DGentry

Hello All! Colorado's first messabout was a great success, and it was wonderful to meet some of you and check out your great boats. Let's do it again! Saturday, October 16 12 Noon Union Reservoir near Longmont, Colorado http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/parks/park_list/overview/union.htm Union res is open to WAKELESS BOATING, only - so NO jet skis!! We'll show off our boats, make some new friends and get out on the water as much as possible. Friends, family and anyone interested in homebuilt boats are welcome! Hope to see you there! Dave Gentry Traveller1719@yahoo.com www.GentryCustomBoats.com

Only 3 days to the Colorado Boatbuilder's Messabout! Anyone interested in home built boats - whether you've built one or not - is invited to the First Annual Front Range Messabout. We'll introduce ourselves, show off our boats - with Q&A sessions for the builders - do some paddling, some sailing, a few demos, and generally have a good time meeting some like minded folks! When: Saturday, June 19 starting at 10:00am Where: Boyd Lake State Park, near Loveland, Colorado We'll be meeting at the Mussel Beach area, at the North end of the park (away from the jet skis!). There is camping at the S end of the park, and several boat ramps and a small marina in between. The marina store sells convenience store sundries - including sandwiches and beer - plus life jackets, bait, etc. Otherwise, you'll have to drive into Loveland for supplies. We will have a few picnic tables next to the shore, and plan to have a canopy and a few chairs - but bring your own if you can. There's a barbecue grill, and we'll have a potluck lunch - bring anything you like. There's running water and restrooms not too far away, and parking seems ample and close by the beach for you car toppers. If you can't make it, drop me a line anyway, and I'll put you on the mailing list for future events! Dave Gentry Traveller1719@yahoo.com

Hello Rocky Mountain area boat builders - you are not alone! In fact, there are lots of us spread out over CO, WY, and NM! So, we are getting together for the first annual Front Range Messabout, and everyone is welcome! Saturday June 19th - 10:00 AM Boyd Lake State Park, in Loveland, CO (just S of Ft. Collins). http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/BoydLake/Pages/BoydLakeHome.aspx We'll show off our boats, do some networking, possibly learn some things, and do some paddling or rowing or sailing together. It'll be low key, fun and friendly. We'll have a little cookout (potluck), maybe some demos, and generally have a good time. There's camping available, if you're interested - reserve a spot early. Canoes, kayaks, sailboats and powerboats are all welcome! For questions or comments, contact Dave Gentry Traveller1719@yahoo.com

Thanks, everyone! First thing I wanted to do, too, was take it for a paddle, but even my skinny legs aren't fitting in that cockpit! Dave Gentry

Not sure of the interest here, but I thought I'd post a pic or two of my new build. This one is yet another SOF - a kid's Baidarka. It's a Tom Yost designed "Kidarka" about 11' long, 20" wide and maybe 12 lbs. I spread the build over 3 weeks, but actual work involved about 8 days - though two of those were just painting the PNW native style designs. It's of non-traditional construction with marine ply frames and WRC stringers. No steam bending or lashing involved at all. The skin is 8oz polyester, coated with Zar polyurethane. I built - and decorated - the boat for the 6 yr old son of a friend. I even made a teeny Aleutian paddle to go along with it, but forgot to include it in the pics. Baidarkas, btw, are the Aleutian versions of Greenland kayaks. Pacific vs Atlantic, if you will. Anyway, here are some pics. Questions and comments welcome, of course! Dave Gentry

Thanks again, all. The boat paddles just great! And I've even run it in a bunch of shallow water class 2 rapids (which is definitely not recommended if one isn't already a whitewater boater). She's agile and easy to paddle. No twisting, but my gunwales and keel are relatively substantial. The skin flexes a bit along the stringers, but doesn't contact the ribs. It is fastened only along the top edge of the gunwales, with SS staples. The skin can be sewn on there, instead. The sin is folded over, and glued together, at the stems, with HH-66 vinyl adhesive Close-up pics of the skin are similarly unrevealing, like taking a close up pic of glass would be. One can get clear vinyl, and the vinyl cement, at Mauritzon.com. Or you can get clear vinyl at WalMart or fabric stores, though I don't know if it's the same quality. Solid colored - but cored - PVC, or nylon or polyester fabrics are considerably stronger. Robert Morris' book "Building Skin on Frame Boats" is a useful reference, and there were a couple of how-to articles in WoodenBoat magazine about building a somewhat similar SOF canoe earlier this year.

Standard skins for SOF boats, nowadays, are "ballistic" nylons, polyesters (like Dacron), #10 canvas duck, and polyester cored PVC (like truck tarp material). Other stuff can be used, too, obviously. Only the sandwiched PVC doesn't need a waterproof coating after it is attached to the boat. Some skin coatings: Coelan, "Corey's goop," paint, polyurethane varnishes, hypalon, and neoprene. Each skin type and the different coatings have different characteristics. One of nylon's is the fact that it often relaxes when it gets cold (and wet), the tightens up again when it warms. But, not all nylons relax as much as others, and it is very tough stuff. Canvas actually gets tighter when it gets wet, but is not nearly as strong as similar weight nylon - plus it can rot. Polyester fabrics are generally stable, but some can be heat shrunk to fit tight around the frame. Not as strong or puncture resistant as nylon. Anyway, that's not a definitive list, just a basic idea of the current norm.

Hi! Sounds like you are talking about a skin-on-frame boat. From an older era (1950s), there were many easily home-built, kayak-like, designs by Percy Blandford. You can still find these designs on the net, and on the water. Check out the antique "Fol-bot" too, for similar boats The coverings of those boats were usually canvas, aka cotton duck, painted on the outside. Canvas does rot, eventually. I don't know what else your Dad skinned your boat with, and it doesn't really matter as there are now many options. SOF boats are still very common, and surprisingly quick and easy to build. And, like I said, there are a variety of options one can choose to skin the boat with. I suggest you take a long gander at Tom Yost's website. He has many designs, and complete building instructions (all free) for non-traditional SOF kayaks. http://www.yostwerks.com In particular, his non-folding, wooden framed, construction is the fastest, cheapest and quickest to build - check out his Sea Bee design, for a short boat like you may have had. http://yostwerks.com/SeaBeeFrameA1.html Of course, SOF boats don't have to be kayaks - just about any small boat design can be modified for that technique. You can peruse a couple of my recent posts, here, about a SOF Wee Lassie canoe I just completed. Also, inter-library loan can get you a copy of Robert Morris' "Building Skin on Frame Boats," which details the process of a more traditional construction manner (lots of steam bent ribs, as opposed to a few plywood frames), which is a bit more suited to open boat construction. Anyway, what I'm saying, in a roundabout fashion, is that you could likely easily closely reproduce the boat you once had. Building a SOF boat doesn't take a lot of skill or tools or time or money. You can do it, too! Dave Gentry

Thanks all! Yes, I'm pretty pleased with how she turned out. In fact, today I took her on a 10 mile paddle down a class 1 river, with about 15-18 sections of shallow class 2. The boat is indeed very agile and I was easily able to avoid most of the rocks and hydraulics. I did ship a lot of water in the larger wave trains and the more intense rapids (intense for class 2, that is), though, but, for a flatwater boat, she done good. Folks asked this on the other thread: The stems are finished with a few staples and HH-66 vinyl cement. Works great, and is that same glue you would use to apply a patch. Still, they are the ugliest part of the boat, as there are some wrinkles you just can't stretch out there. Anyway, thanks again! Dave

Hi all. The sun came out, so we actually put the boat in the water for a bit of messing about. Paddles great! Here's some pics. And, the water was basically calm and only thigh deep, max, which is why I felt mostly OK about no life jacket for the "photo shoot." Questions and comments still welcome! Dave Gentry

Hi, and thanks, guys. This was a fun build, though tedious at times, mostly because I had to scarph every one of the stringers and the wales because my wood was 2' short. Typically I prefer to bash things with hammers, too, so the lashing was slow, at first, but then it became sort of a zen thing and it was done. The ribs are steam bent, 1/4" x 1 1/2", which is pretty stout (making for fewer ribs). I fine tuned some of the bends with a heat gun. Steam bending was not difficult, or much of a PITA. The inlay at the bow is just inlay - cut out one's design (this one was wood, about 5/32" thick), trace it onto the breasthook, route that out with a rotary tool to sufficient depth, epoxy in the design - with it standing a bit proud of the surface - then sand it all down flush. One might want to practice first, before carving into a boat . . . . The stern thingy is not inlay, rather its my "brand." An actual brand that you heat up and sear the wood with. It says "Handcrafted by David Gentry." Anybody can get one, with their name on it, in various designs. I lost the link, but you can easily Google it. Skinning with the vinyl is just like skinning a canoe with any fabric (kayaks are a bit different, as the skins are often sewn along the centerline of the deck). Drape the skin over the inverted hull, fasten along the gunwale, pull very tight at the opposite gunwale and then fasten there, moving from side to side, and fore and aft, evenly and in increments till it's done. The rubrail goes over the fastenings. SOF boats are the bees knees - with a very minimal investment of time and money one can build a boat that looks and performs great, and is so very light! They can be very, very durable, too. I'm now a big fan (clearly). When the weather cooperates, I'll be launching her and taking lots of pics, and I'll post some here. Thanks again! Dave

Hi, I've only posted a few times here, but I thought I'd share my latest creation, of which I am pretty proud. It's a Wee Lassie solo canoe, that I modified a wee bit. 10'6" long, by 27" wide, weighs between 16 and 18lbs or so. Stringers and wales are Alaskan Yellow Cedar, and the ribs and floorboard are Red Oak. Mostly it's all lashed, traditional style, but I used epoxy here and there, too. The skin is heavy duty 18ga vinyl, very tough. Actual build time was about 2 weeks, though I spread that out over a few months, for various reasons - not to mention I've been putting off building this for the last year and a half! Anyway, here are some pics. Questions and comments welcome! Dave Gentry And, yes, the boat is fully skinned and ready to paddle!

Boat looks great! I had once planned on building one of those myself, but . . . . Are you going to put a daggerboard in her? I've floated the Green, too, via canoe. Pretty amazing. Did you take-out at Mineral Bottom? How'd you like that road? Nuts! Congrats! Dave Gentry

I built one of these! Many years ago. I, of course, modified it, too, as I was 20, had already built another boat and knew everything. Specifically, I skipped the wings, added a daggerboard, and went with a sharpie style sprit sail rig. The lake scow sailed pretty good - much better than the first boat I built (sans plans and with only a vague idea of what a small sailboat should look like). The only thing I remember noting was the tendency for the bow to dig right into the back of any and every wave when going downwind. That splash rail is VERY necessary! Unfortunately, the foam flotation I added was also necessary. It seems that silicon window caulk and drywall screws (my idea, NOT the designer's!) were not the ideal way to fasten the hull and deck to the sides. Actually, as it turned out, I didn't add quite enough foam, but luckily the boat trapped enough air when it flipped over so that it stopped sinking. And that's when the 70kt squall hit us . . . . Apparently someone here wrote that book and/or designed that boat . . . Thanks - it was fun to sail and quick to build! Anyway, good luck with your boat! Dave Gentry