Tuition: $750 (10% discount for Lowell's Boat Shop Members) 

The cost for the kit is $1,375 for both members and non-members (no member discount).

Total class cost: Non Member: $2,125   Member: $2,050

$500 non-refundable deposit is required at time of registration. Students are required to call or stop at Lowell's to pay balance at least two weeks before the class start date (this avoids unnecessary online registration fees).  A minimum of four students is required to run this class; we reserve the right to cancel due to under-enrollment.

This class, offered over two consecutive three-day weekends (February 22-24 and March 1-3), will be taught by the boat’s designer Bill Thomas. Students will each have an assembled boat, ready for final sanding and finishing, at the end of the class.

Class begins Friday morning at 8:30am with a brief orientation and overview of what we will accomplish during class time. We’ll work until about 6:00 each evening, and should finish early in the afternoon on Sunday, March 3. Family-built boats or builders with partners are welcome.

Fox is a decked double paddle canoe, a boat intended for protected waters along the coast and for mountain lakes. With an 80” long cockpit, Fox is a grand boat for hunting, fishing and tripping with a dog or young child seated forward of the paddler. Two accessible watertight compartments add flotation and dry gear storage. There’s ample room for a camping kit. A rotating seat back and caned seat insure all day paddling comfort. Fox is 14’7” long with a beam of 30"; the finished weight is just over 40 pounds. For more information please follow this link: http://www.billthomaswoodworking.com/fox-canoe-boat-design-detail.html.

Building the Fox to a high standard takes about 80 hours, including paint and varnish. In a six-day building class the boats are assembled and ready to transport, but students usually finish the epoxy coating, sanding and painting at home. (Once they have the boats home, students will need to provide their own sandpaper, paint, varnish and finishing supplies.) At the end of class all students will have Bill Thomas’s contact information and access to the 21-part building video on the Fox design.

In a review featured in Wooden Boats annual Small Boats issue Mike O’Brien commented on Fox’s handling. “Fox appears to have just the right amount of directional stability. It likes to keep going where we point it, yet it turns easily and predictably.” I’m not sure what more to ask for in a small boat.

www.billthomaswoodworking.com