Canoe builders and Rotary members (L-R) Spike Speicher, Michael Edwards, Ron Brown, Charlie Franklin, Mark Larks, Pat Flaharty, and John Fazel gather around the canoe they built as a fundraiser. Project organizer Gary Fulcher is missing from the photo. Not surprisingly, Fulcher was away on a water trip! Photo Cathy Dausman

The Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise canoe has yet to touch water, but it was "launched" for show Friday morning at a regular Rotary meeting. The canoe is being built as a raffle fundraiser (https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0507/Can-You-Canoe-This-Crew-Can.html) from which the club hopes to raise between ten and twenty thousand dollars. Its builders say that it will be ready for its water test by next month.

The canoe, more a piece of art than a simple water craft, is built from 200 strips of African Rosewood veneer, with maple for the gunnels and thwarts (rim and side-to-side reinforcements) and two hand-woven cane seats. The wood makes it heavy; it weighs 50 pounds. Epoxy has been carefully applied before and after every layer of sandwiched materials (fiberglass, foam core, fiberglass, Kevlar, fiberglass and wood veneer). A final clear coat will be professionally applied to insure a smooth-as-glass, bubble-free seal.

The canoe goes on tour in the next few months, making stops at local Rotary clubs, other local venues, and possibly a Rotary district conference in Monterey. It will be a featured centerpiece of the Rotary booth during the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival in September (http://lafayettechamber.org/events/art-wine-festival/). Although no date has been set, its water launch will likely be into the Lafayette Reservoir.

Raffle tickets will sell for $20 apiece or six for $100; an optional cash prize of $2,000 is available for those wishing to support Rotary but not acquire the canoe. The winner of the canoe will surely be sitting pretty but must supply his or her own paddles. The drawing takes place at the October 28 meeting of Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary. Questions can be directed to Rotary member Pat Flaharty at (925) 376-9361.