Jump to content

Kennneee

Members
  • Posts

    470
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    43

Everything posted by Kennneee

  1. A beautiful design and build! Flipping her over is a real turning point ( not really intending a pun). Great for your neck, not having to twist and turn to see what she will look like in her intended orientation. Love seeing this build progressing. A bit nostalgic for that focused time building Rosie.... Ken
  2. Anbody know how she was constructed? Ashcroft planked, foam,????
  3. There are a lot of proud popas hanging around this place! Hard not to be proud of the beautiful boats we build.
  4. I just stumbled onto this video. Do these guys ever stop creating beautiful boats?
  5. I have always used West for graphite powder. I would imagine that graphite is graphite. I had a friend that was a kayak buillder/designer and he emptied toner cartdridges and used the powder. His boats did fine.
  6. A messy shop means work is getting done. A badge of honor. Besides, I hate cleaning it.
  7. Jay- The only way to prove you wrong, and you are on this, is to have you visit and see the mess for yourself.
  8. I have used it on at least 6 boats. I can't say that it reduces friction but I use it for color and it looks better when it gets scuffed than varnish or paint. It seems a bit more resiliant than paint. I should clarify that most of the times I have used it has been on the bottom of varnished strip built boats. I also used it on the bottom of my lapwing and I like the look. 20220610_180815_IMG_1138.HEIC
  9. I am about to leather my oars and have a question from the brain trust on button placement. I know some place them as stops and they ride against the locks. They can also be placed closer to the oar handles and are just to keep the oarlock from falling off the oar. I don't expect to be rowing Lula much, just to get me home when the wind dies. If I were a more experienced rower and intended to be rowing Lula for long periods I think it would make sense to have the buttons purely to keep the oarlocks in place and not rubbing on the locks. In my case, maybe not. Any thoughts or advice appreciated.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Thanks Don. Any thoughts on blade width? Probably isn’t that critical given how frequently I will be rowing.
  13. 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
  14. You boat looks beautiful Murray! Keep up the fine work.
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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
  19. 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.
  20. 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
  21. 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
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.