flynfysh

Thanks for posting this, I have the plans and am planing to build one this winter. I was a little worried that it would be too small for me (i'm heavier than you) but watching the video I think it will be just what I want. Looking for a craft to tie on a float plane and go up shallow rivers to do some steelheading in the spring, I have built a Vardo but getting older and I'm not too graceful getting in and out of it.

I have two Vardos stored strapped to my living-room ceiling, if anyone says anything I tell them that they are art objects.

looks great to me...I feel your frustration though...the paint I'm using either is too light and leaves holes or fills the holes and then drips, I can't seem to find a middle ground..I am helping to keep the sandpaper manufacturers employed, though In the end we are always our own worst critics..my friends rave over my first boat....I see a hundred places it needs improvement

still haven't had any time to try the Vardo on my plane...this time of year is extremely busy for me and after a 14 hour day of flying around tourist and fishermen I'm not likely to get back in the plane for fun...when I do fly it out i"ll post some picks.

Thanks Jeff, I have flown two canoes at a time tied to the struts of my float plane (I am a professional floatplane pilot and have an external load waiver for the plane) and have not had any shifting or drag problems...more worried about hurting the Vardo...thanks for your observations

the pictures look good...I know about the feeling about the painting though, we are our own worse critics...my kayak looks good-from about 30' away

haven't seen another SOF kayak around here (small town, lots of plastic boats, a few wooden ones)...how about any of you driven way too fast while your kayak was attached to your car...if so how fast?

Have any of you transported one of these kayaks on the outside of a floatplane. I have flown plastic canoes tied on the side of my Cessna 185 but I'm hesitant to do so with my Vardo (worked hard on it and don't want to hurt it) The plane travels at 115 mph.

So we finally had a nice day and I had a little time off so I launched my first home made kayak (the second one is slowly being painted)

I'm using oil based paint and I'm pretty sure the label said to wait a week before painting with an oil based paint, I waited a week and painted..... after 3 days the paint was still tacky..I went to my paint guy and he claims it's due to the cool weather( 40s and low 50s) and high humidity and suggested I use heat on it which I did (plus brought it into my livingroom)...it still took 3 more days to completely dry. I was thinking of using a dab of fast cure 5200, do you know how it takes paint?

good video...loved the PVC clamps

I just finished skinning the second Vardo..it's a better job than the first one but, there are still some holes to cover that are too big for just paint (about three around the coaming). On the last boat I used lexel to fill in but in our very humid climate it took about two weeks to fully gas off so I could paint it. Any suggestions for something that will work more quickly?

up here we never take shipping for granted. There are no roads into most of SE Alaska, so, companies that insist on shipping on carriers other than USPS raise our costs because it comes by air. Flat rate priority USPS has been a great boon for us. Jeff, I've only made two orders from you but both times the shipping cost seemed fair, thanks

last night my kayak past the "pinhole light test" for the first time...celebration!!! I was afraid I had used too much paint and that the boat would be too heavy....with all the gear, minus the spray skirt it's 31 lbs. I also finished carving my Greenland type paddle. With the paddle I decided to burn my initials into one of the blades. When I got done with that I wondered if the burner could be used to cut the fabric, it says that it heats to 950 degrees F and comes with multiple points. I tried it on some scrap pieces from my first boat and it seemed to do a good job...if it works cutting the fabric on the second kayak I'll try to report back. The burner was hugely expensive at $14.00 at a local store (just saw it at Amazon for $10.00) BTW I am smiling in this picture, it's just hard to tell from the outside

I wrote to the Seals people with the measurements for the laminated coaming on my new Vardo and they wrote back that I needed a 2.2 size . I bought a "Sneak" and it is a very snug fit but worked on the dry run (launch is scheduled for the end of the week...weather permitting)