Cut with perfectly symmetrical curved strips of light and dark cedar, Rodrigo PampinB次元官网网址檚 polished canoe looks professional B次元官网网址� and pricey.
And it would be at an outdoor recreation store. But the 17-year-old Lambrick Park student hand-crafted the effectively flawless 16-foot canoe from long old-growth cedar two-by-fours, a feat that is exceptionally rare, said Roger Conrod, a woodworking teacher with 37 years under his belt.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e had a lot of good students, but never a student so meticulous and who worked to such fine detail,B次元官网网址� said Conrod, who is head of technical education at Lambrick. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really unusual in this day and age to see a student put in the time in to achieve that level of detail.B次元官网网址�
Pampin started working on the cedar-strip canoe about 13 months ago, machining precise grooves into each of the 60 boards at school, and joining them together at home. The Lambrick simply didnB次元官网网址檛 have the space for such a large project.
B次元官网网址淔or a couple of years I wanted to make a boat,B次元官网网址� Pampin said. B次元官网网址淚 mainly worked on it after school and on weekends. I worked on it a lot.B次元官网网址�
The soft-spoken Grade 12 student finished his masterpiece in October, including a paddle from leftover cedar, and has since tested its seaworthiness at Durrance and Thetis lakes.
B次元官网网址淚t was nice to see it not sink, and it handles quite nicely,B次元官网网址� Pampin said smiling. B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 done a lot of canoeing but I like how it felt on the water.B次元官网网址�
Conrod said its difficult to overstate the quality of work, especially from a student with about three years of woodworking experience, all while at Lambrick. The teacher himself had bought the fine-grain old-growth years ago, and it had sat idle in the woodworking shop until PampinB次元官网网址檚 project.
B次元官网网址淪ince IB次元官网网址檝e been teaching IB次元官网网址檝e seen perhaps 10 or 11 students of this caliber. This level of detail separates the men from the boys, or the apprentice from the master craftsman,B次元官网网址� Conrod said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 such a marvelous job. ItB次元官网网址檚 symmetrical all the way through. ItB次元官网网址檚 exactly what this type of fine wood should be used for.B次元官网网址�
Pampin isnB次元官网网址檛 sure what is next project will be, although he plans to make one more paddle for the canoe. For his passengers, that means no more free rides on the lake.
editor@saanichnews.com
