Zibodo

Any comments on my idea to add a reinforcing strip of Dacron or thoughts on how I might attach it?

Another thing I wanted to mention to warn others and maybe get some thoughts on. I used Jeff's 8 oz polyester fabric which has a very loose weave. After initially draping the cloth around the boat and pinning and clamping it, I set it upright on two saw horses I had sitting around the shop since they seemed to put it at the right height. After I had sewed the front and rear seams on the deck using the double cord method, I turned the boat over and discovered that where it had rested on the saw horses, the fabric was quite abraded and a little frayed-just from the sewing induced wiggling. I smoothed the weave as best I could and continued on my death march to painting and completion, but the abrasion still shows and I worry about fabric strength and tearing in those two areas. The boat did not leak at the abraded areas, but now I am very sensitive to abrasion particularly in untreated cloth. So my advice to others is to make sure you protect the cloth while sewing-either put a pad down on the horses, or tape along the keel stringer and possible the chine stringers. As for my completed boat, I am in the process of putting on a 1/2 in sq WRC strip all the way from the bow to the stern along the keel. I laminated the shapes for the bow and stern from 1/2 x1/8th strips. (The 1/8th dimension was probably a little thick for the curve at the stern, but after soaking in water overnight, I was able to make it work). Now I am looking for a way to bond a 1-1/2 strip of dacron along the chine stringer for additional protection. I know I could have used fabric adhesive if I had done this before painting, but its too late for the now. Does anyone have an Idea on what the best way to bond untreated dacron to Rustoleum painted dacron? I will say that once painted, the material seems stable and more resistant to wear and abrasion, but I think for the use I intend which is high mountain lakes with rocky bottoms and lots of fallen trees and snags, some additional protections is warranted. Next time I might go for the heavier material.

Yes. this design has a space behind the cockpit designed to hold a standard milk crate. I didn't use a crate, but it is very handy to store a bag with clothes, lunch, etc. It's a pretty elegant design but you need to be well balanced when accessing the storage to avoid tipping.

FROG and Launch Photos

Pushed hard and finished (well almost) to use the Castaway on my annual fly fishing trip this past weekend. I did a marathon lashing session a week earlier on Saturday, took my FROG photos , Then spent Sunday on pre-overing details. I sewed cover on in another marathon session Monday. Then put on 4 coats of paint in between finishing details over the next few days until we left for the mountains Thursday night. At the christening on Mamie Lake near Mammoth Lakes California, I found a pinhole leak that I cured with duct tape and proceeded to have a great fly fishing trip with the guys who were all very curious and then very envious. The boat handles well, is stable enough for fishing, and is way faster than the Percy Blandford kayak I built in High School. Still have some clean up work to do, but I am very pleased. Not sure how to post pictures so you'll have to take my word for it.

Let me just say I don't like scarfing. The WRC I found looked pretty clear in the store, but when ripped to size, there were knots everywhere. My completed stringers look like finger joint mouldings. And just to add insult to injury, after initial assembly I found there is a mistake in the plans and I had to go back and add another foot to the chine stringers. But they are done and I am not looking back. So now I have a question for Jeff or anyone who has built one of these. The frames are spaced pretty evenly at about 12-15 inches apart except in the forward part of the cockpit. There the spacing goes 5'6', 6'8", 7'10" but then 10'3" leaving a long unsupported section of stringers. Before I lock everything down I just want to make sure I am not missing something. Anyone have any thoughts?

Can I ask how you covered the bow? Is it stretched so the only seam is on the deck, is it sewn up the curve from the waterline? Or is it cut and stapled on the curve up from the waterline? I can't find anywhere Jeff discusses this. Finally, once sewn up did you install some kind of rub rail, either brass or plastic? Thanks ,

After starting stringers, I went back to cut the notches in the frames. Way more time consuming than I thought to get everything line to line. Now that I am almost done though, I was wondering if I should put linseed oil on the frames before assembly. It seems like if I oil after assembly, not much if any will get into the joints between frames and stringers and the edge of the plywood seems vulnerable. Thoughts?

Thanks, I will be adding a notch. I can just plane the keel to match the curve

OK here is another question. After spending a bunch of time getting tools work stands etc in order, I cut out the frames. I noticed that the bow piece does not have a notch for the keel stringer. It looks like it is set up for the keel to butt its aft end. The bow does have an interlocking mate with the last frame, which does attach to the keel, but that does not seem like a strong enough joint. Anyone know if this is correct?

Another question. When laying out frames on the plywood, my instinct is to orient the plywood grain on the horizontal axis of the frame, but this does not make for the most efficient layout. On Jeff's videos it looks like they are placed with random orientation to maximize the efficiency of the layout. Which way is right? Second any recommendation Oman the spray adhesive for the patterns?

After much deliberation and email traffic with Jeff on the specific design to build, I ordered and have just received the plans for Castaway. I wanted a boat to take to smaller mountain lakes for fly fishing so I won't have to use an inflatable "Cat boat" ever again. I was conflicted because my son just wants a regular kayak for cruising. We ultimately decided the two uses are incompatible and ageed to build two different boats. We'll start a Ravenswood after we get far enough into this one. So first question. Jeff suggests in the builders manual to make dedicated strong back support stands. Anyone have information on the sizing for these stands? I am thinking about 30" high by 32" wide?