Woodworking superstar Jimmy Diresta has just completed building his first ever wood strip canoe. Built on a mold that he cut with his CNC machine, Diresta confesses to being “schooled” on this project, challenging his many finely honed woodworking skills and calling on some new ones, as well. Using fiberglass and epoxy resin together for the first time, Diresta found success building this first Bear Mountain Canoe and enjoyed the process so much that he already has plans to use the molds to build another boat. Jimmy used TotalBoat Gleam varnish – a high-gloss marine spar varnish – to finish off the boat and paddles and his masterpiece will be on display inside one of the Filson stores. (Rumor has it – Boston…. not NY store).
We have been a fan of Jimmy’s for a while now, partly because he is willing to dive into any project regardless of his skill level. And he is a man of many skills, from forging to woodworking – and now he can add boatbuilding to his skillset. Jimmy isn’t afraid to try something new and he would be the first to admit that he might need some advice.
Jimmy enjoyed this first boat building exercise so much that he is planning to use the molds to build another canoe. What will he do next time? If Jimmy is in his comfort zone for his second build, you can bet he will try to work some more challenging and interesting features into the build. Stay tuned – we can’t wait to see what Jimmy dreams up next!
