The Family that Builds Canoes together Paddles Together

2669

What made you want to build a canoe?
I always wanted something that could take my family and I out on the ocean.
My wife and I have been paddling for al-most 10 years now, but usually on different crews or on a one-man.

A 3-man canoe is something that we could enjoy together as family. Purchasing a production 3-man canoe would have been a practical purchase, as there are several good quality canoes on the market now at a reasonable cost. The choice to build it myself was with the intention to involve my whole family in the creation of something that would embody a sense of pride and ownership.
Not just another one of my toys taking up space in the garage. Why did you choose this particular design?

I designed it with flat water in mind. There is not much rocker in the hull and the waterline basically runs from the nose to tail. It’s shorter than most other production 3-mans, so that transportation is a little easier. I did put a little more volume in the nose and installed a splash guard in case we ever took it on a downwind run on a small day. From the few times we paddled it, it seemed to track well and could be paddle-steered.
The completed hull came within 10 lbs of my target weight, which I am very pleased with.

Have you done something like this before? When?
Yes. In Washington during the winter of 2013, Vance Hashimoto, Stephen Pauelua, and I built a one man rudderless canoe in Stephen’s garage.
It was a similar design and build process for a strip-planked hull and deck. We started from scratch and learned the build process along the way through trial and error. It was challenging to build, not only be-cause none of us knew what we were doing, but it was also a record low-temperature winter making it diffucult to cure the epoxy. What else have you built to go and have fun? I made a few skimboards with my Dad. I created a surfboard and a few outrigger canoe paddles.In Washington, I made a snowboard with two gyotaku on the deck. This 3-man canoe is by far the biggest project I’ve ever taken on.

What other water sports do you enjoy?
I really enjoy spearfishing. I like the idea of selectively harvesting something from the ocean for the dinner table. I like to skimboard with my homemade board. I sometimes surf, but only with my wife. What is your Occupation?
Mechanical Engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

Where did you grow up?
Moanalua!!! Oahu, Hawaii

Growing up did you always want to build things?
I would say yes, but not really any more than the next kid.  I guess I played with legos a lot…I remember playing with legos during hurricane Iniki at my grammas house. I’m pretty sure I get my passion for build-ing from my Dad. I remember as a kid, helping him build a sand crab race track, complete with individual plexi-glass stalls, to take with us camping.

Meanwhile, I will focus my efforts on my house and yard, which have been severely neglected for about a year. LOL.

What kind of wood did you use?
Western Red Cedar.