DURRETTD

The following links are for articles from an experienced paddler: http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat17.html http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat369.html http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat371.html http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat448.html I would add a spare paddle, paddle float, bilge pump and marine radio (or at least a cell phone) to the list. About a week ago I went out in calm conditions and came home in very challenging conditions; I almost needed the paddle float. A couple of weeks before that I broke a paddle getting back in my boat after a rest stop. The message is: prepare for nasty conditions every time you get on the water. The additional gear you need for nasty weather is not much heavier, more numerous, or more expensive than what you need for calm conditions. Dan

Jeff, What glue did you use? Any thoughts on what you used versus epoxy? Dan

I agree with Hirionde. Lamination is almost certainly the best way to go. Without lamination, the outriggers would probably have to extend across both gunwales, angled from front-to-back or back-to-front, to keep them out of the way of the oars and your knuckles. Where are you going to sit while your wife rows? A few thoughts for those who are afraid of laminating components: Yes, laminating is scary! The idea of building a mold, cutting thin strips, working with finicky glues, and finishing the thing that emerges is too much for most of us to deal with. Like so much of life - marriage, the first day of school, raw oysters, and escargo are good examples - once you try it, it's not as bad as it appeared. Take it slow. Don't set an unrealistic time line for the project. Rip your wood strips or hire a pro to rip them for you. You'll get about as much sawdust as solid wood, but wood is cheap and sawdust makes great mulch. Don't worry about a full frame for the lamination. Draw the desired curves, screw some blocks to a sheet of plywood, clamp your strips to the blocks, then move and add blocks as needed to force the strips into shape. Clamp the laminations in place before you try to glue them. Moisten the strips or use a heat gun to make bending the strips easier. Clamp the strips in place without glue and let them set for a few days before you glue, and practice placing and clamping the laminations a couple of times before you try to glue them. Label the laminations, so you don't have to rearrange them when you start gluing. Use lots and lots of waxed paper and visqueen. Make a bunch of cheap PVC pipe clamps. Use blocks screwed to the plywood base with wedges or shims. Buy or borrow a few C-clamps and F-clamps. Get everything in place before you start gluing. If you're using epoxy, put on your vinyl gloves (the heavy, reusable kind, not the one-size-fits-none), mix the glue, spread it, clamp it, wipe off the excess glue where possible, clean up your tools and scrap, wipe your gloves clean, remove your gloves, and forget it for 24 hours. If Epoxy scares you or causes an allergic reaction, use Titebond III. Grind off the excess glue with a heavy file or a belt sander. If the finished product is ugly, paint it and ignore any derisive comments. Dan

Jeff, Your comment: "Number one is most people know NOTHING about skin boats. Something I should have thought of. I wasn't dealing with a educated crowd, most had never even heard of skin boats so I had to do a lot of educating and answered the same questions over and over and over." sounds familiar. I opened a kayak shop in Northwest Florida in '87 and had a similar experience. The first two years were all about education, then the business started to grow. I suspect that today the key is a strong Internet presence, which you have, and paddling your boats where people can see them. Maybe you can get some coverage through sites such as www.paddling.net and other user-oriented sites. You have a great product; persist! Dan

Here's another good article on paddles that offers some interesting observations about Greenland paddles for anyone buying or building a paddle. http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?616 My only problem with Greenland paddles is that they are typically much heavier than Euro-style paddles. I don't feel particularly more fatigued after a day of using a heavy Greenland, but I love the feel of a light paddle. One of these days I'll try building a hollow-shaft, light-weight Greenland. Has anyone out there tried this? How'd it work out? Dan

Buying the book is the right thing to do for you and for Jeff. He has put a lot of time, energy, and money into his designs and he deserves every penny he gets from his book and his plans. Read Jeff's descriptions carefully. He has the experience to point you in the right direction and understands the subtleties of trading off stability, resistance, maneuverability, and speed. As a first-time kayak paddler it's easy to be overly concerned about stability; don't get hung up on wide beam as an indication of stability! Even if you don't use one of Jeff's designs, you'll learn a lot and save a lot of trouble from his insights. He also has the materials to outfit and skin whatever design you choose. Dan

Before we get off the topic of home-built paddles, I'd like to point paddle builders to http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-11136188. This is an excellent, brief discussion of blade shapes. One of the reason's I like the article is the author's support for a flat blade. I use a flat sheet of Lexan for my blades and have not had problems with flutter. they're also tough and easy to build. On the subject of hollow shafts: I use a router to hollow two strips of poplar then round them to produce a 1/4 inch wall. I epoxy them together with a thin (1/16 to 1/8 inch) web with lightening holes. The result is a light, strong, surprisingly stiff shaft. I leave the ends solid to provide more gluing surface. If you have access to a router, I believe you'll find this a simpler method of building shafts than the birds mouth. No comment on safety - you can maim yourself with a rubber hammer. We're all left to our own judgement and all comments about safety ought to be considered. Dan

Jeff, A sailing kayak sounds like a good idea. I have a Hobie Adventure Island (a 16' polyethylene trimaran) that is a blast. The only problem I have with it is that it's heavy. I have to strip off the outriggers, mast, and all of my gear to drag it up the creek bank. Getting it on top of the van is more work than I care to do often. A light SOF system would be greatly appreciated. Of course, building a SOF trimaran that would take the heeling and rudder forces and still be light enough to retain the advantages of a SOF would be a challenge. If you can pull it off you'll earn enough "atta boys" to be a true hero. If you could also make the center hull a double kayak we'd have to find some additional space on Mount Rushmore. Dan

Jeff, I'd recommend you design a pack canoe, similar to a down-sized Stonefly. It may not be an intuitive choice for a lot of paddlers, but a pack canoe can be an excellent alternative to larger, heavier, enclosed kayaks. They aren't ideal for open water or winter use, but they're light and convenient. I use a double paddle, not a canoe paddle, and plan on getting wet (from drips from the paddle). I usually paddle a 20+ year-old polyethylene Hydra Solo (17' x 22"). It's great for long open-water cruising, but it's heavy, so I'm looking at one of your designs in the 15' foot range to reduce wetted surface and weight. In the past, when I didn't feel like lugging the poly boat down to the water and back (it weighs 60 pounds going in and about 2,427 pounds when I pull it out after a long day on the water), I would grab an old Mohawk pack canoe (about 12' x 29"). It's light, easy to get into and cruises at a reasonable speed. Its only drawback is that it doesn't like short, steep powerboat wakes and is too wet for winter paddling. Thanks for asking! Dan

PDoug, I have an urgent question: Why didn't I think of that? Thanks for sharing! Dan

There are free PC and Mac versions of Nook. You can also convert Nook's format to Kindle (and vice-versa) with a free program called Calibre. Go to http://calibre-ebook.com/download. Dan

This is looking very doable. The theme of these boats seems to be: keep it simple! Of course it won't be as much fun as working with epoxy, but I'll try to adjust. Thanks for the help. Dan

On the subject of paint: do you paint the cloth behind the coaming to waterproof it? It seems difficult, at best, to waterproof the cloth between the deck and the coaming. Should I paint the cloth inside the coaming and a couple of inches down inside the cockpit? If it isn't painted, water splashing onto the desk will leak through the bare cloth. How do I solve this issue? Could it be that the leakage is so minor that it is best ignored? Thanks for your insights on this. Dan