What Wood To Make A Canoe?

A plywood canoe can be built in just a few days using a simple technique called Strip Building. Northern white cedar is the best wood for canoe ribs and planking due to its lightweight, strength, flexibility, and rot resistance. Early builders used red cedar for planking and white cedar for ribs. Canoe builders can also use any species of wood, such as bamboo chopsticks, redwood picnic tables, and cypress. The technique involves 14 x 34 strips of wood, usually cedar, but can be mixed with any type of wood. Cedar and cypress are popular choices for building wood strip canoes due to their lightweight nature, rot resistance, and ease of bending. The canoe is built by driving the tack through the plank, all the way through the rib beneath it, and then bending the tip over and back up into the rib. Other woods used include poplar for accent strips, white pine for the entire hull, and white and red cedar. The process involves strongback and molds, milling the strips, bending the stems, building the hull, and closing the hull.