Kennneee

Thanks Don. I made the shave horse around 15 years ago when I was making native kayak paddles and chairs, etc. I had it stashed under a stair case and dragged it out for the oar build. I don’t do much furniture these days. It doesn’t float well.

Finished my oars and heading south to San Diego tomorrow. After lot’s of overthinking, I made them 9.5’ assembled. When the time came to cut them in “half” I decided to not make the cut in the middle of the length and cut closer to the handle end instead. This allowed me to make a nicer taper from the ferrule towards the blade. My brain wanted symmetry but I remembered an architect friend of mine telling me to break free from the “tyranny of symmetry” when I was designing a kitchen. Sometimes there is something to that concept. They have been epoxy coated and I will wait until I get to the warmer weather in San Diego to varnish them. Thanks for all of the input.

THANKS DON!!

Thanks Don. Any thoughts on blade width? Probably isn’t that critical given how frequently I will be rowing.

I am finally getting around to making oars for my Lapwing. I have gotten by fine with a paddle and electric outboard so far. I won’t have the outboard this season so a set of oars seems prudent. I have some Sitka Spruce that has been in my stash for over 20 years and it seems like now is the time to put it to use. Dave, Hirilonde has paved the way a bit with his Lapwing but I still could use some input. I have a pair of Duckworks Ferrules to make them 2 piece and easier to stow. What I need to decide now is how long to make them and the dimensions of the blades. Looking around online there seems to be a wide variation on the sizing. Anywhere from 4.5” to 5.5” in width seems to be the zone. The length of the blades seems to be between 26”-34”. I am inclined to make them 9’ finished length based on Dave’s experience with his Lapwing. The dimensions of the blade are still open ended. Any thoughts greatly appreciated. Ken

You boat looks beautiful Murray! Keep up the fine work.

Reacher- you can’t argue with success. Your boat looks beautiful. Bondo is fast compared to epoxy but it is also more brittle. I had a house painter that wanted to use it for do some repair on siding. Tried to talk him into using epoxy but he won the day and 2 years later the Bondo is popping off the siding. I am not brave enough to use it on a boat.- Ken

I have had a EPropulsion Spirt 1.0 Plus for a few seasons. Mostly very pleased with it. The electrical plug caps are flimsy and don’t stay on (a very minor complaint). Occasional error message at start up but always ok after a second try. Other than that I love this motor. Super quiet. Really fun to cruise through an anchorage nearly silent. Tons of battery life. I have been using it on my Spindrift and Lapwing. Be sure to get a long enough shaft. It is the correct length for the Spindrift and too short for my Lapwing if there is any chop. The storage bags are worth getting.

Nick- I built this one for rough use and was not super fussy about weight. It came out around 50lbs. My other race skis which are singles are around 32lbs. Some of the high end commercial skis are coming out at 18lbs! Don- I expected to roll and then tip but this product seemed to look better with just the foam roller. Your results may be different. Got a nice Fall paddle in yesterday.

Short for a double at 20’.

Just finished a new double strip surfski. Interestingly the Swedish designer calls it a Spindrift 2. I have built a version of his Spindrift single and of course Graham’s Spindrift dinghy. I am on quite a Spindrift roll. Which brings me to the other part of this topic. I have been using TotalBoat Halcyon Waterbourne varnish for a couple of years. Incredibly easy to apply and has proven to be durable. Not as much gloss as traditional varnish but for me the ease of application is worth the tradeoff. I have put 5 coats on Rosie’s rails in one day. I just completed the new surfski and decided to try rolling and tipping the Halcyon on the hull and deck. I used foam ‘hot dog’ rollers and soon realized the finish was better without tipping. The Roller left a faint orange peel but acceptable. I was able to do 4 coats in one day and am calling it done for now. I did take out for it’s first spin before varnish. If the weather is good Luanne and I will do a longer paddle in it tomorrow. Nothing quite as much fun as messing about in a boat you just built. Ken

I hate when the bristols come loose and get into my epoxy or other sticky stuff. I like Jay’s idea of using a vacuum. What has worked well for me is to take a few wraps of masking tape around my hand, sticky side OUT. I then poke the brush against the tape a bunch of times and the loose bristols come out on to the tape. More than one way to make a cheap brush work better.

Hi All- Can’t believe it has been another lap around the sun since last years gathering. So glad I made it last year and got to meet many of you. Returned last night from a month in Spain and Portugal on a walking trip. Great fun, too may tourists and no boats to play on. Hope you all have a blast! Ken

Beautiful work!

Murray-Yes, WRC is western red cedar. I think paint with contrasting wood accents is a really nice way to go. It can be a clean and elegant look. Sometimes us wood lovers can overdue it and would be better off with more simplicity. Not to mention the added upkeep of bright finishes. There are so many options. Follow your muse and you will be happy. Looking forward to seeing the end result. Cheers, Ken

Murray- Lot’s of room for angst and creativity. She will be beautiful. I went round and round on what I wanted to do with my transom. Found a scrap piece of WRC and resawed it into 1/4” book matched panels and glued it on the existing transom. I like the result.

Carter- That is a gorgeous boat! Congrats on a quality build. Soon you get to reap the rewards of all of the dust, work and thinking that went into this creation. I hope you are deservedly full of pride when you look at her. Name? Thanks for sharing. Ken

Murray- It sounds like you know what you are doing and know what you want. That is the right combination to make changes in a project. This is YOUR boat and in the end it will be how you want it to be. Your knowledge of sails and rigging is clearly higher than many of us on the forum, or at least mine. Thanks for the detailed answer. Looking forward to seeing her fly along the water. Enjoy! Ken

Looks great Murray. Why did you decide to go with a different rig?

A great day of sailing and my crew taking her in to the ramp WITHOUT any unwanted excitement.

Murray- I wouldn’t worry about the hatch positions. I placed them according to plan and they have never been any kind of obstacle to being comfortable. I think you will find that the hinges are far enough away from the centerline of the boat that your butt will never notice them. I have had Lula out several times in the last 2 weeks and love the boat more every time I sail her. I would describe her performance as well behaved without being boring. I have not had her out in heavy winds, mostly 10-15 knots. She is responsive, well balanced and by no means overly tender. Took out my young friends (Excitement At The Launch Ramp) yesterday and had my best sail yet. I wanted them to have a better experience than our last trip together and I would say the mission was accomplished. Lovely beam reaches, a few controlled jibes and some some short tacking to weather. Pure fun. So, get those hatches done and get ready to enjoy the fruits of your labour! Sadly Lula will be stored away for the next 6 months as we are heading home to BC and leaving her in San Diego until we return next Winter. Can’t whine too much as Rosie is waiting for some fun trips in the Salish Sea. Oh, and starting “my last boat build”. A double surfski. Ken

I second the WOW!!

NICE!!

Reading my last post I realized I spelled THICKER incorrectly when referring to the new gasket material. Can I blame autofill, inattention or fat fingers? Best for me to reread before sending!

David-I replaced the gaskets with slightly thinker and softer material. Haven’t tired to test them yet but I think it will likely do the job. I can now see the imprint of coamings on the gasket material when I open the hatches. A good indicator that there is a seal. Ken