This summer we holidayed at a log cabin at the side of Lough Allen in County Leitrim. More of a wooden "chalet" than a log cabin in my...

So this weekend I arranged with a friend to take our canoe and new white and blue second-hand sail boat out for a trial run at the lake in Castlewellan Forest Park. Weather forecast was a bit iffy - thunder and lightning being predicted in some parts of the province. And, very little wind. Which is not a good thing for a sail boat! This time I was prepared and brought my dry bag for valuables including mobile phone so that I could grab some pics. Here they are...

Two weekends ago I had a quick test to see if we could get the canoe onto the car. Canoe balanced on inflatable roof-bars. Dangerous driver! It just fits. It is a two-person job due to the awkward size of it. With the two kids helping to steady the ends I'm just able to get it up on to my head/shoulders and then onto the roof. However, the weather deteriorated and so we didn't get to try it. The following weekend was great weather so we took it to the local river and it go

Back from Dublin it was time to add the runners to the underside of the hull. The runners were attached to the hull with a layer of...

Spring has arrived at last. It's Easter weekend and it's 21 degrees. Canoe building time! The job I've not been relishing -- fitting...

With the weather worsening, the wind blowing the canoe off its stand, the constant rains and temperature dropping i had to get one last...

Last time I had fitted the inwales to help stiffen the rim of the hull and keep it's shape better. The internal seams had also been...

All the seams on the exterior have been filled and I’ve now made a start on the walings as shown above. The inner walings are glued and...

Have at last filled all the cracks between planks, inside and out. It’s made quite a mess as you can see. I’m toying with the idea of...

Our homemade canoe has been progressing. Cutting the planks proved to be quite tricky and required the patience of an adult. planing the planks All the planks have now been cut out and tied together with cable-ties as shown in the pictures below. --Stitching the planks together was quick and fun enough for the kids to get involved in. I also had my brother and my mum help me since they were staying for the weekend. The next step was to fill the gaps between each plank with