Richard Peter

I was planning on using Jeff's polyester for my boats but could not afford it after I discovered that the cost of the shipping to Canada was more than the cost of the fabric (Sorry Jeff). I was wondering if there are any other Canadians on the forum who have sourced fabric from a Canadian supplier? I have been to my local fabric store and they didn't even know that fabric had a weight so they were not much help. I can get canvas from them but was hoping to save on weight with Polyester. They did have some polyester "Tabling Cloth" which had a fairly loose weave that I thought might work but would have to get a sample to try out (see how it takes paint, shrinks, etc.). They also had a nice polyester "Twill" but have no idea if it would stretch or take paint/varnish well. I think it would l look great varnished but the weave seems so tight. Any suggestions on locally sourcing my fabric would be appreciated. Thanks Richard

That's fantastic! Congratulations on your success. I'd like to find out more about your solar powered motor assembly. It sounds very interesting! Richarx

While Dave is right about the issue of too much rigidity being a bad thing I realy can't see the extra 1/8" making a whole lot of difference to the rigidity and therefore not an issue as far as a Curlew build. As I mentioned before Jeff's plans for the FreeB 12 say either size is fine so the issue of stringer flexibility is not too critical here as the curlew has loser curves (depending on the wood used of course). In my Mess About 12' build I was abe to bend spruce quite easily for the stringers, gunwales, and keelson. I think what is realy the important thing is that the boat be lashed together well and skinned tightly. Having said that, if you can find a souce for the 5/8" material you wouldn't have to mess with changing the plans at all which is always a bonus! Enjoy your build!

The worlds first hydrofoil kayak! I like it!

So for building a coaming oak and soft maple seem to be the better choice and are very common. I would think that ash wouldn't be too hard to get either. Have you guys tried any others that you would recommend to the forum?

I've seen a catamaran made up of 2 kayaks and a sailing/boating rig also made with polyethylene. I thought the idea was interesting as you can either have a sailboat or two kayaks depending on your whims. A couple of Ravenswoods coupled with a sail, a dagger board, and a rudder sounds nice to me. Hey Jeff, would this count as 1 Ravenswood build if I make a catamaran out of it? jk lol http://www.switchsports.co.nz/switch-multi/#http://www.switchsports.co.nz/wp-content/gallery/switch/color-range.jpg

Dibs on number 2!

Does that mean you wouldn't recommend using SOF for a sailboat? If so, what are your concerns? I've seen a couple of published plans from what I would consider reliable sources but not having sailed much I don't know what to look for. Your feedback, as well as the rest of the members of this forum is always welcome. Richard

Thanks dave, I will certainly check out the B&B designs.

Thanks guys. I was thinking about building one of Jeff's boats but thought the FreeB would be a good place to start. I think I will still build it first. Between your advice, Jeff's book, and the many images of FreeBs on this forum I think I will get by.

Sorry Dave, I was not trying to be rude. I just didn't understand your first post. I certainly respect your opinion regarding boats and know that your woodworking skills are phenominal. I understand that you are saying converting a boat designed for rowing into a sailboat is not a good idea and I get it. The "Annabelle" is designed as a sailboat and would probably make a better choice. I also remember Robert Morris' book on SOF boats had a sailboat in it so I may have to revisit that option. As I will be on a limited budget and want a light 2 man boat to lazily explore local lakes I camp at I wanted to consider my options. Msaxton, that is a very wild looking boat. I can imagine that as a SOF build too and will certainly check out the link. That being said I was thinking of something a little more traditional. My first idea was to build a small catamaran using SOF but I haven't seen anybody else doing it so I'm not sure how well that would work. A small sailboat will probably what I will end up doing. Richard

Jeff's Vardo is what made me bring it up in the first place but he doesn't seem to use it himself. I wasn't sure if he has lost favour with the technique because of some flaw with the design or that he just prefers the look of the wooden lip. Thanks for the links. I will check them out. As for your coaming, I like the look of the contrasting wood grain. Sorry to hear that you had so much trouble with it. Richard

lol, I know there are people out there building SOF sailboats. I like the Annabelle at Gentry Custom Boats but since I have the draft for the Fly Fisher I thought I would use that instead. It has similar lines and, although a bit longer, fits into the style of sailing skiff I was thinking of putting together. I need something light that I could car-top easily enough. Do you have any designs in mind that would work better than the fly fisher (and are at the same price)?

I was thinking of making a sailboat using the Fly Fisher as the base. Other than having to reinforce the frame to accomodate the stress from the mast and sail I think it will work nicely. One thing I am having trouble with is how to attach the daggerboard well to the skin at the bottom of the boat so it will be waterproof. If I attach the well before painting the skin I would have to fix it to the fabric with some type of waterproof adhesive. If I do that though the paint I put on will not be able to flow around the fibres and seal well. What I was thinking is that I could finish the frame without the daggerboard well, paint it, and then attach the well to the fabric using some kind of waterproof adhesive? Anybody have any thoughts or ideas?

That is what I was thinking of doing as well. It sounds like a reasonable idea to me so I will probably follow your lead on this one. Thanks Richard

I'm in the process of drafting the FreeB and noticed that the measurements for the stern section only outline the trailing edge of the boat. What did you do to come up with the shape of your stern section?

Ah, my copy of Jeff's second book arrived yesterday and answered all my questions. Thanks for the detailed "step-by-step" how to draft section Jeff! I do have a question about FreeB's stern draft. It seems to show the line of the tail edge of the boat but doesn't show the complete shape of the stern piece. Do I make up my own ideas with regards to the stern's final shape? Richard

I don't think it matters if it is 5/8" or 3/4" except for the extra weight. Jeff's plans for the FreeB 12 mentions either size can be used so unless you want to keep the boat to it's absolute minimum weight use the 3/4".

Thanks, My first boats will be using Jeff's recycled polyester. As I develop my boat building skills I may want to try something new and this sounds very interesting. I will befollowing this closely. Good luck this weekend. Richard

What is it called and how much was it? Can you share your source? Maybe they will ship to Canada. I'm guessing it might be out of my price range for my firs boat it may be something to consider for future builds.

I wanted to get your impressions of using the rope method for creating a lip on a coaming. Jeff used one on his first Vardo and I liked the look but is there and advantage to it over wood? Most people, including Jeff himself, seem to favour the wooden lip. Are there other alternatives? Your thoughts? Richard

Although this isn't a question about the recycled fabric it is a kayak finishing question so I thought I would post it here. Jeff thins out his oil based pants for the first coat to get better adhesion. Does that apply to water based latex paints as well? If so, I would apply a thinned coat first to get all of the fibres covered and then a regular coat after that?

I'm still waiting for my copy of your book to arrive Jeff so I don't know the ins and outs of drafting but the measurements are for the outside of the boat, correct? Are the corners of the measurements where the stringers, keelson, and gunwales go? That being said I would have to put the stringers and keelson in position perpendicular to the surface of the skin and the ribs below that point would have to be at least 1 inch thick. Is there a rule of thumb for how to shape the areas between the ribs? How far up the side of a rib should they go?

Thanks for the tip Dave, The gallon of spar varnish I have (it says spar varnish on the label) if from a time just before the ban on certain High VOC formulations a couple of years ago I've not seen it since where I live. The first SOF boat plans I saw were for a canvas boat and it called for spar varnish on the skin so I picked up the gallon on clearance. Now I can use some of it on the frame. Will it work to coat a polyester skin? I don't see why not but you guys may have had some experience with it? And what about cedar, do you oil cedar or are the natural oils enough? Can you effectively put spar varnish on cedar? Richard

Looks great. Congratulations on finishing. I hope to be there too some day.