I bought my canoe at the Lima ReStore. You didn’t see it on the shelves. That’s because in a way it never was on the shelves, and it’s not because I work at the ReStore and snagged it before any customers could get to it. I wanted to build a plywood canoe, and I wanted to buy everything I could at the ReStore, so I bought a set of plans, looked at the materials I needed and watched and waited.

The epoxy was the first thing I found. Two cans of marine epoxy were sitting on the shelves where they had been since before I started looking for materials. Being new to woodworking I asked one of our customers if this epoxy seemed like the right thing for a canoe project. He told me it was, and went on to tell me about a friend of his who had gone on a long canoe trip. I said, “That sounds cool. How long did it take him?” Without a trace of sadness or concern he said, “Oh, we never heard from him again.” “Really!? How long ago was that!?” Again, no sign of worry, “About 9 months ago. We all think he’ll turn up some day.” Well…party on then. I bought the epoxy and my own little canoe odyssey was off and running.

Over the next several months I picked up clamps, t squares, and other tools I needed. The plywood came in next. We got several sheets of luan plywood, which wasn’t the recommended grade, but  was workable for my first project of this type. Then, Tractor Supply Co. switched out their brand of paint and donated the leftover stock to the ReStore. I bought a gallon of New Holland Red tractor paint that could be used on metal or wood. I visited a local lumber store for a few long pieces of pine that I needed for the gunwales. A donation of short pieces of poplar 2x2s furnished my stems, and frame pieces, and I had basically everything I needed.

The canoe I made was called the 6 Hour Canoe because you’re supposed to be able to build it in 6 hours not counting drying time. The direction book stressed that 6th graders have built this canoe over the course of several weekends. If you count my time searching for materials, I’d say I took about 2.5 years to build mine. I sometimes let the epoxy dry for months. You can never be too sure. I put the canoe together in the evenings after the kids were in bed often listening to the Chicago Bears lose another football game on scratchy AM radio.

And now, after all the blood, sweat and tears, I have my very own solo canoe (Yes, it floated! No leaks!) that I bought at the ReStore. It just goes to show you that not everything we sell is on the shelves. With a little patience and planning plus regular visits to the ReStore you’d be surprised at what you might find.