Canoe Projects

Canoeing is an outdoor recreational activity where one or more riders float in a long, narrow boat. There are many canoe projects, ranging from making your own dugout canoe to caring for a canoe, that will help you to get the most out of your experience with this water craft.

  1. Canoe Rack

    • Improper storage of a canoe can damage the bottom. A canoe hull's floor is not designed to be dragged along rough surfaces and doing so can lead to cracks or holes that allow water to seep in, causing wet feet or even the sinking of the canoe. A storage rack made of materials such as PVC or wood allows you to store your canoe safely upside down above the ground, preventing damage to the bottom of the hull.

    Canoe Cart

    • While a rack allows you to store your canoebetween use, the canoe still must be carried from the rack to the water. The rack also provides a simple way to carry a canoe to the water while protecting the bottom from damage. The rack frame consists of two wheels on an axle attached to a frame of padded wood or PVC piping on which the canoe is placed then rolled across the ground.

    Outriggers

    • Although canoes are designed to be stable, when standing in a canoe it is possible to upset the balance and overturn. For people like fishermen who must stand up to cast their lines or to reel in their fish, an outrigger solves the problem by attaching floating pontoons, offset on either side of the canoe. When the balance in the canoe shifts to one side, the pontoon on that side's buoyancy resists the turn and keeps the canoe upright.

    Dug Out Canoes

    • A dug out canoe is the traditional method of creating a canoe. The canoe is made by cutting a log then digging out the interior to create the space for riders to sit. The bark is first removed from the exterior of the log with a chainsaw to create a canoe shape. The inside is then dug by cutting a channel down the middle ad expanding out with an ax, creating an open space within. This opening only provides room for the canoe riders and increases the buoyancy of the canoe.