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kayak278

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kayak278 last won the day on March 10 2015

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    Holland, MI

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  1. Hey Matt - I sent you an e-mail message a couple weeks ago but am not sure you received it. I live in Holland, MI also and would love to see your boats in person, if possible. My e-mail is glennpomp@gmail.com.

  2. Jeff...I had an awesome time meeting you and your wife at Quiet Water yesterday. Thanks again for all you do for the SOF community!!! Here's a shot of Jeff in action at his booth......note the display stand is different from the display stand Jeff posted on a while back.....he'll have to tell you that story
  3. Anyone else going to the Quiet Water Symposium in Lansing, MI this Saturday? Jeff, I saw your name on the exhibitor list. I'm looking forward to stopping by your booth as you've been my supplier for several SOFs.
  4. Wow....that looks really good!!
  5. Like Dave said above, boats designed for the surf aren't very good for other uses....specifically tracking straight and fast. A few years ago, I built a North Alaska Retrieval SOF kayak, sometimes called a Recovery Kayak. The basis for the design was that the native seal hunters switched to a shorter, wider, more stable kayak when firearms started being used for hunting, rather than the harpoons. With the use of firearms, they no longer needed the stealth and speed that the longer, narrower kayaks offered, they only needed a stable kayak to go retrieve their catch. That being said, the North Alaska Retrieval design performs very well in the surf due to the extreme rocker, and it is a very stable platform. It was a fun project to build as a woodworker, but it is not a practical, comfortable design for extended paddling. I think you would be best served to look at one of Jeff's tried and true designs, any of which would be fine in the surf.....it's amazing how the SOF design and construction methods "give" as you surf over waves. The built-in flexibility of the SOF design almost feels like a shock absorption system when you are cresting waves and going down into the trough! Because the recovery kayak is not the most efficient to paddle for longer distances, I have relocated the kayak to a permanent home hanging in my classroom....my 6th grade students love asking about it and I'm pretty sure I'm the only teacher they've ever had with kayaks hanging from the ceiling. In fact, I also have hung an old fuselage frame and I reference both boats by giving the students an analogy about "being uncovered". I tell them that when we look at each other, and see our "put-together" exteriors, that we're not letting others see our blemishes and faults that are on our insides....hence the covered kayak and the "uncovered" frame. I then go on to tell them that it is OK to let their guards down, to show their imperfections and show others that they aren't perfect. At this point, I reference the uncovered frame and show them all of the mistakes and problems with it, telling them that even though there were problems with the frame, it still operated fine in the water. I think our digital, Instagram/Facebook/Twitter, media-centric culture is hard on pre-teens because all they see is the highlight reel that people post online...the kids end up thinking that they need to have everything perfect and all put together, and that it's not ok to show any kind of fault or weakness...or ask for help. WOW...can you tell that school starts for me tomorrow? Sorry, I didn't mean to highjack the thread and go into a positive thinking message -Matt
  6. Al, I've finished three SOF boats using Rustoleum from the white can. I did thin the first coat by 20% using acetone as the Rustoleum website stated...results were great! Here's my latest.... 19' long, 11.7oz polyester from Kudzucraft, coated with three coats of Gloss Black Rustoleum from the white can. Picture is from a recent trip on Lake Superior, at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, MI. -Matt
  7. I used a regular soldering/woodburning iron with a very fine woodburning tip on it that I bent into a hook. All I had to do then was put the hook tip through the fabric and pull towards me....worked great. The soldering iron was one of the cheap hobby versions sold at the big box hobby stores.
  8. I've used both 54lb test braided polyester catfish line and artificial sinew.....and had great results with both. If I had to choose, I would say I liked the sinew better because when pulling the stitch tight, I feel like it held its tension within the fabric better....I didn't have to use the hemostats as much as when I used the braided polyester fishing line.
  9. Wow....this fabric is amazing. Definitely worth the extra $$ because with the tighter weave, you can really pull the stitching tight. I used the rolled cord method with artificial sinew. On all of my other boats, I used the 8oz fabric with braided polyester catfish line as thread and I was always disappointed with the pull holes and the fabric not being tight. As a worship leader/musician at my church, I was having fun getting different percussive tones out of my frame with the tightness of the 11.6oz poly! Rolled cord stitching: Drum tones: All sewn up....next step- ironing and gloss black Rustoleum:
  10. There's more rocker in the front than the picture shows....I've done some work on the keel and stem since taking the FROG picture. I know it isn't one of your designs....I instead used Christopher Cunningham's book on building a Greenland kayak, which to those unfamiliar with it, uses your body's individual measurements to design a kayak around. Honestly having now built two fuselage style kayaks using cross sections and two Greenland style using the bent rib "build it around your body" method, I'm on the fence as to which style I like better. Building kayaks is definitely a disease! It's hard to stop at just one. I was just looking for any of those tips and tricks people may have discovered (on top of Jeff's awesome advice) as they've built kayaks using the 11.6oz poly.
  11. I've recently purchased the 11.6 oz polyester from the KudzuCraft store to cover my 19' frame. This is my 4th SOF using polyester but the first time I've used the heavier 11.6oz fabric. I'm just wondering if any of you builders out there who have used the 11.6oz have any tips or tricks that you used to get the skin really tight. I will be using the rolled cord method of sewing that is shown on one of Jeff's great videos. Here's a FROG shot and a shot of the frame wrapped in 4mil plastic just before the "plastic wrap test".
  12. Here's what has worked very well for me and has endured numerous expeditions on the rocky Lake Superior shores in both Michigan and Canada. Coat the tips of the paddle using West System Six10 thickened epoxy tinted with West System 501 white pigment. Just use a bristled brush to apply the thickened epoxy. The white tips are very durable and really stand out from a distance, giving you extra visibility to other boaters, and they kinda simulate the look of the bone tips that the Greenlanders used on their paddles.
  13. I'm running the 58" bars in my rack setup. My 17' sea kayak goes in Yakima Land Shark Saddles, and the other two kayaks are in J-style cradles. I've also still got room for one bike on the roof, even with 3 kayaks. Matt
  14. Thanks Jeff for your great service and attention to detail! I just received the 20' of 11.6oz polyester that I ordered from you this week. I really appreciate that you folded it neatly AND cut it with a hot knife. I've ordered from other kayak suppliers who cut the polyester with a scissors and it arrived at my house with polyester snags and strings coming off the edges. I can't wait to start skinning my traditional Greenland frame:
  15. Hi all.... This past weekend, I, my wife, and our 4 year old son (in his own SOF) went on a 4 hour paddling trip here in Michigan. All three of us wore our PFDs....my rule is, if you're in a kayak, on the water, you must wear a PFD if you want to paddle with me. During our trip, we saw at least 25-30 people in their recreational kayaks not wearing their PFDs. The water was definitely deep enough to be over a person's head. My question is this.....what do you all do when you encounter people not wearing their PFDs. Do you say anything, or do you remain silent on the issue and just give them a friendly "hello"? Do we as ambassadors of the kayaking community have a duty to inform people how important it is to wear the proper safety equipment? How have you broached the subject with complete strangers when you've encountered this? I talked to one kayak outfitter at the takeout who doesn't see the need to have his clients wear their PFDs. Happy paddling! Matt
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