know for the future. In general, I've noticed that the thicker basswood, which is scrap leftover from the dory kit, doesn't take the stain as evenly as the thinner basswood sheet does.

 

In evening up the sides, I did end up sanding off a bit of the stain at the ends of the frames. I'll need to restain this very carefully, especially as the stain tends to over-darken the end grain. At least the wales are already sealed so I don't have to worry about staining them. I will be experimenting with scrap pieces, and will try getting the stain from the pen onto a brush in order to have more control over staining.

[JacquesCousteau]

Finished up the helmsman's platform/locker lid! Sorry in advance if this post is very tedious, but I have little enough building experience that this sort of thing is still pretty new to me, and I wanted to document it.

First, I added a support across the transom, then a couple angled edge pieces along the sides.

I don't have calipers, but I used a compass to measure the width.

Then I made a card mock-up. Due to the limits of my skills, the platform lid isn't perfectly rectangular, but it's close enough.

I transferred the shape to 1/32 basswood, cut it out, checked the fit, stained the top, and then cut it into four boards that will run breadthwise. I also used a pencil to lightly mark the seams.

Given that it's a tight fit, I was worried that assembling it off-board would lead to fit issues, so I decided to assemble it in place. First I used scrap to add a bit of a shelf poking out from under the sides to support the boards.

Once that dried, assembly was simple.

I like that it's a more subtle seam between planks than on the locker front.

Next, the hinges (non-functional), which I made of card and a bit of sanded-down toothpick. Hinge design was inspired by a door in ChadB's Triton Cross-Section build (in post #46 there). It was easy to cut one card hinge to size, but I had a much harder time getting two that were the same. After a few failed attempts, and after accidentally cutting my one good hinge too short, I used the remains to make a guide hinge of thin basswood, then traced that onto card, cut them out, and painted them black--which I decided I liked better than the dark brown I used for the Cargo Canoa. Unfortunately, carelessness in the multiple rounds of tracing left the hinges much too wide.

So, I trimmed one to size, also adding more of a taper along its length. The correct width is on the right, the too-wide one on the left. The difference is notable, I'm glad I didn't leave it as-is.

The hinge barrels were made of a toothpick sanded down to a smaller diameter. With that, the hinges were assembled, and the locker/platform is complete!

Edited October 23, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[wefalck]

Nice piece of micro-joinery!

[JacquesCousteau]

As I've mentioned, the paucity of sources and the staggered floor timbers have made it difficult for me to plan out the floorboards. About the only things I have a clear source for are 1) that the planks should run lengthwise (even if I'm on the fence about this particular source), and 2) these vessels did have at least some cleats running across the hull that possibly could have served as locations for laying the ends of floorboards. Before building and gluing anything, I decided to test a few possibilities using card templates.

One possibility is to make a relatively large number of short sections, with a number of cleats, as seen in the card test below. I ultimately decided that it didn't look right to me, and that it would entail adding too many cleats--the photo I have of a large canoa's framing, which is in an early post in this thread, only clearly shows one cleat in the aft half.

I did another test with longer planks, allowing for fewer cleats. This looked better to me, although I decided to shift the cleat/plank end location aft a bit so that it looked more balanced. These longer planks would be about 8 feet long, which I feel is still short and light enough that individual planks could be removed for bailing--presumably, given the flat bottom, bilge water would pool along one side or the other (depending on wind or loading), so you would only need to remove one or two planks from that side to bail. At least, that makes sense to me, I'm very likely wrong on this.

Here we see the cleats, distinguishable by not yet being stained, in place for a test fitting. As can be seen in comparison to the previous photo, shifting their location back will give a more balanced look to the planking. The mast step, which I made recently, is also in place. I squared the hole in the mast step with a new set of files--very exciting to use new tools!

[JacquesCousteau]

The floor cleats and mast step have been colored (with stain and dark brown paint, respectively) and glued in place, and I've started cutting flooring planks to size. First, though, I'm working on the crossbeams.

 

Initially I was going to use 1/16th inch basswood, but comparing it with the photos, it looked a little thin. So, I went with some of the last of the 1/8 inch basswood scrap from the dory kit. This will be used for the first two or three crossbeams (counting from amidships forward), as photos show that the foremost few crossbeams at times were made of thinner planks so I can use the 1/16 inch wood there. My new files were very helpful in carving out the slots for the central crossbeam.

 

I'm now deciding how to color the crossbeams, as I don't want to leave them natural. First I stained it, as I can always paint over the stain.

 

It looks ok with the stain, but I was also considering going with a very dark brown to make more of a contrast. Here's a test using just a strip of painted paper. Keep in mind the hull exterior will be black.

 

I've also been using scrap paper and wood to work out the other crossbeam locations.

[JacquesCousteau]

Brief update. Although exact colors are hard to judge from black-and-white photos, I did notice the crossbeams never appeared very dark in color, so I decided to go with just lightly staining them. The amidships crossbeam has been added. I noticed that the hull seems to have very slightly collapsed inward since being removed from the molds all that time ago, so I used the crossbeam to slightly spread the hull. I probably should have added the crossbeam earlier. If I had actually glued the floor timbers and uprights to each other, this stretching could be a problem, but when installing I just butted them up against each other, gluing only on the bottom and side planking and leaving a bit of flexibility. Even if it's just a couple millimeters wider, and probably doesn't show up in photos, I think it looks better this way.

I also cut the stern third of floor planking to size, minus the planks on the sides, and colored it with a light black wash to test the color scheme. I've decided not to do much weathering on the Canoa de Rancho, but from what I can tell the floor planking would have been added from whatever was available, so I think it makes sense if it's not so brightly-colored. I also like the contrast with the natural, stained, and black-washed wood. The exterior of the hull will be black.

Also, it's interesting how the stain changes color depending on angle--from some angles it barely look different from the natural wood, then you move it and it's much darker.

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Once again, travel kept me away from the build for a little while, but I'm back at it working on the floor planking. These have been a bit fiddly to get right, especially around the edges. I started with the aft third.

Then the middle section, ignoring the sides at first.

Then the middle sides, which I think turned out quite well, and the fore planking. The latter was especially tricky as every plank runs up against the sides, so I needed to cut curves as well as cutting around the frames. As can be seen, I still need to paint and attach these planks, which are just roughly fit for now.

(In the last picture, I'm holding down the back because I didn't leave enough space below the bow cleats, so the ends of the two planks that bracket the central plank want to come up unless held in place).

I got better at getting more consistent spacing as I went, so I'm not totally happy with how the aft flooring turned out. But, I'm going to leave it, particularly as Rubín's La canoa perdida mentions that the floor planks were left loose and not attached. (In the novel, one sign that the protagonist's disappeared canoa is in fact stolen, and hasn't simply drifted out and sunk due to shoddy mooring, is that there are no floor planks adrift or washed ashore--being loose, they would have floated away if the boat sank). I suspect the planks wouldn't have been perfectly spaced in real life. (Or at least it's very convenient for me to hope so!)

Finally, I am considering drilling a small hole in the ends of each plank to provide a handhold so they could be easily removed. In this, I am inspired by the Le Rochefort build log by Tobias, which recently added this detail to its own planking (and which is a fantastic build, I have to say).

[JacquesCousteau]

Despite running into a minor snag, the floor planking has been completed!

When painting the fore planks with a light black wash, I realized that I had a problem. Earlier I had very lightly scored part of my basswood sheet to mark the dimensions for some parts, but the scoring ended up extending beyond what I needed. I had sanded it down to the point where it didn't seem noticeable, then continued using that sheet for the floor planks. Unfortunately, adding the black wash revealed that the scoring was still present, as can be seen on the center plank in the following image. Two planks had this issue.

I tried to sand it down some more and repaint, but as can be seen, this just made the problem more noticeable and made the plank extremely blotchy.

So, I remade the two planks. Fortunately I was just able to trace the existing planks, which made things easier.

I mentioned above that I was considering adding handhold holes at the ends of the planks, and I used the faulty planks to test this out, holding them in place and using a small bit in my pin vise. Unfortunately, this didn't work. Drilling through a plank already in place left a very jagged hole in the bottom, which I wouldn't be able to access on the planks already in place, and inserting a small circular file didn't help much. Moreover, the hole itself stands out because it's the natural wood color, and attempting to add a black wash just made the plank blotchy.

 

In hindsight, I wish I had planned this better, as the handholds would have had to be added early on, before painting. Oh well, that's a lesson for the future.

Despite that, I got the floor planks in and I'm happy with how they turned out.

 

Next up, I need to add the remaining crossbeams.

[FlyingFish]

Those close up photos show how accurate and tidy your work is - its looking very good!

 

[JacquesCousteau]

32 minutes ago, FlyingFish said:

Those close up photos show how accurate and tidy your work is - its looking very good!

 

Thanks, that's very kind of you to say! I think I could have been neater at some of the slots around the frames, but I'm learning more and more with each part I make.

[JacquesCousteau]

Next, I installed the crossbeams that run across the fore half of the hull, and carved the supports for the rail.

Marking out the crossbeam locations took a bit of time. Photos like the one below suggest that the crossbeams weren't always perfectly spaced or parallel, but I wanted to get them at least close. 

 

Source: Martín Sánchez, “January 22, 2020” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHbBKiYs3QU
I also wanted to avoid cutting into any of the frames, which would make cutting out the slots harder. I used a mini saw blade to cut out the slots, after taping down some paper so the sawdust wouldn't get trapped in the floor planking. Although I used an exacto blade to mark the slot locations, as I'd seen this was more precise than a pencil, I didn't realize that the saw blade would widen the cut a bit, so the first crossbeams are a bit loose. Cutting the slots was also a bit tricky because, in theory, the sides should not be vertical, but rather perpendicular to the rail as it curves up. As a result, the slots didn't end up quite as neat as I would have liked.

 

I originally left the ends of the crossbeams unstained, due partly to the issues I've had with staining end grain, but mostly because I was planning on painting the protruding ends black with the rest of the hull exterior.

 

However, after gluing the crossbeams in place, I began to have second thoughts--the hull exterior is a big expanse to have all one color, and it might look better to have some different-colored crossbeams to add variety and visual interest. Of course, it would have been better to decide this before gluing them in place.... Also, the ends of the crossbeams ended up a little uneven due to some wood fibers being crushed in the cutting process, so if I go the stain route, I'll probably have to resand and restain.

With the crossbeams in place, I turned my attention to the supports that prop up the rail in the aft half. As I mentioned when making these for the Cargo Canoa (post #41 in this thread), and as can be seen in the image below, the supports at times were carved into interesting shapes.

Source: https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/fotografia%3A139636

As far as I can tell, these are the only decorations that these otherwise utilitarian vessels would have, so I wanted to make them look nice. As Ramón Rubín makes clear, owning a nice canoa would have been a point of pride for any fisherman or cargo hauler. I've also been very impressed with the beautiful shaping that people do in other builds for even simple parts like knees, and wanted to do a much better job than I did on the Cargo Canoa. Finally, I wanted to make them thicker than the 1/16‐inch-thick supports I used on the Cargo Canoa, which seemed flimsy, so I went with a bit of scrap 3/32‐thick wood leftover from the dory kit.

I made a paper template that I traced onto the wood. After cutting out each piece, I lightly chamfered the edge with my exacto knife.

Then I used a round and half round file to better shape the edges, smoothing and rounding them. I also used a drill bit to partially drill out a circular indentation on each side to add a bit of visual interest. Finally I cut the top to the correct angle.

I've now made six of the supports. I'm very happy with how they turned out, and think they look much better than the supports on the Cargo Canoa.

Before I attach the supports and paint the hull, I will be checking photos to see 1) if I should make one more support per side, and 2) if any vessels seem to have had the supports differently-colored than the hull, which, as with the crossbeams, would add visual interest to what will otherwise be a vast monochrome expanse.

Edited November 9, 2023 by JacquesCousteau
Added old photos

[JacquesCousteau]

Unfortunately, I've now run into an entirely self-created problem.

 

I decided not to make any more supports, as three seemed to be about the right number for a canoa of this size. As for coloration, it was hard to tell from photos. The supports generally seem to have been the same color as the rest of the hull, but in some they appear slightly lighter. 

 

I was curious how it would look if the supports were stained to be consistent with the crossbeams. (Painting the supports brown could work in theory but would be notably inconsistent with the rest of the build). Here's where I made a mistake. Upon staining the first support, it looked extremely blotchy, probably because of all the end grain as well as basswood's general unsuitability for staining. So, I decided to just paint the supports the same color as the hull and glued them on without staining any more of them. (None are stained in the below picture).

 

However, I had been too hasty in judging the stain job. With a bit more time, it evened out considerably, looking much better. (In the photo below, the stained support is closest to the canera). But, now all the supports were glued to the hull.

 

Rather than remove the supports, I decided to see if it was possible to stain them while on the hull. I applied sealer to the hull around them so that excess stain wouldn't soak into the hull. I also sanded the supports near the joint to remove any glue residue (although I had been very careful to remove excess with a damp brush as I went). Then, I carefully stained the pieces, including using a fine brush to apply stain to the nooks and crannies where it was hard to use the stain pen.

 

Unfortunately, this didn't work very well. Unlike on the first support, the stain turned out very blotchy in general. What's worse, it didn't take near the joint. Either there was still glue residue left on the surface despite my efforts, or glue had soaked into the interior of the wood a bit. In any case, the supports look terrible.

Above, the support I stained off the hull is on the right, and the two stained on the hull are to its left.

 

Above, the view from a different angle makes it more clear how the stain didn't take near the joint with the hull.

 

The other side is quite blotchy, as well.

 

So, now I'm a bit stuck. As I see it, using alcohol now to remove the supports for restaining off the hull is unlikely to work well. I don't know what effect alcohol will have on the already applied stain, and I'm not sure if it would fully remove the glue residue that's keeping the stain from applying near the joint. I'd also still have to somehow deal with the blotchy staining elsewhere, which seems unrelated to the glue issues--that my first support turned out evenly-stained may have simply been a matter of luck.

 

I could also try re-making the botchy pieces, but I'm not sure if I have enough wood in the right size. The dory kit only came with a very small piece in this thickness, and this thickness is not very available here for purchase.

 

Finally, I could just go with my original plan and, as in the Rolling Stones song, paint it black.

 

Any suggestions are welcome. This is really a lesson in having patience with painting/staining, and above all, in the importance of planning out my next steps ahead of time.

Edited November 10, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[wefalck]

How will you treat the hull as such? Perhaps, if the hull is going to be stained as well, the visual contrast between the supports and the hull will be less. Otherwise, to me they don't look so blotchy and such boats would look a bit rough anywhay, won't they?

[JacquesCousteau]

12 minutes ago, wefalck said:

How will you treat the hull as such? Perhaps, if the hull is going to be stained as well, the visual contrast between the supports and the hull will be less. Otherwise, to me they don't look so blotchy and such boats would look a bit rough anywhay, won't they?

Thanks! The rest of the hull will be painted a flat black, unless my tests with producing a more mottled, tarred wood scheme go better than expected. From photos, the tarred wood look was the most common, but some do show a painted hull. Given that I haven't significantly weathered the interior all that much, I was thinking that a more evenly-painted hull would be more appropriate.

[Harvey Golden]

Some thoughts on splotchy irregularities, etc... You are looking for solutions to fix this, but the solution might be an aesthetic decision.  If you are going for the brand-new Canoa de Rancho factory show room look, splotchiness may well be a problem worth fixing.  But these were work boats built and maintained by less than affluent fishermen for functionality above all.  A bit of wear, repair, and splotch here and there can effectively convey the craft's humble existence-- if done well, it will breathe life into the model.  

[JacquesCousteau]

32 minutes ago, Harvey Golden said:

Some thoughts on splotchy irregularities, etc... You are looking for solutions to fix this, but the solution might be an aesthetic decision.  If you are going for the brand-new Canoa de Rancho factory show room look, splotchiness may well be a problem worth fixing.  But these were work boats built and maintained by less than affluent fishermen for functionality above all.  A bit of wear, repair, and splotch here and there can effectively convey the craft's humble existence-- if done well, it will breathe life into the model.  

Thanks! This is good to keep in mind. I think I can probably live with the blotchiness overall--as you and wefalck point out, a working boat would be a little banged up. And, given that I did weather the floorboards, I can't really go for a perfect showroom look anyway--aiming for a vessel that's maybe had a couple voyages but is still relatively recently-build and isn't totally banged up might be a better look overall.

 

I think the more serious issue is the bright strip alongside the hull on most of the supports, which does look very out of place (I'll try to add a better photo). I'm thinking I might try a little more sanding and scraping there. I'm also going to experiment on scrap with seeing how it would look to add a very light black or gray wash over the stained wood, which might help even things out a bit.

 

Edit: here's a closer photo of the bright strip alongside the hull.

Edited November 10, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[JacquesCousteau]

In happier news: I've been so focused on the Canoa de Rancho that readers may be wondering what happened to the smaller Cargo Canoa I'm building alongside it. This whole time, the Cargo Canoa has been sitting at the corner of my desk. Living up to the original boat's function, it's been very useful for holding small parts and scrap. At the moment, it's carrying a shipment of frames and the keel for the Juana y José cross-section.

 

It would probably make more sense to just use the largely empty boxes below it....

 

In any case, the next step for the Cargo Canoa is the rudder. What's kept me from working on it is that the rudder extends below the hull, so I need a stand to prop up the canoa during construction. For a long time, with my focus on the Canoa de Rancho, I was indecisive about the stand, but I finally decided to get a move on. After fiddling around with a few card templates that I didn't much like, I remembered that I still have a good bit of balsa from the Trajinera that I could use to make a simple stand--one that I wouldn't feel bad about getting rid of if I eventually decide to redo it with something nicer. So, I made an extremely simple stand, which I've painted with the first layer of black paint.

 

I still want to add some pins or something to better secure the hull, but with the Cargo Canoa raised up a bit, I can finally start work on the rudder.

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Jacques, everything is looking great. When building the Nordland Boat I had the same decisions to make on how to finish the inside of the plywood hull planking. It didn’t accept stain well at all. I ended up sealing the planks with a coat of Minwax wipe on poly . I then added some finely sanded pencil lead ,using a sanding block , to a small amount of wipe on poly. The poly turns black after a bit of stirring. When applied as a second coat and removing the excess, the planks had a grey look to them. At the time I described it as a mildewed look. Maybe there are other ways of tinting sealer. The fun is all in the experimenting 

[JacquesCousteau]

43 minutes ago, Paul Le Wol said:

Hi Jacques, everything is looking great. When building the Nordland Boat I had the same decisions to make on how to finish the inside of the plywood hull planking. It didn’t accept stain well at all. I ended up sealing the planks with a coat of Minwax wipe on poly . I then added some finely sanded pencil lead ,using a sanding block , to a small amount of wipe on poly. The poly turns black after a bit of stirring. When applied as a second coat and removing the excess, the planks had a grey look to them. At the time I described it as a mildewed look. Maybe there are other ways of tinting sealer. The fun is all in the experimenting 

Thanks, Paul! Somehow I hadn't seen your Nordland Boat before, it turned out great and I love the coloration on the planks--the pencil lead method is very cool. (Also, good job on the planking--I have no idea why the kit was designed to be planked with so few bulkheads, that looks hard).

 

Also, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get the fingerholes in the decking so cleanly-drilled? I'd love to do something similar on the canoa, but my test left a lot of stray fibers on the bottom of the plank.

[JacquesCousteau]

(Sorry for so many posts in short succession!)

 

As it turns out, I was able to fix the staining issue. Sanding hadn't worked well, so I tried scraping with the back of an exacto blade. This worked much better. After a few rounds of scraping, staining spots with a detail brush, and repeating the process wherever the stain still didn't take, the supports now look much more even. Not showroom-floor perfect, but good for a working boat.

 

 

Now I'll need to just not get paint on them when I do the hull...

[Paul Le Wol]

59 minutes ago, JacquesCousteau said:

 

Also, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get the fingerholes in the decking so cleanly-drilled? I'd love to do something similar on the canoa, but my test left a lot of stray fibers on the bottom of the plank.

Hi Jacques, I did the same as you. Started with a small drill bit and then enlarged the hole with a small round fill. It was easier to get a clean edge with the pear.

[JacquesCousteau]

A couple of updates for today. I'm once again working on both canoas simultaneously, so I'll try to be clear which is which.

 

First, the Canoa de Rancho. I've sanded the support tops so the rail will fit evenly, and also gave the hull a coat of sealer-varnish. It's ready for painting.

 

But before that, Paul's comments above (and his Nordland Boat, which looks really great) inspired me to reconsider the handholds in the flooring. Previously I had used a drill bit just about the size that I wanted, with the file for touch-up. I was curious if I could get a smoother hole if I drilled with a very small bit at the start to minimize push-out, and then used the file not just for touch-up but to widen the hole to the correct size. My experiments with scrap were successful. I learned that it worked best if, after widening the hole, I removed the file, pushed any stray fibers or ragged edges on the surface into the hole, and filed a little more. This left a fairly smooth hole--not as smooth as it would be with pear, but acceptable for basswood, I think. I made sure I could consistently make a hole without a ragged edge. I also realized that I could approximate the color of the black wash on the fresh wood in the hole with a pencil, which avoids making the wood blotchy with extra black wash layers. (Sorry for how dark the photo is).

 

Once I had practiced enough, I drilled and filed on the Canoa's floorboards. I only added the handholds to a few planks--once you removed one, you could easily remove its neighbors without needing a handhold.

 

 

 

 

I think the holes add a nice touch and help break up what's otherwise a fairly monotonous floor planking.

 

 

Next, the Cargo Canoa. With a stand ready, I started on the rudder. There few clear images of an actual rudder below the waterline.

 

Source: Photo by Daniel Vega from Google Maps page of Museo Regional de Guadalajara

 

https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/fotografia%3A140947 

 

Source: https://www.mexicoenfotos.com/antiguas/jalisco/chapala/cargamento-de-entre-MX14652247742300/5

 

I like the look of the last rudder, with the prominent support beam, and will try that for the Canoa de Rancho, but it's fairly large and I wanted something simpler for the Cargo Canoa. I decided to draw inspiration from the more curved shapes shown in the following images, including of a votive model:

 

https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/fotografia%3A431683

 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TBxiBCYFlw&pp=ygUkaGlzdG9yaWEgZGVsIG1pbGFncm8gZGUgY2hhcGFsYSAxOTU1  

 

I tried a very curved shape at first, but didn't much like it. (I also cut it oversized at first).

 

Instead I ended up going for a more square-ended look.

 

As you can see, I also attached the tiller, which I made months ago out of a bit of mango wood I collected myself. To fit it onto the end of the rudder, I trimmed down the end of the rudder piece, drilled two holes in the tiller, and connected them with the exacto blade.

 

The tiller split a little at its end, but it will glue together smoothly when I permanently attach it to the rudder.

 

Here's how the rudder will look, approximately, although it will be a little closer to the stern--I need to file a semicircular space in the stern rail for the rudder.

 

Next up, painting and hinges.

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by JacquesCousteau

[JacquesCousteau]

I've started work on the Cargo Canoa's rudder hinge. My interest is less about allowing the rudder to swing from side to side than allowing it to be removed for easier transport, but making a hinge seems likea good way to do that. The issue is that I don't have the tools, materials, or experience to work with metal, so I've had to be creative.

Attempt number one was to drill a hole down the center of a toothpick so I could then cut off small lengths to use as gudgeons and pintles (the latter with a small length of wire cut from a paperclip glued into the hole as the pin). This proved extremely slow, in part as my smallest drill bits are rather blunt, and the toothpick simply split when I went up a size.

So I decided to try using small rolls of cardstock for the pintles and gudgeons, and to use a sanded-down bit of toothpick for the pin so it would glue better to the card. The result will undoubtedly be a bit fragile, but I'm not planning on moving the rudder beyond removing it if I need to for transport.

I began rolling a thin strip of card around a thinned down toothpick to make the pintle. I did the same for the gudgeons, but around a paperclip, so that they could be easily slid off later.

As I discovered, this method can also be used for making scale rolls of toilet paper, if for some weird reason you really want to do that. (Although in this case I'd need to use a strip of paper 1/32‐inch wider for it to truly be to scale).

The resulting pintles and gudgeons are maybe a bit thick, as I was worried about them breaking. If they look like they'll be too out-of-scale on the canoa, it won't be too hard to make thinner ones.

I then attached the straps to hold the pintles and gudgeons to the hull and rudder.

Finally I cut the pintles off the toothpick and did a test fitting. As can be seen, the result needs to be painted and to have the straps and pins cut to size, but it does seem like it would work. Seeing it on the rudder, it does seem a bit oversize, so I'm going to try again to make them smaller, but I can keep these for now as backup.