Firefly First Time Out

[yggmeanhorse]

Hi Everyone,

I finished (well almost) my Firefly and have had it out 3 times now. It has taken a little getting used to.....easier to roll over then my general rec kayak. I took it on a 20 mile race last Saturday and was very happy with it. I got a lot of compliments on it at the race, seemed like a lot of guys were interested in building on. This week I need to finish up the rigging and if all goes well I will take it on a 340 mile race next week (MR340 http://rivermiles.com/?page_id=5 ). I will let you know how it holds up and post some pictures after that.

*Jay*

[Kudzu]

Love the paint job. Not something I would have thought of but I like it. I was actually talking about you building this one of for the MR340 a couple of weeks ago and was wondering how it was coming. Looks like you did a really good job on it!

[yggmeanhorse]

I like the paint job too, it was not exactly what I had in mind but it ended up that way. I wanted to use Zar with some blue pigment added they had Zar at the hardware store but said they could not add color to it because they only had water based pigment. So I went with the blue Rust-Oleum. with a few coats of Zar over it. Hmmm, I am not sure if they were correct about not being able to tint the Zar though because they did offer to tint the Rust-Oleum.......and its oil based. Anyway the diamond shapes on the side are white paint covered with reflective paint. Diamond shapes were about the only shape I was capable of painting ;-) and of course I added eyes like ones I saw on a flying tiger.

It took me a long time to build it. I did not have any wood working tools or experience, that and I was busy with a lot of other things at the same time. My son (in the picture) wants one too so its likely I will make another one over the winter. OK, lets see how it likes 340 miles on the Missouri next week.

*Jay*

[Kudzu]

I don't have a Firefly and I want one. Problem is I have so many boats as it is. I have been seriously considering building me one though and your just fueling that fire! I have been sitting here thinking about building one for myself but I have no idea what color I want to go with. And I have a new design I really need to prototype first. But I really want a badarakia.

I have found that you pay a little more but your better off at the Paint Store than most hardware of heave forbid one of the big box stores. Those folks are not always the most knowledgeable. I have to say there are exceptions of course. A dear friend runs the paint department at a local hardware store and she is never afraid to try something new for me. And your right, they could tint the ZAR if they tinted oil based paint. But the paint is a good finish too.

[yggmeanhorse]

I told my son to look at your website and decide if he wants the Firefly or one of your other designs. Once he decides I will see about making what ever he wants. I think I can do a lot better job next time around. Looks like you will have to make a Firefly for your self. No hurry though, you can do the prototype first....... just don't forget that sailing kayak you been thinking about. That sounds very interesting to me. I am really looking forward to the MR340 next week. I wish I had a Kudzu Craft sticker to put on the boat for the race.

*Jay*

[Kudzu]

I had the local sign shop cut me some logos to go on a couple of boats and they just turned loose. We assume it is because of the texture of the fabric and it can't get a good grip. I have thought about having an oval logo made but I am not sure it wouldn't just turn loose along the edges. I made a stencil so I can point on the leaf logo but that is not as easy as it sounds. So at the moment I am sort of stumped.

[woodman]

Make up a stencil you can spray paint through...