April 2024 update:
Custom run currently in progress for spring 2024. There will be about 10 extra boat shuttles from this run.
Canopus Boat shuttles are usually made up of 3 – 5 layers of figured hardwoods, typically combinations of bird’s eye maple, tiger maple (both hard maple and Red Leaf maple), maple burl, spalted maple, curly cherry, ash burl, curly white oak, black walnut, buckthorn, birch, quartersawn oak, quartersawn sycamore, koa, mango, and honey locust. Shuttles are highly contoured and fine sanded to 2000-grit with 10 coats of finish applied. A 4mm polished stainless steel rod fits standard 4″ plastic bobbins (see specific shuttle descriptions for any exceptions), and operates up & down using an internal spring mechanism. The 4mm rod also fits standard cardboard quills. Exhibition shuttles are usually made on a custom basis. Aside from having ornate cuts of wood, exhibition shuttles have an ebony or pink ivory inlay around the yarn slot. The spring slot on top is covered either with ebony (black) or pink ivory (red). Since each shuttle is hand made, no two are alike, and weight and dimensions can vary. In the shuttle descriptions below, we list the shuttle weight, L, W, H, length from the end of the cavity to the tip of the shuttle for either end (this is important to some weavers), and bobbin length handled by shuttle (4″ or 6″). Almost all shuttles are made with a closed-bottom, but open-bottom shuttles can be made on request. Email us for details.
Note that 6″ plastic bobbin dimensions are not uniform from vendor to vendor such as Schacht or Leclerc – rim sizes and lengths will vary. Their use can be a problem with our shuttles that hold 6″ bobbins, since they are built at a shallower height than the big vendor shuttles. What we used to do in the past for many customers was to offer modified bobbins with trimmed-down rims (usually Schacht 6″) to fit the Canopus shuttles, but we have stopped offering the modification because of the recent poor quality of plastic bobbins from Schacht and LeClerc.
I was frequently returning poorly-made bobbins with bent shafts to these vendors. There are a couple of ways around these issues – Email us for details. This is usually not an issue for 4″ bobbins or old wooden 6″ bobbins which already have narrow rims. In the individual ads, see shuttle captions for any bobbin size restrictions.
For very shallow-height shuttles that hold 4″ bobbins we have found the nylon Ashford 4″ bobbins to be the best. They have the most narrow rims and shafts of all 4″ commercial bobbins, and are much higher quality in finish, and have the least amount of mold defects. We have no affiliation with Ashford; we just like their product.
Standard boat shuttles for 4″ bobbins
Any shuttle in this category: $140 plus shipping. Personal check or USPS Money Order is preferred.
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Exhibition boat shuttles for 4″ bobbins
Specialty wood grain, plus Pink Ivory, Ebony, or Cocobolo yarn slot surround inlays
Any shuttle in this category: $180 plus shipping. Personal check or USPS Money Order is preferred.
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Double boat shuttles for 4″ bobbins (specialty woods plus yarn slot surround inlay of various exotic woods)
Any shuttle in this category: $200 plus shipping. Shuttles with long decorative inlay over yarn slots: 4240 plus shipping. Personal check or USPS Money Order is preferred.
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Special boat shuttles for 4″ or 6″ bobbins (higher cost due to use of specialty woods)
See prices in captions.
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Standard boat shuttles for 6″ bobbins
Any shuttle in this category: $150 plus shipping.
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