Photos by Jenny Steer and Becky Joseph
Boat Building Academy long course student Luke Browne chose to build this 17 1/2ft cedar-strip canoe designed by Ted Moores – the canoe appears in the book Canoecraft and was strip planked using western red cedar, sheathed in glass and epoxy, and fitted with rub-rails and breast hooks in black walnut. See
After finishing his schooling in the Cornwall town of Launceston, Luke spent time travelling in Australia and New Zealand before working as an architectural technician, in property renovation, and as a production operator.
Luke chose to do the BBA’s long boat building course because he felt that everything he was doing led to a dead-end and he wanted a career. He chose to build the canoe as his class project because he’s ‘not a sailor’ and liked the canoe project’s combination of traditional woodworking and modern fibreglass techniques.
I have to say that I very much approve of the paint job he’s done – strip-built canoes that are finished bright are just a little too obvious and blowzy, to my mind, but painting the hull white while leaving the black walnut bits bright seems much more tasteful, and rather more practical too.
Luke is now working at Spirit Yachts in Suffolk, where he will be working alongside fellow BBA Graduate Will Heward, who graduated in June 2012.
Photos of the build are on line here.