TWO friends have built their own 16-foot long, wood strip canoe by hand.

Chris Campin and Keith Nelson put their skills and interests to the test to make the boat. Chris is a trained carpenter and Keith enjoys being in the outdoors.

It comes after the pair, who both work at Egger in Hexham, built their own handmade, cedar wood sea-going kayak in 2020.

READ MORE: Friends share talents to build sea-going kayak

"We enjoyed it so much we fancied doing something else", said Keith. "It's the same procedure of building.

"It's so striking. We were very lucky this time with the wood we got from America, even though it's all cedar, we had quite a nice variety of coloured timbers so we were able to have a bit of a pattern.

"You don't have an idea of the colours when they're in their raw form, but once we glassed it, we saw the beauty of the thing.

"It's been therapeutic for both of us."

The boat took around three years to complete but was delayed by lockdown.

Chris added: "Everything is made in a garage or garden, it's been hand tools and relying on skill, and in some respects, it makes it even more satisfying to know that everything has been done by hand using traditional methods from plans.

"We're learning as we go along, you learn about boats and how they sail, there are important things to consider to make sure it's going to float.

"We get messages from people all over the world saying how beautiful it is from other builders. It looks incredible the shine on it.

"It's something that's going to be here after we're not, it's so satisfying to have that."

Keith, who has previously restored land rovers, is due to retire and the pair hope they will have more time to dedicate to the building process which is very time-consuming. They are also considering making their first stand-up paddle board.

This style of boat is rare in these parts, they said, and most only made in America and Canada.

Hexham Courant:

The kayak and canoe building process has been documented on Instagram at @northumb_handbuilt_watercraft