labrat

Lashed frame and solar power - what a wonderful mix of ancient and modern technologies! Congratulations to you on mentoring such a young team to a creditable result. .....and the kids did ok too

I must disagree with you Archie - that is actually a very elegant solution for a situation that could lead to some very kludgy installations. Nicely implemented as well.

Interesting photo AT, I had never seen a pullsaw 25 years ago. Tell us about the block plane - it reminds me of mine which I found in a second hand shop a few years back. It's older than me but is one of my favourite, most used tools.

I remember seeing a statement somewhere along the lines of "A clear finish highlights all those imperfections you knew were there but a painted finish highlights the ones you didn't know about" It's always a good idea to stir with a flat stick using a scrape and lift action - but you probably know that now. It still looks good from here anyway

Well that bit of good weather didn't last long but you sure made the most of it. Hull's looking good, let's hope the topside comes up as well. Any progress on mast/sail?

Well Steve, it's only a couple more days to easter and with the amount of work left in the last post it looks tight to launch this weekend. On the other hand that post was 10 days ago, and let's face it, if anyone can pull an easter bunny out of this particular hat I reckon it would be you. So how's it going - just 1 photo will ease our suspense .

The trouble with asking someone who designs websites is that they understand websites and know how to use them - you need to ask someone less educated - like me! "Store" doesn't really stand out to me although I can find it because I know it's there. Try changing it to "Online Store" or "Online shop" or "Online Shopping". Or to make it really obvious, if you don't mind it being a lot larger try something like "Buy plans and materials" or "Shop for Plans/Materials" Personally I'd like to see a gallery of builders' boats back on the site too.

Last time I looked at this thread was about 4 weeks ago when you were still looking at the plans. Today I thought I'd see if you had started yet and was very startled to say the least - first impression was that you were nearly finished. Of course there is still a lot to go, especially with the fiddly bits, but even so it is remarkable progress and looking very good. Can't wait to see it in the flesh. Will the first launch be at West Lakes?

DurretD, that backrest setup sounds interesting - can you post some photos? I think I do similar things with the feet / knees pushing into the backrest. I have no lateral support on my seat so it helps with control as well as comfort.

Good topic Mitch, and one that I can relate to very strongly. Haven't been able to touch my toes since about 5 years old so this has been an issue ever since I started paddling. Everyone is different and something that is good for one person may be bad for another. Here are some things I have found that apply to me and at least may be worth thinking about for others. - Sitting upright is better than reclining for reasons of improved balance and paddle strokes. Being in a slightly reclining position without support also then places constant strain on the abdominal muscles and promotes fatigue. - Things to help the flexibility apart from stretching exercises are slight changes to everyday activities. I found a plastic crate at work and put it under my desk to use as a footrest. With legs straight and feet up it allows me to put a slight stretch on the hamstrings and even if it doesn't make them longer it helps to get used to being in that position longer. Also putting the car seat up a notch or 2 so it is more vertical has a similar effect. - Back support in a kayak can be too high or too low. My strip kayak has it about right but my Curlew is a little low and I really need to make a new backrest. One that is too high can interfere with the bottom of the PFD and be irritating. - For those that only go on very protected waters a canoe with its higher seats is much kinder to those of us with tight hamstrings.

40's today and 70's next week. We've had temps in the 40's too - this summer had a record number of days over 40 Celsius (about 104 Farenheit). ...immediately followed by the wettest February day for 40 years. Snow is fun to play in but I woudn't want to live in it.

Yep, I can relate to that! Would have been OK 25 years ago. PD - you're right I could modify the tube but I've been too lazy so far. One day the annoyance will overide the procrastination and I'll fix it. To everyone else about to build a boat - buy a set of Jeff's bags when you order the plans, you can't go wrong.

Fittings look fine, as do the bags in general. One thing to remember is to make the length of the inflation tube longer on the front bags. I bought some about a year ago based purely on fit for my Curlew and they were both sold as rear bags. It is very difficult to inflate the front one because the tube is too short.

Yep, a plastic jug and a large sponge for bailing. Only takes up a small area though.

One problem I had with my Curlew was that as soon as I took it off the strongback it corkscrewed slightly. Dimensions were OK but I think the cause was that the sheer stringers were not straight when cut and scarfed and I did not align them to counteract this. Hence one had a natural slight curve upward and the other went slightly downward. I decided to try a "brute force and ignorance" method of fixing it before going back to square 1. This involved forcing it into a position where it was twisted about 10 or 15 degrees past the straight position back the other way. It was left like this for several days and when released was very close to straight. Of course this may not be your particular problem but if the stringers are not matched in curvature before bending them to fit the frames then there could well be residual stresses that create an overal bend or twist.

The jig looks good - very neat. How thick are the strips you cut for the coaming? I can't remember exactly how thick mine were but the curve at the front is difficult to get around without snapping some strips so they need to be fairly thin. Apart from the water a heat gun can be a big help if you are having trouble.

That looks really good Steve and I think you have done very well on the frame weight. My Curlew was not overly heavy and it was closer to 30lb plus I can't remember seeing a frame under 25 in any of the build logs. It's also unusual to see a boat on water this early in the build .

Here's another example of using cords with 8oz fabric. My only SOF, a Curlew. Before shrinking After shrinking. I think the seams are much better than they would have been without the cords. There were a few minor pull holes but these filled OK with several coats of paint in those areas. The only problem areas were the ends but I think these will be harder with any method.

How far from the bottom should they be placed? It's a matter of personal preference but I think most people (including me) tend to put them at a height that allows the balls of the feet to rest on them. This photo shows the mounting brackets I used. They are simply rectangles of stainless steel sheet. The footrests are quite close to the deck skin. These are the footrests I bought from Jeff close to 2 years ago, presumably he still sells the same or similar. As far as fore/aft positioning goes, I sat against a wall with legs outstretched and measured the distance from wall to bottom of feet. Centre of the footrest track was then located this distance from the seat back. This is safer than a recommendation based on height.

A lot of people store trailer boats outside under tarps. In addition to putting it upside down as already suggested for the water issue you could also use a tarp to keep the sun off the hull. I am guessing you would get a reasonable amount of UV in your location so a cover of some sort would be worthwhile. Don't use nylon as UV kills it very quickly. A cheap replaceable poly tarp would do for a while. Or if you wanted something to last a bit longer maybe a polyester canvas. That could be painted as well to make it last longer.

That smile says it all! Job well done Garth - are you going to build one for yourself as well?

I've used both Western Red Cedar and Paulownia and would recommend either. I've read good things about Northern White Cedar too. There are not many timbers in the same weight range as these.

Ping pong balls sound like a good answer as long as the question is “What is an alternative method of adding buoyancy to my kayak?”.It may not be so good if the question is “How can I reduce the amount of water in my kayak in the event of a capsize?”Certainly the 2 are related but the big problem with rescues is not making sure the kayak stays at the surface but in handling the weight of the water filled hull initially and then removing the water once the paddler is back in the saddle. As far as I know most kayak hulls will float when full unless loaded with gear that is denser than water. Even a plastic kayak hull should float as the plastic has a specific gravity slightly less than 1.So what’s the problem with the ping pong balls? It’s the spherical shape that means when a heap of them are in contact there is always a significant volume of air gap (or water gap if submerged). If you draw a number of same size circles touching each other you can see the 2 dimensional spaces between them. In 3D there is even more open volume than implied by the 2d image.A single large object will always be more efficient at occupying volume so for this aspect solid pool noodles should be a bit better than the balls and the float bag will be best. Of course this is all subject to each method being applied as well as possible, and especially having the right size in the case of float bags.Having said all this I do believe that on a river or lake not too far from land then any form of volume occupier will make reaching shore easier and should be good enough. In these cases go for the balls, plastic bottles or wine cask bladders (these are popular in Aus).Large lakes and the sea are a different bucket of trout.

......and?

Good job Professor Horton! Looks like a batch of happy boat builders - and the boats turned out well too. I found out many years ago that one of the best ways to improve your own knowledge of a subject was to teach it to someone else. Seems like it still works.