Re: [Paddlewise] Boat Building with group or class?

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:45:24 -0400, "TomL" <tletourn_at_maine.rr.com> said:

> I'm becoming more and more interested in skin-on-frame boats and would like 
> to try and build one. I'm not bold enough to get one of the three books
> SK reviewed last month and go it alone. 

Oh, go it alone ;-) There are lots of resources available for building
now.

Way back when I built my aluminum framed baidarka the books on building
were not readily available.  I only knew about George Dyson's Baidarka
and that is NOT a building guide.

I found there was a dearth of people to ask questions of, so I started a
mailing list.  Which much to my surprise grew and survived.  At present
there are about 300 on the mailing list (baidarka_at_paddlewise.net). 
Qajaqusa.org is taking it's place for getting questions answered but the
archives are a treasure trove of information.

Many of the authors of the skin/frame books are on the baidarka mailing
list so it's likely if you do have a question/issue someone who has
solved the problem will answer you.  I'm not sure who the regulars are
on the qajaqusa.org site, it's likely many of the same people
haunt both lists.  There are a couple SOF authors lurking on the baidarka
list who I would not expect to find on qajaqusa.  

> I live in York county in Maine, so I can travel to some reasonably large 
> population centers. Of course I'm always looking at Qajaq USA and various 
> outfitters web sites and pamphlets. I'd be interested if anyone in my
> area 
> knew of an opportunity to build a SOF with a bit of "security and
> support."

The wooden boat school has had skin/frame classes.  I don't know of
anything closer to you than that.  Mystic Seaport also has classes periodically. 
If you want to do the build as a vacation.   Robert Morris has classes via
BreweryCreek.ca   Skinboats.com is in Anacortes WA and they build lots of
boats (I'm spacing on the name of the person running that operation) Skip
Snaith has been doing classes but he's on sabatical,
http://www.rockisland.com/~kyak.   Superior Kayaks
http://www.superiorkayaks.com teaches 4 classes a year.  Bruce Lemon used
to have kits and teach classes, I haven't heard of him in the
last couple of years.  The last thing I knew he was in the Adirondacks.

Without a doubt I've missed some, as that list is off the top of my head.
 I have no affiliation with anyone on the list and haven't taken a class.

In the event that you do decide to go it alone there are a builders in
your area who would be worth getting acquainted with.

buy George Dyson's Baidarka for inpiration and build from one of the
other books.  I built from schematics/plans and it wasn't that
difficult.  My questions revolved around materials more than around how
to do something. 

If I were to start building this afternoon I would start with the Robert
Morris book.  I've got most of the SOF books and having quickly read
through them I liked the look of that one best, from a building
perspective.  I've also got the Brinck, Cunningham, Putz, and Starr books
in case I encountered questions, besides the online resources...

Kirk
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