The Outer banks, a string of barrier islands off the mainland from North Carolina is a slice of heaven. We come here every year. I was lucky enough to be able to spend two weeks here this past summer. Here are some of my favorite shots of the horizons of the Outerbanks. Shot on Sony a6000.
With the final weeks of summer upon us, I’m glad to say that we’ve finally broken ground on canoe rebuilding. I’ve been delving into the depths of wood canvas canoe construction books, YouTube videos, discussions forums and phone calls, to figure out the next steps. Of course, we spent a lot of times outdoors as well. It’s been a pretty mild summer in Virginia thank goodness.
We spent a good amount of time, first doing some careful demolition. Removing one piece at a time to get to the guts of the canoe. The outwales were rotted for the most part, these came off pretty easily. What was left of the stem bands and the keel were removed next. I was just amazed that overall, the wood seemed to hold up well, despite being stored in the Virginia elements uncovered for several years.
The keel proved to be rather tricky to remove because the heads of the screws were corroded. Once upon a time, they were flat heads. Using a utility knife to carefully score out the old slot and then a few gentle raps on the head with a hammer loosened it enough to get purchases with a screw driver. Another approach would have been to use a Dremel tool to basically create a new slot in the screw head.
After numerous trips to lumberyards, Facebook marketplace searches, I made the decision to purchase my lumber already milled from a canoe builder. When it comes to Old Town Wood Canvas canoes, why not go straight to the source. Island Falls Canoe in Atkinson, Maine is run by legendary canoe builder Jerry Stelmok. He wrote the book: The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration and Maintenance (1987). I had a few pleasant discussions with him on the phone and after a few weeks, our supplies arrived! It was like Christmas, boxes of white cedar planking, ribs, new thwarts, tacks, bolts, canvas and much more. We also had to acquire some new tools as well as a clinching iron, purchased from Northwood Canoe Co.
One of the issues I ran into, that I haven’t really come across in any of the discussion forums or videos, is the fact that probably 80% of the canoe plank tacks were so severely corroded that they were literally falling off the canoe. When the canoe was first constructed, eastern white cedar was used to plank the canoe. These are thin 5/32″ thick boards that were steamed and tacked onto the ribs to create the shape of the hull. After 90 years, most of these were literally popping right off! As a result, the planking unstable. To preserve the shape of the hull, I started removing these corroded tacks and placed a few tacks to stabilize the hull, until they can be addressed properly. I did NOT fully clinch these tacks.
Clinching basically means that these specialty tacks (designed with a taper) are hammered into the plank and into the rib. A large piece of iron (the clinching iron) is held against the rib on the other end where the tack would exit. As the tack is exiting the rib, the tack hits the clinching iron and it curls upon itself back into the rib. The problem with working with nearly 100 year old white cedar, is the risk of splitting the planking. So to prevent this, I wetted the planks with water and then steamed it using a fabric steamer. Some people use irons. This softens the wood, making it less brittle, and less prone to splitting. The thwarts and seats were relatively easy to take out, once again, corrosion left very little to work with for the nut sand bolts. I ended up cutting several of the bolts to get the seats out.
My son got to work cutting out the old cane, and we stripped the old finish and got to sanding. The seats seemed to still be in decent shape and we worked on bringing them back to their old glamor. We were actually working on the seats while we waited for the lumber to arrive from Maine.
Once the hull was decently stabilized, we were now looking at taking out the stern, stem of the canoe . This is especially difficult to do, because the canoe was essentially built around the stem. This area of the canoe is especially prone to rot. In many scenarios, only one section of the stem would need to be replaced (perhaps 1/3 or 1/4 of the stem). There are different ways to scarf the new stem into the old, however, gauging from the amount of rot, I knew I needed a whole new stem. This is the part I’m working on currently.
It is becoming more apparent to me that there is no cookie cutter way to restore/rebuild a wood canvas canoe. I found this interesting posted on the “Wooden Canoe Heritage Association” YouTube channel. It details the restoration of an “Old Town Ruston” wood canvas canoe. Through watching these videos, I gather different types and tricks to help with my restoration.
The weather has been getting milder and we spent many grand days outdoors. My daughter was able to go on her first canoe trip and I do believe she is hooked. She is asking for her own paddle like her brother’s. We will probably have to carve one of those as well one day. Alas, fall is approaching and we are ready for more! Stay safe and healthy everyone!
I never would have suspected that the bottom of our dogwood tree would the site of a turtle nest. It is actually a high traffic area for the kids so I’m not sure when a female would have found the time to dig a nest and lay her eggs. Nevertheless, life somehow found a way.
My son was the first to notice a small hatching, crawl out of the soft dirt. Behind it, the earth seemed to start to crack and cave, as others behind it began to stir. There were remnants of leathery egg shells and tracks out of the hole. I was amazed at how mobile these little guys were right out of the gate. My suspicion is that they are Eastern Box Turtles however I will need to investigate closer. The kids got a huge kick out of it, and they were mostly amazed that the eggs were here the whole time. The nest must have been deep enough for the soil to blunt the impact, because this was a heavily trodded area. It was an inspiring thing to see.
A short video of our hike through St. Mary’s Wilderness in George Washington National Forest. Filmed on Sony a6000 with 35mm/1.8, iPhone 11, and Sony FDRX3000
As a father of 3 little children, I find that I appreciate the Virginia state parks more and more each year. Before kids, I loved trekking, camping and canoeing in wilderness areas, far from civilization. Although this can still certainly be done with kids, mine are still a little too young. For now, they are absolutely loving the state parks and all of their amenities, such as pools, bathrooms and showers. The trails are always well kept and the parking lots allow for easy transport of the munchkins.
We’ve had a few chilly mornings lately, signifying the near arrival of autumn and the school year. I wanted to get outside with them before they started school. The weather forecast was set for a high of 87F and sunny, it was our chance to explore Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland, Virginia. The drive was easy, less than 1 hour from Richmond and the empty lake on a Wednesday was perfect.
The park is a modest 329 acres, but the beach lake access and boat ramp with playgrounds was perfect. As true Canucks, these guys overheat easily, so we were stoked about the ample shade provided by the towering oaks and tulip poplars. The beach area was well kept with canoes, kayaks and paddle boats for rent. The spent their day swimming and playing in the sand. These little guys played their hearts out as the final days of summer approach. School is around the corner!
Stay safe and healthy out there everyone.
8/6/2022 – It’s been 6 years since I’ve stepped foot in St. Mary’s Wilderness, located in the vast and spectacular George Washington National Forest. I’ve hiked and camped here before in the Spring and Fall however I’ve never hiked through in the heart of summer – for good reason. The trail on this hike is generally poorly maintained because it is a designated wilderness area. Pink ribbons tied to branches outline the trail and most easily visible during spring and winter when the trees are bare. I wanted to take my son and my brother to this area to beat the summer heat and swim in the cold spring waters and to get to the St. Mary’s waterfall – where there are deep pools and cliff jumping.
We arrived on Saturday morning at approximately 10:00am. The parking lot was full but we had no trouble finding parking on the side of the roads. The directions to the trail are very straight forward and the road is well maintained. The summer heat brought numerous visitors, all with towels and bathing suits ready to dip in the ice cold spring waters. The lush green vegetation blanketed everything including parts of the trail.
I realized early into the hike that we were not going to make it to the waterfall. There was heavy rain the days prior and everything was wet and it took plenty of time to navigate with my son. So we decided to just take it slow and enjoy the hike. He’s currently into mushroom identification, and he spent a good amount of time combing the forest floor. The butterflies were also in full force, so he marveled at the sight of dozens of them near the stream. He made hiking sticks with his trusty laplander folding saw. I let him pick one of the deeper pools to swim in as promised before the trip. He was thrilled at the idea of swimming in ice cold spring water.
After a much needed swim and some lunch. We slowly made our way back to the car. As we left, my son reassured me that we were coming back to get to the falls next time. He had an awesome time in St. Mary’s Wilderness.
The city of Petersburg is a short 40 minute drive away from the capital of Virginia, Richmond. These two cities played pivotal roles in the American Civil War. It was here, where the final days of the civil war were fought. The “Siege of Petersburg” was a series of battles fought from June 9, 1864 to March 25, 1865 that led to the end of the civil war.
“Nine and a half months, 70,000 casualties, the suffering of civilians, thousands of U. S. Colored Troops fighting for the freedom of their race, and the decline of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of No. Virginia all describe the Siege of Petersburg. It was here Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cut off all of Petersburg’s supply lines ensuring the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865. Six days later, Lee surrendered.” – National Park Service
I wanted to take the kids out for some epic learning and exploration. We have never actually spent any time in Petersburg, but the park was certainly impressive. There was loads to see and we explored just a small fraction.
Photos taken on Sony a6000 w/Tamron 28-75mm lens
Happy summer solstice everyone. Here’s to the longest day of the year. Good health to all.
Shot on sony a6000 with sigma 100-400mm.
It’s been a while since I’ve edited any videos, so when the inspiration flows you just go with it. This is a video of spring 2022 in Virginia. Lots of cherry blossoms and flowers. It has actually been a really nice spring. Stay safe and healthy everyone.
WAY NORTH 