Shaman's Gallery

We've started in on a new build--a commercial boat of my Bear's Ears design. It's for Canyon Explorations, and one of the proprietors, Garrett, is helping build her. She'll be called Shaman's Gallery. Martin Litton began naming dories after places lost to man's excesses. Shaman's Gallery is a spectacular archaic rock art panel that was the end goal of an incredible hike up a stunning side canyon on a Grand Canyon river trip. But due to regulations we are now no longer allowed to visit it. Too many people on the planet, too many of which misbehave. So although it still exists, it is lost to us as part of a trip.

Here's a piece of the panel, from my last visit there. These dudes are life size.

So let's build a boat. Day one--we start milling Port Orford cedar.

By day's end we have built all the ribs, six of them with bulkheads installed, and scarfed up two side panels.

Day two--in the morning we cut out the side panels, marked, drilled and countersink them, and built a transom and a bow post. And in the afternoon we built a boat. Well a floorless boat. And we scarfed up a floor for the next day.

Day three-- On with the floor. Cricket is our inside gal--she makes the 50-ounce biaxial inner chine go where it's supposed to go.

Justin is adding a fillet, which Cricket will also massage into place once the floor drops.

I really don't know why she looks so happy about this.

But she's happy its done.

Time for a voyage to the South Rim for the Grand Canyon History Symposium. They were calling for Snowpocalypse, so we tried to hide all the boats from the storm.

History Symposiums don't usually make for great pictures, but the blizzard made up for that.

And the Mountain got a pretty good dusting as well.

As snowmadgeddon melts, the troll get his first wet feet in a year or two.

Back to work.

We are trying to mate a wood boat and an aluminum one to see what sort of dinghies they produce.

Day 4. Glass bottom and sides on all at once. It's kinda scary but it makes for an exceptionally strong laminate, and makes for just about no sanding.

Then right-side up to frame in the decking. At this point the alarming speed of progress hits the molasses patch.

And the boat goes through the ceiling.

Glassing in the rear passenger footwell.

I lost a bet on this one. She really can fit in the stern hatch.

On with the decks.

We spent an afternoon casting hardware for the Shaman.

Cricket made a ghostly breastplate.

And Marieke made some more giant oarlocks for her giant oars.

With Cricket and Pat on the river, Justin and I glass the decks and hatch lids. Then Justin leaves for the river too. Poor me.

After an eternity of sanding I paint the interior walls and deck edges. The main decks will get SeaDek.

I am consoling myself during my solo shop time knowing that all three of my rivering helpers are getting destroyed in the current storm system. They should have stayed here, and we'd be done.