Boat Building - Materials
Boats & Builders
On Deer Island, Bonavista Bay, it was common practice for boat builders to harvest their timber according to phases of the moon." Everything is governed by the moon,” says boat builder Sam Feltham, “You wouldn't cut timber when…”
Juniper (Tamarack) is a strong softwood that grows mostly in wet swampy areas and is the preferred timber for the ribs of the Gander River Boat. Builders heat thin strips of juniper in steam or boiling water to make it pliable enough to bend the wood to the…
Steam bending wood is a technique used in boat building to shape the ribs of the boat. While most builders in Glovertown learned how to build using sawn timbers, they switched to…
Before building a boat, every builder must first acquire his timber. The types of wood used for building boats varies depending the kind of boat being constructed and what is available in the area…
As is common practice in Newfoundland and Labrador, Jack Casey of Conche cut all his timber in the fall of the year. “We had a camp in there, about 8 miles… We’d walk in there and cut our timber and pile it up on…
Edwin’s enthusiasm for boat building reaches back many years into his childhood. “I think I can honestly say that everywhere there was a boat, I had my nose into it somehow,” he explained. Edwin grew up in Heart’s Delight…