Sail Loft

admin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:48:29 +0000

I’m fascinated by the architecture of the hip roof. When the German and Dutch settled this are of Minnesota most all of the white and red pine had been cut and taken by the railroads. What was left was tall tamarack. It’s not a bad wood by any stretch. It’s hard and could be worked with. It’s a stong wood. The trusses in the roof are 1″ strips of tamarack that are laminated. And when I say laminated they were layered. They’re stacked and curved over each other. The design is brilliant. The cieling is as ornate as any great Gothic Cathedral. The pattern is mesmerizing. From a pratical stand point the result is a stronger truss and the fact that tamarack is taken from the swamp/slough a mile away, means that is impervious to wet and weather. This is the wonderful self reliance my wife’s people had and have. They sustain themselves on the material they found around them. It’s a lesson I’d like to teach my sons.

Sewing Loft Renovation

admin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:34:00 +0000

Well the renovation of the barn’s hay mow continues for CanvasWork. Like I said in a previous post the attempt is to get the hay mows floors redone and have them polyurethaned so that we can build bigger barn curtains in a what can best be described as a sail loft. Every couple of months our family goes to the north shore of lake superior on vacation. When you pass through Duluth you can still see these large warehouse spaces that were former sail lofts for the big sailing ships that put in at the harbor. Before steam all the tall ships that moved goods and people were powered by large sails that had to be sewn and repaired. In summer I have stood on the ladder near the window and looked out on our ”Amber waves of Grain” and thought it appropriate that this space be used as a sail loft. Also, I hope to throw a basket ball hoop up on this end for a basketball court for the family. Today the red river is flooding. We have snow, mud and water. Today would be a good day to have somewhere to shoot hoops.

CanvasWork Inc. » sewing loft

Sail Loft

Sewing Loft Renovation