Canoe Wall Mount

[Reed Wells]

I have a customer that I have done much work for in the past. She has come up with an idea that she wants me to take a wooden canoe, rip it down the center, lengthway, so it can be hung on the wall in her greatroom. Question, what kind of trouble will I be getting into if I decide to take it on? Any ideas on the best tools to use for the cutting. She wants it to match the furniture I built for her in the past. Cedar and Pine with golden oak stain. I am not even sure what canoes are made of. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Majik

[Michael Ballent]

First of all welcome to SMC. Great place for like minded folks to talk about all the precision cut firewood we create ;)

I would think that if you devised a sled that you could mount canoe to and ran it through a big enough bandsaw??? or Sawzall. I would at least put masking tape along the cut line to minimize splintering... Just some random thoughts.



I have a customer that I have done much work for in the past. She has come up with an idea that she wants me to take a wooden canoe, rip it down the center, lengthway, so it can be hung on the wall in her greatroom. Question, what kind of trouble will I be getting into if I decide to take it on? Any ideas on the best tools to use for the cutting. She wants it to match the furniture I built for her in the past. Cedar and Pine with golden oak stain. I am not even sure what canoes are made of. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Majik

[Matt Meiser]

I'd say bandsaw or sawsall too. I've seen canoes made of wood, aluminum, and plastic with metal components.

[fred woltersdorf]

give this guy a call,he seems pretty knowledgeable about canoes.http://www.littlebearcanoes.com/pages/2/index.htm

[Matt Kennedy]

Reed,

I just wanted to comment on your neat blog. Cool stuff - would make a good book someday.:)


Matt

[Joe Pelonio]

My canoe is fiberglas and aluminum, so I probably don't need to worry about you getting your hands on it. On the wood ones some will have a Kevlar core these days, others have wood frame with stretched canvas.
For cutting maybe you have a friend with a small lumber mill used to cut boards out of logs? I wonder if she has a canoe for this or you have to buy it. A good wood canoe can be a couple of thousand. I have seen bookcases, entertainment centers and things made from 1/2 canoe cut the other way, in fact we have a small one in our family room to display my wife's moose collection, but I think it was manufactured not made from a real canoe.

[Michael Ballent]

You know... after looking at the site I wonder if there could be some delamination after ripping the canoe in half. Does the top part of the canoe hold the whole thing under some tension that could be released as you make the cut :confused:

Not sure if calling that guy would be any help... He may think it's blasphemous to cut a canoe in half ;)



give this guy a call,he seems pretty knowledgeable about canoes.http://www.littlebearcanoes.com/pages/2/index.htm

[Dave Richards]

The problem with ripping a typical wooden canoe down the center is that it is likely to lose its shape or take on a new one. You might get away with it if you build some additional internal support structure including a longitudinal member.

Will it be mounted right way up or upside down? That might make a big difference. Does her great room have the ceiling height to allow the whole canoe to be suspended instead? You might suggest that to her. Does she have the canoe to cut up?

Or maybe some brackets on the wall that would allow the canoe to be mounted so it is leaning at an angle. I think that could look pretty sharp and wouldn't ruin the canoe.

You could make some nice supports that have a cradling curve to match the boat. The canoe could have paddles laying strategically crossed on the thwart. She could put a wicker creel, a wooden rimmed landing net and an old fly rod in it. Oh, it could be darling.

If she can't be dissuaded from the half a canoe thing, you might consider building a half from scratch.

[Peter Lyon]

As a builder of a cedar strip canoe, my question for you is why make a full canoe if all you're going to do is rip it in half? That is of course, unless you've got another customer lined up...:D Seriously, I can't forsee too many problems from constructing and fiberglassing just half of a boat. The only area where you'll have to deviate from the norm is at the stems.

[Art Mulder]

Hey Reed,

Just to get the basic stuff out of the way... Does this person really understand just how large canoes are? A fourteen foot long canoe may not seem very big when you are loading it down with packs and paddles and people, but a fourteen foot long canoe on a wall is going to be a monstrously huge piece of wall art.

I would also expect it to not hold its shape once you cut it apart, unless you first reinforce it. I think you'd need to build in some support first before you cut it.

best,
...art

[Bob Johnson2]

I'd image a canvas canoe would fall apart, the cross pieces would probably spring out of shape to some extent (see the 5'er from littlebear) and the canvas is usually stretched over the frame to some extent. On an old one it'd probably be brittle. You might get away cutting a stripper in half, you'd have to mount it to a back board or maybe permenantly to the wall to have something to connect the seats, yoke, and the decks to, but it should work. There's not much to them for the most part, 1/4" cedar and a couple layers of fiberglass epoxied to the cedar. The 2 stems at either end may be a couple inches thick and the decks are usually 3/4" or so, if your carefull with a sawsall or similar it'd go. Heck, it'd be a shame to see a good canoe cut in half, how about talking her into getting one of littlebears 5'ers, that's what they're for.

[John D Watson]

Hey Reed, I agree with Peter in that there is no need to build an entire canoe when you only need half of one. This may help you out.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=42741&cat=1,46158,46166

[Bob Johnson2]

Reed, Just an fyi in case you get to feeling like building a half a canoe. I've made a number of strippers and taking my time it takes me well over 150 hrs. A half canoe wouldn't amount to that much of a time savings over a whole.

[Kurt Forbes]

You are better off building a 1/2 of a canoe.

My father was comissioned to build a 1/2 of a rowboat to be used as a seafood bar in one of our local resturants.

We ended up makeing closer to a 1/3 boat because it would have been way to wide otherwise.

Make your center line wall and build half of a canoe from that or if need be scale it down a bit to fit the wall but build a bulkhead and build the boat from that to help it keep it's shape.
If you rip a canoe open it will fly apart most likely or best case it will distort.

Most likely you will need to build it a bit smaller.

it does not have to be a canoe it just has to look like one.

[Dave Richards]

Funny thing. As I read some of these posts, I can't see that Reed mentioned building a canoe. I gathered he just has a clent who wants him to cut one in half. We don't even know what kind of canoe it is. A stripper? Canvas covered? Maybe she's got an old Coleman canoe she wants him to split. 'course that'd turn into a big flat piece of plastic if he did that.

Reed, I still think it would be better to try to keep the canoe whole. Surely if there's room for half a canoe, there's room for the whole thing.

If it turns out you really are going to build one, let me know. I can come up with a number of free, classic canoe plans for you. Bob does have a good point. Building a whole one wouldn't take much longer than building half. Maybe you could find another client who wants the other side in her greatroom. :D

[Kent Parker]

Reed,

As others have mentioned, cutting a canoe in half will result in it loosing rigidity. Hulls of canoes and other vessels rely on the port side and starboard sides being "tied" together. It is the hull's tension that allows it to keep its shape, remain rigid and appose stress, strain and compressive forces associated with use.

If you really want to cut a boat in half :( , consider restructuring it first. With a canoe I would suggest providing a longitudinal "strongback" or you could call it a partition made of plywood that runs from forward to aft inside the hull with contact at the stem and stern post and its lower edge on the keel. Its upper edge could be shaped to the canoes shear line or just slightly lower to minimize seeing it when mounted.

Additionally, after attaching the longitudinal piece, add a few partitions (bulkheads), say every four feet, between the plywood longitudinal and the half hull you intend to keep. You will then maintain rigidity of half the canoe after you cut it in half. Cutting down the "outside" of the longitudinal will provide a guide for your saw. I'd use a hand saw and finish the edge with a plane and a bit of sandpaper.

Adding all this wood will make your project heavy so I would suggest cutting holes in all of the partitions and the longitudinal to lighten it up. Not a bunch of little ones but maybe about 5" to 6" depending on the size of the pieces. You'll be able to cut alot away and still achieve strength.

[Harry Goodwin]

I agree with George. Our daughtrer has a large handmade I guess cedar canoe on her wall. It's a woodworking work of art. It is whole and looks fine if that's your kind of thing. I tried to find a picture but no dice. Harry

[Pete Lamberty]

Hi Reed, I don't know anything about your canoe problem. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading the stories about your dog and the wolf. I have lived in the city my whole life and although we have wolves here too ( a different species), I liked reading about yours. I will visit your blog again. A fun read. Thanks!

[Reed Wells]

Thanks very much guys. I emailed this page to my client to give her an idea on what was involved in this project. What a GREAT forum! Thanks for the much needed info. Reed

[Julio Navarro]

Perhaps a knucklehead idea but depending on whats on the other side of the wall, why not embed the canoe int he wall. Cut out the profile of the canoe in the wall and just seal around it at the midpoint....seal off the other side of the wall frame around the canoe, maybe even build something usefull around the "back: half of the canoe. if its on the outside maybe even keep the canoe exposed to the exterior, may make a cool conversation starter at that family picnick. Like I said, probably a knuckle head idea.

[little bear]

If you build a small canoe form, you should be able to bend all your ribs then take the canoe off the form after a few days . It will hold the shape no problem. Build the canoe with just the keel, then cut the keel up the middle.I see no problems..After you cut the canoe glue it to a flat board them mount the whole unit to the wall.. I did this many times. Looks very cool.
Good luck
little bear

[Ben Grunow]

Reed- make three support brackets out of the same species the canoe is made of (it must be natural finished wood if it is worthy of the inside wall) and screw them into the canoe structure.. next to a frame or something. Include a narrow strip installed vertically on each bracket to allow for screwing it to a wall. THen cut it using blue tape and a jigsaw leaving a little (1/4") and finish with a belt sander.. only use a sawzall if you encounter a fastener that cant be cut with the jigsaw. THe boat will change shape so mount it on a vertical surface and eye it before you take the last bit.

Let us know what you do.

[Kurt Loup]

Having worked on this canoe since Thanksgiving, I'd hate to think of cutting it apart.

Kurt

http://www.loup-garou.net/sitebuilder/images/up-600x451.jpg

[Dewayne Reding]

I've seen the old rip a canoe in half trick at resorts in MN. It looks pretty good, but it's usually done outside, like on a lodge exterior wall. (That I have seen anyway) I wouldn't do it with a good canoe of course, but it looks pretty rustic. Hanging it up whole would be a serious piece of wall decoration. Most canoes are 16 feet long and 2+ feet wide. The great room would really need to be large. Unless it is an expensive composite, they aren't particularly light either. 80+ pounds is typical for an affordable canoe.

Kurt, that is VERY nice work!