It's now about a year since I built my really cheap canoe and I thought it was time for a name. It wasn't hard to decide and I'm now the proud owner of “Proven Top Quality”, (have a good look at the pics to find out why!). There are a quite a lot of things that I've changed/added so I decided it's time for some updates on TdeM.

I've always wanted to try out the lateen sail, so when I found a nicely curved branch I decided the time was now. Some more animal food bags and grommets and there it was. This sail has been cut completely flat (no camber) and is a little bit bigger than the lug sail. And nicer looking!

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“Proven top quality” has always been a bit tippy. When paddling there is abolutely no problem, but when sailing you have to concentrate on many things at once and you sometimes loose balance. Then things get a bit dodgy because I don't think this boat is self-rescueable. Also paddling with more than one person is pretty much asking for a swim, so I decided to make an outrigger. The whole thing is pretty basic, just look at the pics. No nails or glue, just bicycle inner tubes.

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Because I originally used interior pva glue a lot of the joints were letting go. Especially with the outrigger the canoe flexed way too much. I added longer screws in a lot of places and also made some strengthening pieces for the frame (gussets) and two pieces of wood to stop the two bottom middle stringers from collapsing (they both had a big knot in the wood). In the front and back I also added a little deck, with some bonus carrying handles. These make it a lot easier to lift “proven top quality” out of the water.

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I finally found 'the cure', a glue that works on tarpaulin. I love my hot glue gun! The first holes I did were patches, but now I just put glue directly on the cut/hole and it fixes it. Finally a leak free boat!

Well, on a nice summers evening we finally made it to the lake. First I took “Proven Top Quality” out for a spin myself. There was barely any wind but I definitely felt a lot more stable. And it's such a nice sail to look at! I'll report as soon as I sail in some better conditions. My dad next took the canoe out and he likes it, but he liked it better without the outrigger. Then my little brother took her out for a spin, and eventually figured out how to turn Now the true stability test, my brother and I both went for a paddle. “Proven top quality” handled our weight with ease and didn't feel unstable at all. Without the outrigger I would have never tried this, so it's definitely a success. The bad news is it makes the boat slower, and it slowly veers off to one side. Not a lot though. I probably won't use it for just paddling by myself, but with a passenger it's a must. And I'm still hoping for that windy day!

Dad in the canoe :

Two people at once: , and a video (.mpg, 6.6mb)

Samuel by himself: ,

And a fuzzy sailing picture.