Can a Boat Tell a Story?

In the Fall of 2018 Ashes’ founder, Trevor Paetkau flew from where he was in residence in Brazil to Bloomington, Indiana to speak with a university audience about his journey; the challenges and rewards. Watch here …     “I told my first story when I was six years old. I told my classmates that […]

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Assembling a Skin on Frame Kayak

The skin-on-frame kayaks from Ashes are based on their strip-built cousins. They share the elegant sheer and deck lines above the water line, and the functional rocker and chines below the water line. To maintain the functional rocker, and elegant sheer and deck lines our skin-on-frame boats are designed around a unique central core (floorboards, […]

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Materials Calculator

Use these calculators to help determine the amount of wood strips, board feet, epoxy, and fiberglass cloth needed to build a strip built canoe or kayak. The formulas are designed to be as specific as possible, and for the most part, we’ve found them accurate when spec’ing materials in our shop. That said, inexperienced builders […]

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Walnut Canoe Paddle with Water Spot

Finishing A Canoe Paddle

You’ve worked hard to shape and finish our paddle. Now it’s time to protect it. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably chosen to use traditional methods.   Perhaps you find there’s nothing finer than the smell of linseed oil and the soft satin feel it imparts. More than likely you’re considering finishing or refinishing your […]

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