Crafting ideas

How to make your boat out of wood? Michael knows!

One of the other days, I came across some pictures of a wooden boat and a short text saying Wabnaki canoe handmade by mines. I admit I liked what I saw and decided to find out more. This is how I met, unfortunately only in cyberspace, but I hope it will happen soon in reality, a wonderful man, for whom wood is both a profession and a hobby. I will tell you more about him, the boat he built and his plans for the future.

wooden boat

How the adventure began

Mihai Bonda is a carpenter from Săvădisla, Cluj county. He is passionate about wood and like any good craftsman he likes to craft, to tinker, to use a fashionable term. You can do it yourself, including Wooden boats by Gil Gilpatrick. He picked them up, flipped through them and put them wellcompletely forgetting about them.

This year she went to tidy up and came across Gilpatrick's book. You know those moments when you're cleaning out the library, climbing a ladder, and come across a favorite book? You end up sitting there, like a crow in a haystack, for hours reading that book. Michael had one of those moments. He discovered 6 boat designs in the book, but one in particular caught his eye - the Wabnaky Canoe.

Driven by the desire to build his own wooden boat, he started looking on specialized forums to see what was involved in building a canoe. He quickly discovered that it's not an easy task. But being an ambitious person and a woodworker by trade, he decided to start building.

wooden boat

wooden boat

Materials needed and the actual construction

The first thing was to look for the necessary materials: wood, fiberglass, epoxy resins. The book said that they use cedar wood. But he found it hard to find in the country. What's more, cedar is a heavy wood and the boat would end up weighing around 35 kg. Determined not to give up, he went to a specialist shop where he was recommended abachi for resilience and iroko for color contrast.

Abachi (obeche or samba) is wood from a tropical African tree. It is pale yellow in color and is also used to make guitars. Iroko is a tree growing on the west coast of Africa, believed to have supernatural powers. The wood of the young tree is golden yellow in color, turning dark brown when mature.

In his search for fiberglass he met Marius Fătu from Constanta, a boat enthusiast who has built more than 200 ultra-light boats (kayaks and canoes). Mihai never misses an opportunity to thank Mr. Fătu for his advice and help. This time he did not forget 🙂

The actual construction took 4 months. It started at the end of April and by the beginning of August it was ready to be tested on the water. And it was decided that the test would take place on Lake Beliș, on a well-deserved vacation, where the boat behaved wonderfully and was the local attraction.

wooden boat

wooden boat

wooden boat

wooden boat

wooden boat

He's so hooked on the boat-building bug that he's already planning to build a mini-cruiser for which he's even ordered the plans in the US. The boat will be 6.2m long and 2.4m wide and will take about 2 years to build. Michael realizes it's quite a long time, but says it's worth it. And the joy with which he talks about his experience, the satisfaction of sitting in his own wooden boat that he built himself, convinces you that it is - it really is worth it.

(photo source: Mihai Bonda)

About the author

Mihaela Radu

Mihaela Radu is a chemical engineer but has a great passion for wood. She has been working in the field for more than 20 years, wood finishing being what defined her during this period. She gained experience working in a research institute, in her own company, as well as in a multinational. She wants to continuously share her experience with those who have the same passion - and more.

7 comments

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  • Did you look for wood at a specialty store?
    Where are there such shops in Romania?
    I know I'm being ironic, but it really interests me. I have a great deal of frustration with what you find in DIY stores here.

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