Action Tiger

There has got to be some wood in your hemisphere that is similar to WRC in its physical characteristics that would be more affordable. I'm only guessing that proximity will make it cheaper. Someone should warn you about kids in boats. They always remind you that you forgot how to have real fun, stinky old grownup! At least mine do...

Yes, they are.

Well, I can't get the photo to stick. I'll figure it out... Well, it's crooked, but up.

A quick sketch with crossed paddles. The skull looks weird, eh?

Unless the shape is wrong, it looks fine to me. As an outline, not a frame. The fun part is drawing the notches and swoops bits. If you're really, really nervous, use a piece of scrap to make a trial frame. Even if you buy something to use, it's an investment in yourself. Swoopy, not swoops.

Use your shirts as advertising. Brilliant. Also, check out sublimating. Around here it doesn't cost any more than ink printing, but it's crisper and longer lasting. I hope you didn't take my comments wrong. I just want to give my opinion to help you get a good design. They could be swag for the Kudzu Paddle Party!

It would be better to post them here, so everyone can look. Jeff is the expert on Kudzu craft, so I would always defer to him. By all means put up some pictures so we can help.

I'm not crazy about the letters. It may be my phone, but the spacing looks wonky. The line weight seems light considering the bold skull outline. Cool design though. It would make a great t-shirt. Although I think the pirate thing is weird. Why do folks love pirates?

Excellent. Just keep swimming.

This is an idea worth pursuing, I think. If nothing else, it would be neat to really meet all the other kudzu folks.

It just hit me. The point of maximum beam is probably not on a frame. I forget you're only drawing frame shapes, and not the whole boat. Sorry. Your frames are probably perfect, and when you bend in your gunwales, they will bend to a shape whose max width is +- 23". Does that help?

I'm not sure if you're serious. You are answering your own question.

I'm in the middle of moving, and still training, so I ain't working on my freeb. I am still lurking, though. I am a trained draughtsman, a drawer of mechanical things. Boats are one of my thrills to draw. I am obsessive about it in small scale. I am not a pro, but I am a skilled amateur and I'm sure I could help... Pencil and pen drawing. I don't even own a computer.

I've been buying softwood in artisan qualities and quantities for about 20 years. I've built about 2 dozen small boats from it. Only 3 sof boats, though, excluding my yet yo be skinned freeb. I live on the edge of the Sierra mountains and their evergreen forests. The wider the board, generally the better quality, provided you meet RPI requirements. Because you can't cut wide boards out of little trees, which tend to be faster growing 2nd 3rd or 4th gen trees. All the soft woods we have out here, and up the coast, are nice. For these boats nice pine, cedar, or redwood would be fine. I'm more familiar with the sequoia than the coastal variety, but redwood do be long and straight... I'm iffy on DF. Good stuff is good; and expensive. Look for tight grain, small knots, and no sap wood. It's kinda heavy, too. Hemlock is like DF, but never as good. I buy wood from a small mill, an old boy up a dirt road. Pine is 99 cents bdft, cedar and redwood 1.29. And he thinks little boats are better than yuppie cabin panelling, or fences, so he save me nice nice boards... All that said, you were absolutely right to use what you had. Your boat will last as long as you'd like, if you maintain her. My 2 cents.

You obviously know WAY more about the motors than me. Keep up the good work. We need more kids that can dream, and then make those dreams reality.

He has a small truck with a big battery and fishes in the sticks, far from help. Only been stranded once that I know of. He do get home late quite often. I'm sure you all have one of those friends. I hope you do. I do NOT recommend the practice, unless you are related to Mr. Magoo, too. I used golf cart batteries when I used a motor on my canoe. I never use a motor anymore.

I showed this to my kids. They love it. I've been thinking about your motor. I read you wanted to build one, which is awesome. Barring that, I would suggest a plain old trolling motor. I know a guy, it is not me, who drives his 18 foot canoe around with a trolling motor. He uses the battery from his truck. Yes, take it out, fish for a while, put it back in and drive home. Point being, his trolling motor will still drive the boat when it is discharged enough we have to push start the truck. Also, they are usually just a motor connected to a "throttle" by two wires and a hollow tube. You could cut the tube short and hard mount the motor. Light, cheap, durable, and there are different props available. You're talking about building your own motor, though, so... Just my opinion about a motor option. Where do you race? I been all over this fine state racing the bikes. I can't tell if you're north of the green line.

And a very nice shot of Flipper, too. They are certainly smart enough to have been thinking about you, maybe even talking. Perhaps they like your paint job? Hope you're having as much fun as that looks.

Excelsior! These are the things kids should be doing in school. My kids have taught me they learn best when they aren't conscious of it. My children are fitting out their little sailboat for sailing season now. Kids do love the boats. And the smiles demonstrate the fantastic job you are doing with those kids. Thanks.

That paddle looks cool, too. Maybe it IS the triangle shape. Perhaps a ziggurat, or stepped triangle shape would be easier to glue up? Just tossing ideas out there. It seems like you can't make an ugly paddle no matter WHAT you do.

I like the paddle with the darts because they look like darts. The combo of the shoulder, shaft, and triangle make the lams look like gig darts. I am an artist, though, so take that with a grain of salt. The straight lams look like strip canoes to me. I totally understand the difficulty of that glue up, too, though. Perhaps your pattern will become your signature? The tips must stay, contrasting colors if possible. Beauty and function. They are ALL very nice looking paddles. I would choose light with dark tips, or the crazy dart paddle. Went back and looked again before I posted. Perhaps if you just made a thin, untapered lam of yc, right on the edge of the loom, straight through the blade? Maybe it's the stripes carrying onto the loom? 90% of the result for 10% of the work? Maybe.

I have used Japanese saws for so long, I bet I couldn't set and file properly anymore. Yep, a Stanley. It can do anything. My favorite is actually the mallet I made on the spot one day. It is the perfect weight for driving 1/4 mortising chisel. Everyone kept trying to throw it away, so I burned my maker's mark in it and wrote hammer on it with sharpie...

CapeCod, try to get the redwood as flat sawn as possible, or make it so. It will bend much more easily. Also, if you soak it and prebend it before gluing, then let it dry before gluing, it may not crack so much... I am blessed to live where the sequoia do, so I'm pretty familiar with their flesh. A little brittle, a little soft, a little inflexible. Aren't we all...

This post makes me feel weird. I'm not bragging, or recommending. My intention was to remove the workshop barrier from anyone's mind. My motive was to share my experience and encourage others. All this posting makes me feel like a blabber mouth know it all. Smiley face thing.

During my lull in finishing my boat, I thought I would post a photo of what I used to build my frame. Everything is there but my pocket knife, which is in my pocket, where it belongs. Mind you, that plane, pull saw, "mallet" and square are 25 years old... mine the whole time! No, that is not the rip fence on the circle saw, just a photo prop.