Wooden Boat People

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John Greenleaf
John Greenleaf
  • Male
  • Center Valley, PA
  • United States
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John Greenleaf's Friends

  • Patrick Burns
  • Gavin Robinson
  • Dave Z

John Greenleaf's Discussions

Oar Repair
3 Replies

The finish on the blade tips of my oars is cracked and chipped off in a number of places from all the rock-hits in our low-rivers this summer. I want to nip this in the bud this winter before any…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by mitchell Oct 31, 2010.

Where to put cleat?

Hi All, I've installed my anchor system for my framed 16' DE w/ transom- foot release (centered in-front of rower), under floor boards, out transom etc.. There were some real helpful discussions…Continue

Started Jul 8, 2010

PA residents?
2 Replies

 Any WBP live in PA ? - If so I have a question.. I'm trying to put together the paperwork for the fish and  boat commission to register the boat I'm building etc.There seem to be 3 forms that you…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by Dave Z Apr 12, 2010.

Seat Tray Construction
3 Replies

I'm putting together the parts needed for the seats. In doing so, I have a question:For the trays off to the side of the rowing seat (or for that matter also the inside bottom of the passenger seat…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by John Greenleaf Apr 5, 2010.

 

John Greenleaf's Page

Latest Activity

John Greenleaf replied to Joe Kerkvliet's discussion 'Chime replacement or repair on Chrenshaw Douglas Fir driftboat'
Don't get me wrong - I love the stuff; it's just a mess. I'm kind of unclear what your trying to do with it but from reading above it seems like you want to patch up various spots in the chines and the formica bottom, correct? I would…
Jan 6
John Greenleaf replied to Joe Kerkvliet's discussion 'Chime replacement or repair on Chrenshaw Douglas Fir driftboat'
My experience w/ 5200 - Mineral Spirits and paper towels work well to clean up after applying (do it soon after). Acetone works well to clean tools or other things that get coated in 5200 (fill a jar and let it soak for 24; stuff bubbles and comes…
Jan 6
John Greenleaf replied to Christopher M. Gosselin's discussion 'Stern Casting Brace Help'
This  was one of the discussions titled "rear knee brace" - not sure how to post as hyperlink. J.G. http://www.woodenboatpeople.com/forum/topics/rear-knee-brace?id=1312281%3ATopic%3A51960&page=1#comments
Dec 24, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Greg Hatten's discussion 'Portola - "Head up my boat"'
Good stuff - nearly did it to myself working on/under the front porch the other weekend. Pretty un-nerving - much more fun reading about "the other guy" doing it. Boat is looking great. JG
Dec 14, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Brad Dimock's discussion 'Resin Research 2040'
Really Cool, Great post and article...I love new materials. Any idea how it performs in conjunction with other fabrics like Kevlar or carbon fibers? JG
Dec 8, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Dave Z's discussion 'First trout in the Flyfisher Skiff'
Beautiful brown Dave - I assume that's a PA trout.. If so, what river are you fishing? J.G.
Oct 20, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to sean williamson's discussion 'heavy water decking'
I used 1/4" for the sides and 5/8" for the bottom. 1/4 sides with glass (I also used a layer of kevlar - ~10 oz total) seem to be standard for a framed boat. 1/2-5/8 on the bottom is also pretty standard. I used about 20 oz on the bottom…
Oct 5, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to sean williamson's discussion 'heavy water decking'
Regarding the wood - For Boulter, I bought Okoume ply and mahogany. For the shorter and less critical pieces, I used FAS lumber from some smaller mom&pop operations like Fleetwood lumber near reading. If you don't mind losing some wood to…
Oct 4, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to sean williamson's discussion 'heavy water decking'
I used Boulter Plywood out of MD. And a good friend used Middletown Lumber from down near harrisburg for his build. No complaints with either - good materials and service. Both are reasonable driving distance (at least close enough to save vs.…
Oct 4, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to sean williamson's discussion 'heavy water decking'
Sean, I'm also a Pennsylvanian (lehigh valley area). I have a 16' traditional double ender and frequent the Lehigh, Delaware, and some other rivers. Generally, on the lehigh I stay below GlenOnoko Falls unless I'm in a cataraft. The…
Oct 3, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Stephen Markley's discussion 'Interesting Ring Nail Idea... Composite nails'
  Looks cool, except possibly for pieces that experience shear forces (probably not a big deal for most of our apps). Although that might lead to something cool too - I'm thinking "break-away" boat parts; like maybe strakes for…
Aug 17, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to scott pratka's discussion 'Oil or epoxy????'
 I also am a big fan of the oil and have had no mold issues (i live in PA, where it gets pretty humid). Recoating 1-2 times per year is not a big deal in my book. Also, with the beating I give it fishing, it still looks beautiful with very…
Aug 15, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Stephen Markley's discussion 'Newbie Questions'
I also did the same boat - often you can get 4x10 sheets of plywood in addition to the standard 4 x8. I scarfed a 4x8 to a 4x10 to get the extra length. I also used khaya mahogany (and some honduran mahogany) for my frames and rails. Beautiful,…
Aug 11, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Rod Hughes's discussion 'Just my hello from Utah'
I used Boulter for my build - Chris is awesome and the wood and marine plywood is tremendous  - however, they are located in Maryland (i'm in PA not too far away). Not sure how the shipping could be from the east coast (however i would…
Aug 10, 2011
John Greenleaf replied to Ron Bakken's discussion 'First Boat! Many Questions'
Ron, I am also a big fan of the oil finish and I also really like the 5200 stuff - it is truly amazing - flexible and bonds like crazy, but a couple words of caution regarding the 5200:  a) its pretty expensive b) it has to be cleaned up…
Jul 29, 2011
John Greenleaf commented on Christian Lazarides's blog post 'New to boat building'
Christian, I would give a thumbs up for the book as Rick mentioned. Even having moderate furniture making experience, it was of great help to me as a first time builder. It explains many design and construction techniques, discusses the…
May 29, 2011

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John Greenleaf's Blog

John Greenleaf

A Brief History of Wooden Boats & Christmas

 

I've always been fascinated by the history of stuff and wooden boats are no exception. I'm actually a bit jealous when I read all the neat stuff written by Brad, Roger, and others; it would seem you people out west have a much more "storied" history than us folks here in PA.

Besides, differences in the types of rivers and the availability of plywood, I would guess the biggest reason for us not having much of a wooden boat history is due to pollution. By the mid 1800's we had…

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Posted on December 16, 2010 at 12:17pm — 4 Comments

John Greenleaf

Christmas in July

Well, this is it - the grand finale of this big ol' project.

After having finished the insides, I re-flipped the boat and got back to what was left undone on the exterior of the hull. I woul have done this back when the boat was still upside down the first time, but there was some stuff on backorder and I'm impatient; so, here I am flipping the boat again.

Coated the bottom with the graphite & epoxy for about 4 coats. Then I…

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Posted on July 20, 2010 at 11:22am — 5 Comments

John Greenleaf

More Superfund Browns

In response to Gavin's comment #3 regarding my last blog post:

Yes I'm still in PA; in so far as any potential internet burglars may be concerned. Sorry we couldn't connect on the Lehigh river, all I can say is you HAVE to get fishing with me and Jimmy - the sulphur hatch is really bringing out some strange browns; they're taking # 2/0 creek chub flies. We needed some really big tippet.

Truth be…

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Posted on July 3, 2010 at 8:00pm — 2 Comments

John Greenleaf

Sulphurs vs. Boatbuilding

These are the times that try the souls of boatbuilders in eastern PA. Allow me to demonstrate pictorally with one of my beloved helper monkeys...

Which of the following Gavinses seems happier?

A) Rower's seat-sanding Gavin in my grimy garage...

or

B) Lehigh river fishing Gavin during the Sulphur hatch

Needless to say,…

Continue

Posted on June 26, 2010 at 5:55pm — 2 Comments

Comment Wall (2 comments)

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At 6:42pm on December 27, 2010, Greg HattenGreg Hatten said…

Ha - Doing of the Thing.... great book!!  I had forgotten about the reference to Rainie - it's a pretty notorious obstacle on the Rogue. On my little video of the "lining", I didn't show the part where the boat pulled me off my feet and drug me about 40 feet face first before I could "self arrest". I lost some skin and got a little banged up but it could've been much worse... oh well - I should've let go of the rope but I just couldn't do it. 

Let me know if you "noodle" a different solution to the oar "transport"... I rolled that one around in my head for over a year and kept coming back to the same configuration (had to build it just to stop "obsessing" about it).  I'm sure there are lots of creative ways to do it... I was using two bungie cords myself and it was only a matter of time before I caught one in the eye....

GH

At 10:15am on December 27, 2010, Greg HattenGreg Hatten said…

Hey John, did you see my post about the Oar Lock...  still working on misc alternative applications - umbrella stand, beer holder, etc.....

Hope you had a great Christmas.

GH

 
 
 

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