skrufy Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hi Jeff- I have been searching for a boat project to share with my 14yr old son. After a lot of net searching, I think Kudzu wins the prize. Although I have been around boats of various types all my life, I have never built one, nor been in a kayak. I am always looking for an excuse to buy more tools. I am a pretty resourceful DIY person and fabricator, and have worked on my own Porsche 911s for - gasp! gasp! cough!- 39 years now.... I have done a quick search of all 8 pages of this forum, and still have a few how-to-get-started questions: -Do I need to buy your book, or is there sufficient instruction in your construction manuals supplied with your kits or plan sets? -I think that since we will be 1st timers, we will probably go with a complete kit. I take it that the skin fabric is not included in the kit? -We will probably start out with one of the kayaks, and then I think tackle the Tangerine tandem Canoe....... - We live at 8000ft in the mountains of eastern Arizona in the center of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. For stringers, could I use Douglas Fir? Lots of that around here...... We also have a variety of Cedar- not sure which one, and that is a little harder to come by. Also Blue Spruce, White Pine, Aspen, and Ponderosa pine. A friend has a sawmill, so getting what I want cut is not a problem. He has cut clear lumber for several slat? canoes- all wood- that another friend has built. -Which wood would you suggest for the stringers, and what length is needed? I know I will have other questions later, and will try to search the forums before I take up any more of your time. Any/all help from all quadrants will always be appreciated, as well as tolerance for my juvenile newbe questions. The only stupids questions are the ones you don't ask! Thanks- Tim Alpine, Az. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Don't mind answering questions and REALLY appreciate your reading the past posts too! -Do I need to buy your book, or is there sufficient instruction in your construction manuals supplied with your kits or plan sets? No, the assembly manual will show you everything you need. Well 98% anyway. I do asked things from time to time I didn't cover. -I think that since we will be 1st timers, we will probably go with a complete kit. I take it that the skin fabric is not included in the kit? No it's not since I there is more than one skin available. -We will probably start out with one of the kayaks, and then I think tackle the Tangerine tandem Canoe....... A kayak would be slightly quicker to build probably. But keep in mind that compared to most any other style these are quick to build. Wouldn't be a huge difference in the canoe and a kayak. - We live at 8000ft in the mountains of eastern Arizona in the center of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. For stringers, could I use Douglas Fir? ................ Should be fine. I think is it a little heavier than cedar but I don't think it would be very noticeable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 A SoF kayak is complicated enough to make a challenging project but requires less woodworking skill than most boats. They require less tools than most boats though as any woodworker knows you can find a way to make use of a lot of tools when you have them. I think it is a great father/son project. I suggest buying the book. It goes into a lot more detail of the steps in building any of Jeff's boats in a way that helps you understand not just what, but why. It is not so long a read to bore you before you get started. It is a great resource to go back to when you reach a point of confusion in the build as well. You can certainly come to this forum to ask questions, and you will likely get even more answers than you were looking for. But you can ask better questions when you have a foundation to ask them from than when you are just plain confused. Douglas Fir would work well for stringers, but would make a heavier boat than it could be. Many Cedars are very good and lighter. Many Spruces would be good as well. There are so many common names used for woods that I am not sure what you mean by Blue Spruce. But if it is a true Spruce it would likely be a very good choice. If you are willing to scarf stringers there is no particular length needed. If you want to skip that step buy the wood at least 1 foot longer than your kayak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skrufy Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thank you Jeff and Hirilonde- Great advice on the Jeff's book- ordered it last night. Jeff, your sales shop process was perhaps the fastest I have ever seen- the whole purchase thru paypal, with email comfirmation, took about 45 seconds. I will look into our local cedar, and the Blue Spruce as well, for full length stringers since I have easy access for that. I suppose "Blue Spruce" is a local common name for the Spruce trees here. I live at the base of the huge fires we had here in eastern Arizona last year, so there is a lot of harvesting going on now along forest roads. After a fire such as this one, the trees are only good for lumber for about 18-24 months. After that, there is so much twisting and checking of the wood it's not worth removing. Thank you US Forest Service for decades of mismanagement. While waiting for the book to see what's involved, I will continue to review the various videos and these forums. Thanks to all of you, in advance, for the help. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.lewis.425 Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Tim - You can do what I did: I ordered the book and supplies from Jeff, but got so impatient that I bought the Kindle version of the book as well. Had the whole thing read and notes made before my paper copy ever showed up! The good part is that it's always on my computer or in my cell phone if I need to refer to something. Enjoy! Chris in Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DURRETTD Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Buying the book is the right thing to do for you and for Jeff. He has put a lot of time, energy, and money into his designs and he deserves every penny he gets from his book and his plans. Read Jeff's descriptions carefully. He has the experience to point you in the right direction and understands the subtleties of trading off stability, resistance, maneuverability, and speed. As a first-time kayak paddler it's easy to be overly concerned about stability; don't get hung up on wide beam as an indication of stability! Even if you don't use one of Jeff's designs, you'll learn a lot and save a lot of trouble from his insights. He also has the materials to outfit and skin whatever design you choose. Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 ......As a first-time kayak paddler it's easy to be overly concerned about stability; don't get hung up on wide beam as an indication of stability! .......... Couldn't have said it better myself!! I am always tempted to say Stability is over-rated but ... My personal opinion is that if you want to do more than just mess-about and cover a mile maybe two you are much better off to give up some stability in favor of a lower resistant. It means left effort is spend paddling and you can cover more ground. And after a while you will never miss the stability you don't have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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