I am excited to be building Pygmy's first canoe kit, the Taiga. She is 17 feet long and designed to be a "tripper". As with all Pygmy kits, it is constructed from mahogany plywood using the "stitch and glue" method.
The kit arrived in two boxes. One eight-foot box contains all of the wooden parts and another box contains the gallons of epoxy, the fiberglass cloth and tape and other miscellaneous items. In addition to the mahogany plywood panels, the lovely hardwood thwarts and seats are pre-cut and finished. I am very fortunate to have a large unfinished basement with windows, but I am not sure that I will be able to get this canoe out the window when it is done. I may have to build her in the garage where it is cold, but I would rather not. |
This canoe will not have any ribs, but five temporary forms will be used during construction to keep the panels in the correct shape. Since I have to decide where I can build this kit, I decided to construct the forms first so I can see what the cross section will look like. The two smallest forms are cut and ready to use, but the larger forms need to be put together. I cut some plastic trash bags to cover the floor and then positioned the form sections. As with all of the plywood parts, they are laser cut and fit perfectly. I placed a brick on each section to keep it in place and then I cut some small pieces of thin scrap plywood which will reinforce the joints. Then a small batch of epoxy was mixed with some of the provided wood flour and applied to each joint and block. After the epoxy cured over night, I placed the mid form in the window frame. Well, the sashes will have to be removed, but it should go out the window. Taiga will come to life in the basement!
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