The 'Lakelander' is 14' 6'' long by 35''' She has very graceful lines, is very stable in the water and retains a good load carrying capacity, and weighs in at only 25kgs.
The canoe is built for two people to paddle and allows plenty of space for a third, and for kit stowage, dogs, kids, picnic hampers etc …
We use light-weight materials so the canoe can be lifted and carried by one person and can be easily transported on the roof of a car. For the shell (hull), we use a high grade poplar-core ply, with Spruce gunwales and locally grown Oak and Ash for the thwarts and seats. All seams will be reinforced with marine grade epoxy resin and fibre-glass tape... She is built using our own sting and glue technique. This is an improved building method from the stitch and glue that we have developed over 17yrs of running canoe building workshops.
The courses are super chilled, music playing, tea brewing, paint flying things of creation. You don't need any wood working skills, as the stages are really simple and loads of fun.
Come on your own, or bring friends and family along to help out at no extra cost and make a holiday out of it. Upon completion, the canoe is yours to keep.
EXTRAS PAINT + VARNISH
The Lakelander comes with 2x standard seats and a yoke (the support in the middle) you have the option to upgrade to UK handmade webbing ash seats and a Ash carry yoke, but you an decide this as the workshop. We also have straps for sale if you need.
The canoe will be finished in a waterproof epoxy resin inside and out ready to paddle, however we do recommend if leaving it natural to as some point varnish over this, we dont have time to do this at the workshop so we recommend doing this
It is possible to paint the canoe if you have time and the weather is kind to us on the last day as we need paint outside for the paint to dry, otherwise painting the canoe can be done at home. We recommend and exterior wood paint, we have limited colors at the workshop so you may want to bring your own.
Our workshop (an ex-submarine testing base!!) is a big green barn right on the shore Ullswater near Pooley Bridge in the Lake District. There are plenty of campsites and accommodation in this area and Pooley Bridge is only 5 min walk from the workshop and has plenty of pubs, cafes and shops.
The canoe is designed to be built by complete novices and even you have never done any wood work you will be able to build this canoe. The stages of construction are very straightforward and progressive, and as you build your canoe, you will be surprised at how quickly it comes together. You will be working on your own canoe and bringing friends and family to help makes the job much easier and fun! but it perfectly possible to build solo if you wish. Don’t forget... we've had years of practise eradicating those time consuming errors and we are always on hand to help if you need, but remember this is your canoe to build….
Sessions are run by Steve and Dan two besotted canoe nuts, and we have helped folk build over a 1000 canoes! We stated building canoes during our trips to South Africa to paddle the Orange River, the Lake Malawi and then up the coast of the North Island of New Zealand, all in canoes we built ourselves. We used to run canoe wilderness trips in Scotland, Sweden and the Lake District but now due to popular demand we just help folk build canoes. We have over 20yrs of experience building all types of canoes. The Lakelander is our own design that we are very proud and can be built in 2,5 days and then if you wish paddled as soon as the seats are fitted right from our workshop.
About the centre
Pooley Bridge, Cumbria
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Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom
From £495
