Minnesota Canoe Association
Boat Building How to...
2000
Building a Paper Canoe (h25)
by Dale Hedtke
Have you thought of building a paper canoe? That's right, I said paper canoe! This fall I discovered an article in the December/January 1983 issue of the Small Boat Journal that describes some of the history and construction of paper canoes. There is a wonderful story about Nathaniel Bishop, who in 1874 paddled his paper canoe over 2,000 miles down the inland waterway of the east coast and across Florida. His canoe was 14' long, 28" wide, and weighed 58 pounds. He suffered the usual hardships of travelling in open waters with a small craft, but he and his craft survived the trip.
While the construction details are too much to present here, the general technique for building a paper canoe is quite straight forward. Another canoe is used for the mold, and several layers of paper strips are glued together over the mold. The building technique is essentially cold molding using paper rather than wood.
The construction details described in the article seem simple, but I suspect that the "devil in the details" nature of boat building would make this a fairly involved project. To get started, the canoe used for the mold should be cleaned and coated with a parting compound (wax) to keep the new canoe from sticking. The chosen canoe should not have a keel, and the outer gunnels should be removed. Avoid designs with tumblehome and reverse shear in the stems as these features will make removing the paper canoe from the mold more difficult.
The paper used is heavy kraft paper (plain brown wrapping paper) in 3-5" strips. The first layer is installed at a 45° angle to the centerline of the canoe and carefully fitted to avoid gaps. The ends should be taped inside the canoe to hold them in place. It was suggested in the article that it would be worthwhile to tape each seam full length with masking tape in order to assure a tight fit and a stable first layer. Each successive layer is fitted in the same manner and oriented 90° to the previous layer. Each strip of paper is wetted with plastic resin glue, carefully laid in place, and rolled with a paint roller to eliminate bubbles and drips. Each layer is allowed to dry completely and is sanded before the next layer is installed. After about four layers the author described alternating layers of paper with sheets of cheesecloth set in wet glue. I'm not sure how many layers are needed, but my intuition tells me that you would want about 3/16" or more total hull thickness.
Once the paper canoe is removed from the form canoe (it may be necessary to cut the stems open to get a release), wood stems, gunnels, thwarts, and seats are installed in the familiar manner. It seems that cutting the stems open would facilitate fitting and installing the stems. The stem areas can be closed with bias cut fiberglass cloth, and the entire canoe covered with 4 oz cloth and epoxy. Final finish should be varnish on the inside (to show off the paper) and paint or varnish on the exterior.
Also, the 2000 Paddlesports Show will again be held at the Har Mar Mall on Saturday & Sunday, February 19th & 20th. If you have built a small boat, please consider displaying it at our show. We are interested in all kinds of small, self-propelled craft, not just strip built canoes. In previous years we have had small dinghies, kayaks, lap strake canoes, wood & canvass canoes, rowboats, and even an ice boat! If you would like more information, call or e-mail (see page 3), and I will send you an informational packet. Your help will be appreciated.
