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Nichols Lutra II build


Abyssdncr

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Outwales on and drying. I mounted them flush with the decks which made them sit about an eighth of an inch proud all through the cockpit area.  Then, I planed down some white cedar and dropped it into the gap covering up the plywood end grain.  When it's dry, I'll plane and sand all three pieces together into what should look like a nice continuous gunwale.  I couldn't...wouldn't...spend the time to make the segmented gunwale the way I wanted, so this will have to do.  Plan to taper the ends into the false stems over the last foot or so.  The aft false stem was cut with a vertical section at the top to accommodate a rudder gudgeon.

 

Even though I really did try to wipe up all the excess epoxy when attaching the inwales, there's a nasty run the full length of the cockpit that needs to be scraped off.  Then, on to the coaming lips for the decks (do canoes have "coamings"?). Eventually, I'd like to fab a skirt, so I'm putting lips on the decks' edges, regardless of what they're called.  

 

Also, the decks are easy to buckle in the wider areas, so when I flip it over to fillet the decks from the inside, I'm going to add some stiffeners in the center along the inner roofs of the decks.  Gonna have to get creative with the upper mast support since it won't be at a bulkhead station, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

 

Still waffling about a paint scheme.  The seat has orange stitching, but I haven't settled on a good way to tie it altogether so it's not so flagrantly disjointed - "Why the hell did you just bolt a commercial kayak seat into a handbuilt canoe?" Maybe there isn't a good tie, but I'm doing it anyway.  

 

Regardless, I have less than two weeks to get all the boat stuff out of the basement...

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10 hours ago, Abyssdncr said:

"Why the hell did you just bolt a commercial kayak seat into a handbuilt canoe?"

The obvious answer is "Because it's my boat and I want to have fun with it - I didn't make the plywood either! (or the epoxy, etc.)" :)  If someone really wants to be a purist they're going to have to scrape out a dugout canoe with a sharp rock and chew up some tobacco to stave off rot (or something like that).  That's a perfectly valid way to go but it's not a requirement for a good boat. ;)

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8 hours in the basement today, and if the winds cooperate, I'll be out for a test paddle tomorrow evening to settle on a seat location.  All plywood endgrain is capped and sealed, everything has at least one coat of epoxy, if not 8...

 

The other big question is no doubt handling.  I love the way my Wood Duck Double responds on the water, be it fishing in the lake with a kiddo or cruising down the river loaded to camp.  If this is similar, I'll be thrilled.  In addition to tracking, I want to try out various seat heights to see how she'll perform if I'm just anchored & fishing with respect to stability.  I'm hoping this seat will let me spend at least a few hours without my butt going numb, even if it's just due to altering height.

 

Supposing all things check out accordingly, next up will be seat support structure, a rudder kit, and provisions for the downwind sail.  Fairing, paint, and varnish too, if I can settle on a paint scheme.

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I can only guess at weight now by comparison to others with published weights and say 70 lbs. plus or minus without the seat.

 

Test paddle success.  Definitely doesn't track like the Wood Duck, but not nearly as "wandering" as short kayaks. So, as expected in the handling department.  Solo seat position ended up being way farther forward than I would have guessed...according to the pictures, at least. With the seat more toward the middle, it definitely tracked better.  

 

Seat height checks. Started to "feel" like a canoe at the 5th click, but still totally manageable at the highest setting. Standing was shaky, but I didn't get wet.  

 

Long story short, gonna be great for it's intended purpose, but the downwind sail and rudder can wait for a bit, budgetarily speaking.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ever slowly moving forward.  Lots of sanding, even though it doesn't show it.  Foot braces positioned, but still need glassed on.  Solo seat mount is in, still noodling on a second position, but the second mount is mostly fabbed, just need to notch the second set of aluminum straps.  Should I glass over the cedar pieces that are notched for the rear bar or will epoxy and paint be sufficient? I'm just worried about losing the seat if I flip in strong river current and the seat gets wedged on a log something while the boat is getting pushed along.

 

Will add pads as pictured for the front legs to rest/slide on...plus central mounts for a nylon strap to hold the front end down.  Probably won't get much else done this week, but I have a 4 day weekend coming up that should end with a full rudder and seat install and more little spots filled with epoxy.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Finally got her out on the river yesterday.  Fairly tight and winding section - definitely made it a workout managing the length around some of the bends, but it fulfilled my desired outcome of decent cargo with a shallow waterline for low water conditions.  Should have used ply instead of cedar on the seat mounting blocks, because I broke both sides removing the seat without being gentle enough. Should be easy enough of a repair though.

 

This one's officially in the "done" column. ?

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