labrat

Gorn, For stringer material I think you might be in luck. I am just starting to build a Curlew and obtained some paulownia from Qld. It is lighter than any cedar and ideal for this purpose. There is a paulownia producing company not far from you called Highpoint Timbers: http://www.highpointtimber.com.au/contact/contact.html See how you go with them. Being as close as you are you won't have to pay the same freight costs that I did. As for ply, I am considering risking construction grade but not without some precautions. I am doing some experiments on small pieces by soaking one in water for several weeks and the other I will apply tung oil to. If it holds together under both of these conditions then that aspect will be OK as far as I am concerned. Jeff shows some of this type of ply delaminated in his book and that is a good warning to be careful hence my material trials before committing. If the trials fail then I guess it will be hoop pine marine ply but even this is extremely expensive. Another aspect is strength and the number of plies. Still thinking about that. Jeff's tip about the woodwork forums is also good. They have just taken the step of separating out the kayak and canoe builds from the general boat building section. In trolling back through the old threads I found one by Jeff in the days before SOF - it was a S&G build with a strip deck.

I'm not on Facebook although I can see what's there. I notice someone else has put up "Tadpole" - must be a good name 'cos I thought of it too! How about "Mini-me" or "Stiltskin" - implies small size through connection with the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin plus the stilt is a wading bird and the kayak is a skin boat.

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.

Looks good - well done! One thing that can help with relaxion and confidence is to have a bit of a wriggle as soon as you are in the boat. Make it go from side to side a few times using the hips - try fast and slow, small movements and larger - just don't capsize as that's generally considered not so good for confidence . Being in a boat is a dynamic thing as you are always moving. Time on the water is still needed but this little exercise gives you a head start on helping the body learn what is normal movement and what's not.

P Doug’s Bird Mouth Shaft thread led to discussion on various aspects of paddles (and some good links), in particular a question about making a hollow GP. It might be good to see a range of paddles with comments on construction and performance. I have made 4 double ended and a small single for emergency use. In the photo the GP was made from a blank glued up from several pieces of western red cedar. It is finished in pure tung oil and feels really nice in the hands. Unfortunately I have tried it twice over several kilometres and can’t come to terms with how it performs. It seems to have very little purchase so needs fast strokes to get any propulsion and I ended up with a sore shoulder after the first attempt. Dimensions were derived from an article on the web but I wonder if it should have been longer. It is the lightest of my double ended paddles at 30.4 oz (862g). The one under the GP has a hollow Tasmanian Ok shaft finished in tung oil, with blades made of laminated Basswood strips and a single layer of 2.5 oz glass on the power face. All 3 EPs have this blade construction. This is my strongest but heaviest at 36oz (1021g). . The blades have a very slight curve and it is the one I tend to use on the sea due to its effectiveness and strength. The third one is similar but has much more curve on the blades which causes 2 problems. First it is slightly less effective unless the paddle stroke is right and second it catches the wind in erratic ways. Weight is 31.4oz (blades and shaft are both a little shorter) The bottom one has a 1” (25mm) diameter hollow Tasmanian Oak shaft with a layer of glass spirally wrapped around it. This flexes more than the 30mm shafts but is still quite strong. It works as well as the second one but the narrow shaft is not quite as comfortable. From what I have seen advertised these seem to be mid weight paddles. In the other thread Dan came up with the idea of making a hollow GP and I think this would make a difference if using a dense wood but with WRC the low density means that taking some out of the centre will not drop the weight by very much. Something now on the to do list is a paddle with a GP style shaft but EP style blades (or similar) in WRC. This could give the best of both worlds for me but might not suit anyone else. The single is a spare and for slow moving/direction changes while fishing. Laminated from WRC and Basswood, finished in tung oil. Anyone else have a few of different size/shape/construction?

Good to see you're up and about Jeff - I suspect that with the season heading into the warmer months you will be better off than if it happened in Autumn. (Be prepared for minor relapse next winter). This project is great - dare I say "Oarsome" ? I know all will be revealed eventually but I am itching to see how the skin goes on to leave the transom exposed.

Coating with epoxy on the outside won't make it stronger unless there are slight external gaps in the joints that it can seep into. If it didn't glue up strongly enough then I think the only way to save it would be wrapping with a layer of glass - but this would offset a lot of the weight reduction. After making a GP and feeling how good the oiled timber is in the hands I am going to sand all the epoxy off 1 of my hollow shafts and try that oiled too.

Looks good PD! I have made some hollow shaft paddles too but have no table saw and wouldn't know how to use one anyway. My method would not be as strongly joined as yours but works OK. I buy lengths of quarter round and hollow it out on a home made router table then join 4 pieces to make the full tube. I use lots of cable ties to hold it and like you found I need something in the ends to make it hold shape while assembling. Mine have ended up between 30 and 35 oz using Tasmanian Oak (which is not an Oak at all). Don't forget to show us the finished paddle.

Hi Jerry, some nice photos there, looking forward to seeing the finished product on that water. It's a bit off topic but can you tell/show us a bit about the paddle that we can see the blade of in the foreground of the second last photo?

Hi Jeff, sorry this is so late but I only received my order today (long way to Aus!). Order was placed on or about the 8th Nov and left the USA on 13th. Please see PM for photo to show colour.