Go for it Doug! I added a "stripper" to my modest fleet and enjoy paddling it very much, screw-ups and all. You can build it with a heavy lay-up on the hull for rock gardening. Look at Joe Greenley's design offerings at www.redfishkayaks.com . At very least you should get a copy of "The Strip Built Sea Kayak" by Nick Schade. By the way, I enjoyed your recent prose on following behind boats... Bill Chitty Birmingham > My work mate and I got talking about wooden boats, and I got the usual > question about why I hadn't built a wooden boat yet. It's probably because I > can't handle imperfection in my woodworking, and I know my first boat > probably will not come out absolutely perfect. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Yeah, one of the Redfish designs and the Outer Island are two boats I'm thinking about building (one or the other). I'm about a year away from having my own shop on my property (as opposed to my shop at my in-laws out of town, which is inconvenient for getting to after dinner sort of thing). I'm sure an extra 20 - 25 pounds of cloth and epoxy to the hull (over normal specifications) has to add a lot more strength than if an equal weight in material was added to an all fibreglass production kayak (which also has to account for a layer of Gelcoat, too). The Outer Island appeals to me for day use, whereas the Redfish looks a bit more expedition capable. Knowing me, I'll probably come up with my own design mods. How about the "Dougfish?" I will probably lay up some cedar strips and cloth combinations, and do some ad hoc strength tests of my own to determine the correct layers and acceptability levels to satisfy my desires and requirements. I still laugh at most of the adverts for modern kayaks claiming high strength and durability. I had my British heavy almost worn out before the end of 1981, the year I bought it. Was I disappointed after all the hype from the guy at the kayak store. Of course, most kayaks are pretty durable for intended purposes (and can be custom ordered in a heavier lay-up), but it brings even more laughter to hear about modern paddlers running up the beach to throw down their PFD's so they can place their kayaks on top. Thanks for the encouragement. I'm at a bit of a transition point in my life right now in terms of paddling pursuits, and I'm not sure which way I'll go, but whatever I build, it better be tough with my track record. A bit more manoeuvrable hull design might reduce some of the nastier collisions. I certainly prefer a heavier boat overall when paddling "tight" to the shoreline where there are breaking seas, as I find a heavier boat - while less lively to paddle - gets thrown around less in the really nasty near shore stuff. Especially the front portion of the original Nordkapp which retains some Fishform advantages with buoyancy forward of amidships but extends to a low volume in the last 1/5th. My favourite place to paddle is in the green frothy water along rebounding cliffs where reefs can really mix it up. Rather than sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, I can never get enough of that good old jobbly water. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC Bill said: > Go for it Doug! I added a "stripper" to my modest fleet and enjoy paddling > it very much, screw-ups and all. You can build it with a heavy lay-up on > the hull for rock gardening. > > Look at Joe Greenley's design offerings at www.redfishkayaks.com . At very > least you should get a copy of "The Strip Built Sea Kayak" by Nick Schade. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
John said (snip): > I added an extra "football" shape 6 0z layer on the hull and deck around > the cockpit and 9 oz tape down the keel line on the hull. It still weighs > in the low 40's. You could add quite a bit of extra glass, kevlar, dyonel > (spelling) to it without making it really heavy. Thanks John for the suggestions, and thanks to the others who posted a reply as well. I spent the other night on the internet into the wee hours of the morning looking over all the major players with web sites and galleries. I think making a wood-based kayak is the way to go for my specific needs, and I can really put to good use my Lie-Nielsen planes I'm getting for Christmas. I once contemplated moulding up and making an all-epoxy killer wave machine, but working in wood seems a little more realistic (especially given I'm more than a casual woodworker). I like the fact it can be done piece-meal in terms of budgeting, as the kayak's components can slowly be acquired. Having said all that, I do like the "look" of a well-executed modern sea kayak, like a Seaward/Foster, Necky or other reputable builder's production boat. Glass boats have a certain industrial/tech appeal that takes some adjusting to move away from, and the quality of some of these kayaks in the last couple of years is truly incredible (at least in my neck of the woods, and at the point where I'd be willing to spend some real bucks - if I had them). Not sure if strip or ply will be the way to go, but I do support Duane's comments about making your own kayak being very worthwhile. One of the best sea kayaks I've ever seen on the water in terms of performance/comfort/payload/price was a home built plywood/epoxy, home-designed unit by local paddler Doug Alderson. He defines the sport by how little he spends on gear/boats (his time/labour being free to himself). I'm not overly thrilled with any of the designs commercially available in plan form so far, if the truth be known (no offence to anyone intended), so I will have to do some research and perhaps some trials. I've been reading some of the prolific posts on the Qajaq forum (Shawn Baker has over 1600 posts!) trying to gleam some data input. Nick's builders forum is a great source of info too, and I do have his book, plus ones by other authors. I may do a cedar strip version of the Nordkapp Jubilee (with permission, whether it is legally required or not), and perhaps do a major cockpit reconfiguration/rear recess to permit more integrated lay-back rolls while retaining gear capacity. I think I would be reasonably capable of woodworking a strip hull into the complex contours normally avoided to produce a "faired" hull, eliminating some of the flattish spots one sees on plywood hulls and even strip-builts. I could even strip-build a Nadgee, or is that a Mariner Max - okay, let's not go there, I've only got mini-nuts tonight. :-) I doubt I'd go for fancy inlay work if I go the wood kayak route, rather concentrating efforts to reproduce a post-modern kayak where all components like wrapped bulkheads, thigh braces, etc, were constructed/carved in wood. We shall see. Again, I really appreciate the input from everyone, and the efforts to add a little water to reconstitute the wood-is-good ideation. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 23:26:43 -0700, "Doug Lloyd" <dalloyd_at_telus.net> said: > I once contemplated moulding up and making an all-epoxy killer > wave machine, but working in wood seems a little more realistic > (especially given I'm more than a casual woodworker). It appears there's at least one vendor for a homebuilt wood surf kayak: http://www.surfyak.com/_wsn/page4.html (if you spend 2 minutes on the surfyak site you will know more about the boat than I do.) I could have sworn I saw pictures of a stitch and glue whitewater playboat, but I couldn't find it. Long ago Preston Holms had online photos of how he built the Gecko surf kayak. He started with a foam blank, carved the foam, fiberglassed over the foam then carved the foam out. Hmm, found it's new home via a thread at Nick Schade's excellant kayakbuilder forums http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Design/index.cgi/noframes/read/2110 Preston's 1998 build of the Gecko boat http://www.ptone.com/Kayak/surfboat/building/ which I found interesting as a construction method. Kirk -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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