P Doug (WA) Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Did this vessel ever get a new name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodman Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Jeff, Would you elaborate more on the new sewing method and maybe some detailed pictures? Like to know more also...determining the distance to sew the rope-beads-...did you clamp the fabric tight along the center deck stringer then mark a line so-far from the centerline to locate the rope?.....And I assume you started in the center of the cockpit..right... pulling toward each end like the regular kayaks?.... I am about to cover a 15' X32'' pirogue http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2109 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Been meaning to do that, give me time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Dave, I couldn't find the high adhesion tape narrow enough or I would have done it differently. I didn't want to have to have to tape it two or three times. Every time I have tried other tape they turned loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 OVERVIEW: .......................... and is specially formulated to penetrate rust and bind to metal. Does not sound like a best choice. Jeff uses Rustoleum not because of what it's namesake tells you but because it is a very durable oil based paint. Rustoleum makes many different paints these days but keeps the name of it's original product because it sells This stuff yo link is very specifically formulated to bond to rust, much like POR. It is a very different material. I use porch and deck oil based enamel. How it compares to Rustoleum over the long haul is unknown, but I bet it is pretty close. It is designed to stand up to traffic. I choose it over Rustoleum because I have infinite color choices. Any color that can be mixed at the paint shop can be done in porch and deck enamel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Getting really close to finishing this one up and I still don't have a name. I think I will just call it My Boat since I don't have commercial plans for it. Lets start with the oars, after a lot of research I decided it didn't matter what I built them out of as long as they didn't break and I kept them varnished. So I laminated basswood since it was easy to get and cheap. I am sure I will build another set in the near future and once I am happy with my design I can use better wood if I find the need. This is the second oar blank being shaped on the bench. As you can see by the pile of shavings there has been a lot of wood removed from the first one. I use hand tools and sandpaper. I know most of you reading probably thing of hand tools as old school but there is nothing better for this job! They are a joy to work with once you learn the tricks. This is a cheap Stanley Handyman plane I picked up somewhere. I have reshaped the blade so that is it rounded and use it as a scrub plane. It leaves a rough surface but it takes a lot of material off fast. This one works great at getting it removing lots of wood and getting it down close, then I finish with the other plans that take small amounts off at a time. Yes it is slower but you have much more control and don't suddenly find you are way past your mark. You sort of sneak up on the line. Next it was time to fit the trim or coaming to the boat. This hides the fabric edge and will help keep water from coming in the cockpit. All the bits and pieces dry fitted in place ready to removed and sanded. Now we skip past all the hours of sanding and sanding and sanding some more..... I start to apply the first coat of varnish and then see the places I should have sanding a little bit more. Hope to start assembling all the bits and pieces some time this week and maybe take it to the water late in the week. MAYBE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 I know most of you reading probably thing of hand tools as old school but there is nothing better for this job! They are a joy to work with once you learn the tricks. I don't know about most of us, but at least of few of use know that some schools don't need updating. Woodworking is about control, and for some tasks nothing even approaches the control of a hand plane. Hope to start assembling all the bits and pieces some time this week and maybe take it to the water late in the week. MAYBE! Bad luck to predict a launch date, just keep working until it is done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 3 steps forward and one step back! No launching this weekend but such is boat building. And let me apologize for the lousy photos, they are not up to my standards but I didn't feel like redoing them tonight. Lets start with the transom. As you can see it is in place and once the caulking sets up it ready for a few more coats of varnish. I had someone tell me I couldn't do a wine glass transom on a skin boat guess what? I did. ;-) Finished the oars except for the handles. I still have to refine the shape of those and I am going to oil them rather than varnish them. I have never had good luck doing that but I am going try it again. I had the 'leathers' or actually masons twine wrapped and varnished in place. If you think sewing hurts your hand try this! First time in two years my hands are really sore. Hopefully I have applied the last coat of Varnish to everything. While I was at it I repaired a kayak paddle and varnished it. It has nothing to do with this boat though. I assembled the outriggers onto the frame and placed them in boat to double-check clearances before I start to install the varnished trim. That is when I saw my serious blunder! See that big crack in the cross brace? That is not really the problem, notice the grain runs up and down? That is the problem. There is no strength in the joint. It broke from installing the screws that hold the outriggers. This is the most stressed joint on the boat. All of the force from the oars is on this joint., it has to be strong and this is terribly weak. That was a big blunder that I should have noticed. I have been debating and I am seriously considering just scrapping this one, keeping the outriggers but building a new frame from plywood. The oak frame should be more than strong enough with the cross brace grain running the right direction. but the time it will take to fix I could probably just build a new one. Plus I think the plywood would be lighter and just as strong, probably a little stronger. Then again sitting here looking at this picture I have an idea on how I fix this and make it stronger too. Next post we will see what I decide. As I write this the wheels are turning.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 I kept pondering on this and really want to try to fix the rower frame. I knew that just gluing it together would not work. The thoughts of having to chisel out the dados to replace the broken cross piece was not appealing, at all. Then I had the thought, I could add a cross piece making the cross brace into a T shape. That would make the whole frame much stronger I couldn't just glue it on top because thew wood was oiled and glue wouldn't stick. Secondly it would be in the way for the sliding seat hardware so I need to mill a dado and cut down the broken piece too. Thinking on how I was going to this I leaned toward making a router jig, but I kept thinking how much faster a dado stack on the table saw would be. Problem was, I was certain it wouldn't fit on the table. I was right, it wouldn't fit but I discovered if I removed the left side extension on the table it would. It was going hit the fence rail at the back but there was just enough space to finish the cut. So I removed the extension. Clamped some scrap the miter gauge and clamped the broken frame together so it couldn't move. I am not quite finished with the cut in this photo. I cut it 1-1/2" wide and centered on the cross brace. By doing this I cut off the top of the broken brace that was oiled. Now I have clean wood across the top to glue too. I decided I had better add a second piece further back to help prevent any racking. When I slid it over to make the cut it really wanted to tip over without the extension table in place. I didn't want to replace extension just yet so I grabbed one of the big cast iron clamps and placed it on the end as a counterweight to help balance it. Then I clamped it to the miter gauge and that worked. Here is the finished unit. It's now much stronger. I have installed heel cups, added a temporary foot strap (I think I want some wider webbing) and installed the rails and seat. Here she is, all finished as far as I can tell. All I need to do is check the transom to make sure it is water tight. I don't expect a problem but I would rather find it now. If there are no surprises then she is ready for the water. We are in the middle of a heat wave so I am not sure when I will be on the water. I have been working on the rowing machine at the gym and I know that rowing can be a strenuous workout, so I may have to go by myself early one morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted June 28, 2012 Report Share Posted June 28, 2012 Looks rather fine from where I sit Jeff . Don't go alone - at least take a photographer. I reckon there are probably a few people around who can't wait to see this thing on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Doug (WA) Posted June 28, 2012 Report Share Posted June 28, 2012 Yep, looks fine! Take someone with a video. This one desirves a video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted June 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2012 Looks like I am going to take her to the water early tomorrow morning. Phil is available and dying to try it too. The heat is really bad but the good thing is the humidity is unusually low. But I think we will try to hit the water early before it gets too warm. Phil will have his camera and I agree this needs video. I want to see it myself to see how it moves through the water. Did this vessel ever get a new name? I keep seeing thing and forgetting to answer. No, not yet. I keep a list of possible names and there are some really good ones on there, but nothing seems to fit. My wife said I should call it Scuttle Butt and I have been tempted. I am considering just calling it Cotton or Cottonwood but sometimes after paddling one you know what it should be named. Maybe that will happen tomorrow. If nothing else I will just call it "My Boat" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Doug (WA) Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Sooooooooooooo! How was the launch?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 I just wrote it up last night Paul. Basically OK but far from great. Going to try some modifications this morning. http://www.kudzupatch.com/blog/2012/07/04/to-the-water-we-go/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Looks really nice. You need to get your photographer into one of your boats though. The plastic foredeck in the fore ground of photos just isn't right Yeah, trying to do something different from scratch sure can have a long and sometimes tedious learning curve built in. But I think you have a good idea and worth perfecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Doug (WA) Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 I'm sure you will figure it all out. That boat is beautiful on the water. I agree with Dave. well worth the effort to perfect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Just got in from a 5 minute paddle and learned a lot more. Raising the oars 2" made a dramatic difference. No bloody knees! Plenty of clearance and did not bang my knees once. So that was a huge improvement and one issue resolved. I had searched and searched the web but could never find any recomendation on this height so I guessed and guessed wrong. But now I have a good starting point from now on. As a side note I am thinking I made this boat to low. It should have been at least an inch taller and maybe even two. I don't want to get caught out in rough water in this thing. Maybe with some experience it will OK but that leads to the other issue, stability..... There is more to stability than just keeping a boat upright. I have no problems there, I can sit in the boat with or without oars no problem. It's tender but I guess from paddling lower stability kayaks is why I don't find it a big problem. Phil however struggled with the stability which sort of surprised me. https://www.facebook...469379416407085 But today, since I wasn't focused on keeping my knees out of the way I started to confront the next issue. I keep dipping one oar in the water which could be a really bad thing at higher speed. Right now it is just a major annoyance and frustrates the heck out of me!!!! I was assuming it was just me letting one side droop and hit the water. But being able to focus on this, I realize that was not the case. I am wobbling as I paddle, leaning the boat to one side or the other and with the lenght of the oars it doesn't take much for an oar to dip into the water. So it is a stability issue, not turning over but rocking from side to side. That will improve with experience I am sure but since I can't paddle worth a darn now I am going to try to lower the seating position. I tried sitting on top of the seat frame (very uncomfortable!!) with the sliding seat all the way back but that made a big difference. It would not be very hard to add a board across the frame to use as a fixed seat. That will lower me an inch and half and that will make a marked difference. And it's easier than making a new frame. So I will probably start with that. Stay tuned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Learning to row with equal power, recovery height, proper feathering, draw depth, cadence, etc when you have a primary hand and an also hand is not easy. And you are doing it on a strange new boat. As a boy I had to row 1 mile in a straight line with a cross wind to pass Boy Scout rowing merit badge. Practicing for that took hours and hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Did this vessel ever get a new name? COTTONWOOD I was writting something on it for the web site and really needed a names so I just called settled on Cottonwood. Not a great name but at least it is named! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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