This weekend, I am heading to the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, VT.
I’ll be helping to build a willow ribbed canoe with Hilary Russell, who got me started building skin-on-frame canoes. This boat will look much like our boats, but instead of having steamed cedar ribs, it will be ribbed with willow rods. Also, in keeping with Yestermorrow’s ethos, this will be made with ‘greener’ sustainable materials: a 12’ board; forty willow rods for the ribs; water-based glue; tarred cotton twine for lashing; some scrap wood, and a length of cotton canvas. By applying both Celtic and Native American methods and designs, we will produce a 10½’ by 27” wide double paddle canoe weighing about 18 pounds.
