A yellow canoe is like a blast of sunshine in the shop on a cold January workday.

This may look like an ordinary tomato, but it has been picked off of a tomato plant that I have been over-wintering in my shop. Last summers plants were looking pretty good when they were due to be pulled out and thrown on the compost heap, so I decided to try keeping one potted. The goal is to get a good start for next summer.

So far, so good.

I had about an hour left at the end of yesterday before I closed the shop for the day. I had put the final coat of paint on the new Cruiser and couldn't risk making dust, not now! What to do? I decided to continue cutting out the pegbox for the Viola da Gamba that I have been working on. So now most of the wood has been removed and the refining is left. Once this is done I can fit it to the garland, which is what the assembled sides are called before the top and back are on. After it has been fitted I can continue work on the back and top.

One final view of Bob's Boreal "Y" stern all done and awaiting pick-up. Its tough to get a nice shot of a canoe inside the shop.

I've often been asked about how it must be hard to invest so much of yourself into building a canoe like this.  "Oh it must be so hard to see it go!".

The truth is  You build enough canoes (or guitars -whatever...) and you finish one and it goes out the door. You don't weep, you don't moan, you just sweep the floor and say "Right, Next!", and move on to the next project like the Jesus Lizard running across the water because you have bills to pay and you sink if you stop running

And the next project is always more exciting anyway.

Who doesn't like looking at some gleaming woodwork under 5 coats of varnish as the light comes streaming in through the window?

Yes, Bruce, this IS your canoe...

I make up these Brass plate to be installed on the ends of the gunnels. On the restorations that come in I find that the ends take a beating over the years, mostly when the canoe is resting turned over. These are to help protect the wood.

The tuning machines for the L-00 arrived this week. I had actually hoped to buy them a year ago! But, life happens and the money is needed on more immediate thing. Seems like my children want to eat...

The machines are from the Stew-Mac "Golden Age" series of replacement tuners. They are patterend off of vintage style tuning machines primarily for replacing worn out machines on otherwise still worthy guitars. I choose the relic treatment not for any faux vintage for my guitar, but because I didn't want anything too shiny. I also choose the engraved ones just because I liked them better than the plain plates.

Everything is going to completion! Bob's Boreal was picked up this afternoon and will be travelling with him as he moves house to Ottawa in next week. Done just in time! The Cruiser in the back needs only paint and to have the trim installed, and the guitar just needs set up for the strings to play just right.