Action Tiger

C'mon Kudzu! All you gotta do is design a foiling catamaran, like those America's Cup guys. With bifurcated bows, of course.

Kind words deserved. I'm more of a putty and paint makes it what it ain't type. And I just love happy accidents!

I never considered buying a paddle, but I looked here for some reason. The dark paddle, with blonde tips and loom edges that form "darts" down the blade. Very handsome, to my eye. I find the design striking. The all look worth 2 bills.

I visited southern KY to visit relatives a dozen years ago and I was enthralled with the hardwood forests. We got needles galore out here. If you find a small saw mill and show them your beautiful boats, they'll cut you some nice stuff. I found one way down a dirt road on my bike one day. They have a hand painted sign... I buy hardwoods from a fancy furniture wood guy. It's all too dry, but I soak it, and most of it works. I'll post photos when I steam up my freeb coaming.

I know you like photos, and sorry it's not a coaming, but I built this about 15 years ago. Lots of steaming... Oak ribs, for what it's worth.

Ash also bends well. Ever seen a pair of wooden snowshoes? I've seen AYC steam bent in person and in books. First choice for steaming is green wood. If you must use air or kiln dried wood, soak it first. It will re-absorb some water. Then use lots of hot, wet steam, or boiling water. (+- 1hr per inch) It's the heat AND moisture that make the magic. Then again, first builders bent a lot of ribs and coamings by chewing the wood. Seriously. As far as redwood goes, I've seen coastal redwood dugout canoes that had their gunnels spread by boiling the wood soft with hot rocks. I've also personally applied boiling water soaked cloths the hood ends of sequoia redwood canoe planks to shape them. Neither is a coaming, though. Smiley face thing.

I will second those Core Sound boats. Lots of boat, there. Also, Richard, people DO build SOF sailboats. They also build sailboats from plastic bottles, and concrete. Dave is right about a good sailboat. It makes sailing fun. So do good sails. I have built some turds. Don't break too many rules until you learn them fairly well. That pointy triangle boat looks like a death trap. I'd want my buoyancy further forward. Then again, what do I know? I never listen. Just ask my mom, or wife, or kids...

Jeff is right. I have lot of small boat building experience, including lofting. FreeB takes some knowledge and judgement. If it is your first boat, I would highly recommend buying plans from Kudzu Jeff. They are very inexpensive. Then, when you're more comfortable, finish your FreeB.

I didn't take any pictures while I built, so no photos. I cut the stem profiles out of poster board chunks oversized in every other direction. Then I clamped them in the proper attitude onto the stringers. Then I traced the stringer edges onto the poster board. Then I drew a stem shaped thingy using the stringer lines and precut profile, cut it out, and used it as a pattern. I may have done it wrong.

Update: coaming form done, but no suitable coaming wood on hand. Too short! Trip to mill next week? Racing another Iron Man in a little over 8 weeks, so training and resting a lot. Kudzu Jeff will be the first to know when skinning is imminent, because I will have just purchased some recycled poly. Another couple of weeks, folks...

A pure abuse boat... I really do try to use the best. It was really built from scrap as a distraction for my nieces and nephews. It doesn't seem to want to die.

Sorry. This pirogue.

My kids and I built this pirogue 4 years ago from acx, brass screws, and Alex paintable tub and tile caulk. This boat is abused. We replaced the "keel" strip this year, and when it was unscrewed, the caulk was still stuck tight. My experience with tub caulk...

Just volunteering. A double yak would be fun, but I'm not really shopping.

If you really want to design one, I'd be willing to buy plans and build a prototype. I have friends with a strip built one they love. Both my big kids and my wife do, too. No more fiberglass for this hombre, though...

Just for fun, the stringers. I normally get wood from a local small mill, not lumberyards. I happened to be in one with my son, and found a perfect 2×10 someone wanted to make into a deck, or something worse. We saved it and made a boat. And then fixed the fence.

The standard that truly waterproof, as opposed to water resistant, adhesives tolerate boiling for a specified period of time. A boat builder joke.

I don't know how to do the quote thing, but I agree with Hirilonde about scarfs. I would only ever do a mechanical scarf because I like to torture myself. I also enjoy complicated joinery. Plus, they only really belong on a full-blown nerdy copy of an old boat. Glued scarfs are simpler and better, in every respect. An original builder would have glued, were that an option. Cut a nice long scarf, glue it well on both sides, clamp it well. I use Raka... I have never boiled one of my boats.

For a lashed stringer you need to cut a hooked scarf. The tips of the scarf are cut into bird's mouths that fit matching bird's mouths cut into the other piece. Harder to do than explain or visuslize. Lots of careful measuring and cutting. And throwing away "practice" scarfs. The lashing serves merely as suspenders. The joint itself does the bulk of the work. Yeah, the first builders were genius...

Thank you. It was great fun. I need to fire up the steambox and make the coaming.

Lots of traditional joints and scarfs use pins and or hooks, but no glue. The makkusiineq scarf of Greenland, for example, uses hooks, bird's mouths, dowels and lashings, but no glue. Also, ribs are pinned into gunwales, and deck beams are sometimes dowelled into place. Lots of dowels and/or treenails are used, but not in conjunction with glue. These are SOF kayaks, I mean. Modern glue scarf done right should need no mechanical backup. Resorcinol, as far as I know, is the only glue deemed totally waterproof by the Navy, because it will pass the boil test. If you use TBIII, don't boil your boat.

I think I got it.

I'm sorry. I thought I had attached a photo link thing. I'll get help...

This smart phone coerced me onto the web. Then I found the FreeB offsets and kudzu site and forum. This is not my first rodeo. I will post a picture when I put some clothes on her. Thanks for the offsets. When I figure out the store, I'll buy some stuff to repay you. By the way. FROH is no typo. Frame Resting On Horses. Got no grass...