Re: Greenland Kayak To Doug Lloyd - I've got Cunningham's "Building the Greenland Kayak", along with several other books on the subject, and have built 7 SOF kayaks. You're in for a fun and rewarding project. George Dyson's "Baidarka" is another outstanding book, but hard to find, since it is out of print. You might be able to do as I did - order a used book through Amazon.com. Dyson goes into the history of SOF kayaks, which I found to be very interesting, since, after all, SOF's were the foundation of this sport that we are all involved in. Dyson melded the ancient SOF designs with modern materials, actually building a huge baidarka (if I recall correctly, I think it was 42 feet long, and had holes for 6 paddlers?) using aircraft aluminum and nylon fabric. There is another builder now, named Tom Yost, whose name is associated (for many people) with similarly styled kayaks. You can see his excellent website at www.yostwerks.com. Another interesting book is Robert Morris' "Building Skin-on-Frame Boats". I chose a "retrieval kayak" for my first SOF. It's an interesting little kayak - a 10 footer, whose dimensions were taken from a kayak that is in the University Museum at the University of Pennsylvania. These little kayaks were used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, after the introduction of firearms changed the hunting methods for some of the northern peoples. After building my first one, and marvelling at the amazing maneuverability (and how much FUN it was to paddle), I decided to change the design a bit, and make it more of a "surfing kayak". The length & width are similar to the museum specimen, but I flattened the bottom of the hull under the cockpit & added the blunt bow and stern that Morris put on his "recovery kayak". This thing is a BLAST to paddle. You can actually turn the boat 180 degrees inside of its own length, yet, if you keep a steady cadence with your paddle strokes, you can easily maintain a steady heading. I call mine "Toibote" (say it 3 times, fast!). The SOF kayaks that I have been designing and building are a lot closer to George Dyson or Tom Yost's style of building, than to Cunningham or Morris's more traditional approach. I am using my CNC machine to produce "stations" from plywood, which take the place of the shaped ribs in the traditional boats. Also, rather than lashing the stringers to the ribs, I am gluing them, and pegging the gunwales to the stations. I have pictures of 3 of my designs, along with an explanation of my ongoing project, at www.toibote.com. If you find my project interesting, be sure to click the e-mail link, and I'll add you to my mailing list for updates. Mark Goff mentioned something about Cunningham's seams at the gunwales - I have to agree on that point - that could scrape your knuckles badly. It's just as easy to put the seam on the center of the deck (maybe even easier - 1 seam!), so why not? If you want a quick, cheap, and easy skin for your kayak, go to Walmart's fabric/crafts department & buy their heavy duty window vinyl (get the heaviest - the orange label is 18 guage). Rochford Supply (www.rochfordsupply.com) sells a solvent and adhesive for vinyl that is heat activated - use a hot air gun, or even a hair blower at the hot setting. The product is called HH-66. I use it for all of my prototypes, and have paddled many miles in my see-through kayaks. It's also GREAT for making dry bags, and floatation bags. The vinyl isn't very good with oysters, barnacles, and sharp sticks, though, so I carry a roll of (clear) duct tape whenever I paddle. The nylon or polyester skins are much more practical. I tried the cotton duck fabric skin that many people recommend, and it's really not as good as the vinyl - it rips when it gets a hole. I hope this info helps. Have fun! Don McCumber Lehigh Acres, FL *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I am about 90% done building a SOF boat (my first) using Cunningham's book and I have found it to be an excellent guide. Right now I'm just waiting for the weather to warm up so I can put a seal coat on the fabric. It's gotten almost to 50 degrees F a few times here so I'm getting close. The build went pretty quickly since I didn't have to wait for long glue cycles or do a lot of sanding as I did when I built some stitch and glue boats a few years back. On the other hand, I had some difficulties locating materials such as the bending stock for the ribs and the fabric and coating. Now that I've been through the process once, it will be much easier on my next attempt. I do like the freedom of Cunningham's quasi-traditional design approach where you can make a series of different size boats from the same basic design rules. My boat at this point is quite light and very pretty. I don't know exactly how well it is actually going to paddle or roll as I have only tried it on the water with a temporary skin for a short duration to make sure it wasn't too far off my design goals (ie: it tracked pretty well and it didn't sink!). I have heard on the Qujaqusa site that some people don't care for Cunningham's method of skinning the frame as it ends up with a rough seam on the top of the gunwale which could tear up your hand while paddling. I have not experienced this problem personally as I have not yet gotten my skinned boat waterproofed to the point that I can paddle it. I'll give you more feedback as I get more experience (hopefully within the next month or two). Mark Goff Bangor, Maine ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Dear Doug and all, Here's a link to a QajaqUSA resource page with a considerable variety of 'how-to' books: http://www.qajaqusa.org/Equipment/equipment.htm Ditto what was said about consulting several sources and mix & matching appealing techniques and solutions. Best, Harvey www.traditionalkayaks.com *************************************************************************** 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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