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A Curlew in Adelaide


labrat

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Jeff's comment in another thread about fining people for not posting photos has finally jolted me into action :D

 

The build is a Curlew using the offsets and other info from Jeff's book.  I bought the sinew, polyester skin fabric and some adjustable footrests from Jeff well over a year ago .Since the hull build takes up a lot of my shed space I decided to build the coaming first as it can be stored easily enough while the rest comes together. It was mainly from recycled timber blinds with a western red cedar lip. It was coated in epoxy as both the timber types are very soft.Should have put a few more clamps on – I can see gaps.post-2089-0-30741200-1366192270_thumb.jpgI wanted to keep the use of glues and fasteners to a minimum so the stern and bow sub assemblies are lashed together.post-2089-0-70425300-1366192299_thumb.jpgStringers are paulownia and are just over ¾” thick as I wanted to buy enough timber to do a strip hull as well so this was the thickness of the planks I bought. The ply is hardwood marine grade and while not top quality at least the quantity/size of voids is certainly better than construction grade.I found the use of tie down straps with nylon buckles worked well to hold the stringers and I suspect it gives better control than bungees but must admit I didn’t try them.post-2089-0-49144600-1366192337_thumb.jpgProblems I’ve had:- Made a mistake on marking out one frame so one apex was about an inch too far out. Not found until all lashing was done and the assembly taken off the strongback. Easy enough to fix though.- The entire assembly corkscrewed when I took it off the strongback. I spent weeks trying to figure out why it sprang that way when not held in place. I can only assume that a number of the stringers had bends that aligned and pushed it that way. In the end I used brute force to twist it back past straight to corkscrew in the other direction and held it that way for some days. It is still not 100% but is as close as I can get it.There were other little difficulties but they were the type of thing that you always get when trying a new technique.There are a few variations from standard.- Having read about the tendency for the frame in front of the cockpit to rub on the calves I decided to cut out the bottom of that frame and make another half frame to fit under my knees. I think this is slightly different from how others have done it but it seems to work.-  I used larger than usual timber for the fanny beams and made the 2 side fore deck beams extra long so they run down to meet the next frame.-  Fumbled around with some timber trying to make suitable mounts for the adjustable footrests but with space at a premium it was too hard. It needed something thin but strong and I found some stainless sheet left over from another project so I cut some strips off that and ended up with something a bit agricultural but light and compact.- Mounted the floor boards on top of the frames instead of under. This is just my personal preference and only experience will tell if the stability is compromised so it’s a case of wait and see at this stage.This photo shows all of these.post-2089-0-64125500-1366192380_thumb.jpgI used an old solder gun to cut the polyester skin and it worked very well.My seams are reasonably straight but the stitching is not as neat as could be.

 

Skin unironedpost-2089-0-20779500-1366192417_thumb.jpg

 

After ironingpost-2089-0-31555900-1366192452_thumb.jpg

 

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Interior facing forwardpost-2089-0-32115000-1366192517_thumb.jpgThe paint is an oil base gloss enamel. I have ideas for something more artistic but at present it is just plain white. Three coats on so far with a few pull holes along the seam still to seal. As usual the paint shows up all the things you don’t want to see.Weight so far is between 12 and 13kg  (about 26.5 – 29 lb). With only the seat to go it should be under 15kg when ready to launch which could be another couple of weeks yet as I want the paint to harden up a bit first.Overall I don’t think it’s up to the standards of some other builders here but it should still be a good boat.The proof will be in the paddling :D

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Nice documentation of your build.  I wouldn't get too upset about your shortfalls in the build, if in fact they are that short.  Go paddling and enjoy.  You can always build another one later.  I think starting the coaming first, especially when building a laminated one is a good idea.  It is so easy to get well into the sewing and come to a screaching halt because it isn't ready.  When space is a factor it gets even more important, as in your situation.

 

Jeff, he didn't post pictures till he was done, so I think a partial fine is still in order  :P

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Thanks for the write up and pictures.  I alway really like the pictures looking down the inside of the hull.  Neat!  Fine looking kayak and I'm sure you will enjoy.  Hope you can post dome pictures of it on the water soon!  

 

Not to worry the fines are not real steep and 1/2 won't be bad at all ;) !

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Jeff, he didn't post pictures till he was done, so I think a partial fine is still in order  :P

Oi!....it's not quite done yet - there's still the seat to go ;)Next post should be when it's been on the water and I hope to put up a few outing reports in the next few months as well.
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Oh. guess the fine can be revoked since he did such a nice job on that one!

Besides I don't the monetary system Down Under nor the exchange rate.

 

I think it's around 2 kangaroo tails to 1 US dollar at the moment :D

 

In Australia today it's ANZAC day, a commemoration of the sacrifices made during wartime and particularly the distrastrous campaign at Gallipoli in WW1. Not being one for public gatherings I tend to slink off and have my own time for reflection on these things. Since being out on the water is an ideal location for this I took the curlew out for her first leak test in our local river, the Onkaparinga. During the paddle there was a flyover of 5 WW1 biplanes and just after returning an Orion went over as well.

 

Here she is ready to go.

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I mentioned in the first post that I had put the floorboards on top of the frame instead of under and was unsure if it would affect stability much. At first I thought it had because she felt very wobbly - and uncomfortable. However after a while things settled down and I spent some time fishing so it can't be too bad after all :) . Bear in mind that I usually fish from a craft designed for stability on the sea and it has a SF of 130! Since Curlew is rated at 95 (from memory) and the seat is above design height it's really done well. I intend to shape the seat pad so this could lower me by an inch and this should help a bit. If I find it needs a bit more over the long term then I can always lower the floor boards too. The back rest feels too low as is and I hope that scooping out the seat pad a bit will also help with that. It's a case of one step at a time.

 

 

Took a fishing rod and some plastic lures just in case

 

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Not much cockpit room compared to my other boats - might need to modify storage methods for this one. Still have to put rear deck bungees on yet and then will sort out just how much stuff I can store on deck.

 

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This is at Perry's Bend a few km upstream and a popular picnic spot.

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Really felt quite good toward the end despite the seat discomfort. Spent about 15 minutes talking to 2 retired blokes who had been out at the same time on plastic SOTs. They were quite interested and appreciative of the design and build technique.

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If you don't mind I want to 'borrow' a couple of photos and put on my Facebook page. Boat looks great and I want to share it.

 

As for stability you will be surprised how much a 1/2" can make. I had a boat I couldn't paddle with any seat. Even a 1/2" pad made it wildly unstable. Of course now I could paddle it no problem. As you saw stability is over thought. You don't need a high stability level,  after all you are only a beginner for the first paddles. After that your paddling with you training wheels on.

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Nah, no crocs here PD - we're on the south coast of Australia, crocs are only up north. The most dangerous things in that river are probably the pelicans :D .

We do get white pointers, bronze whalers and even makos in the sea here but we don't let that stop us.

 

Jeff, you're welcome to use any photos and hopefully I'll have some better ones over the next month or so. The ones already posted are reduced size versions so if you want any of them in higher resolution let me know.

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  • 2 months later...

Received my float bags today and decided to post some info about them in case anyone else is looking.

 

Brand is Harmony, they are shown on Amazon as Stern Flotation Bag: Kayak, with options for 2 sizes. These are labelled Micro (recommended for 8-10' kayaks) and Mini (recommended for 10-13' kayaks). I chose these as they looked to be the closest sizes I could find for the Curlew bow and stern without paying big dollars.

 

I bought 1 of each. Price is between $25 and $30 each. I had to pay for postage as well but these may qualify for free shipping in the USA. May be even better direct from the Harmony web site but as they don't ship outside the USA I didn't look at all the details there.

 

As for the product they appear to be well made. The only problem I have had so far is with inflating the one I put in the bow as the inflating tube really needs to be longer to reach past the leg space. This is not the maker's fault though because they are both marketed as stern bags so would normally be just behind the cockpit. 

 

The rear one could be a little longer for Curlew, maybe a couple of feet,  but I think it is reasonable - especially for an internet purchase.

 

Photos show fit as best as I can get them to.

 

Stern bag on deck

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Bow bag on deck

post-2089-0-19823100-1373456914_thumb.jpg

 

Stern in place

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Bow in place

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I'd be interested to hear what others think about the fit. I know the idea is to displace as much volume as possible and there is certainly a bit left in the corners here but they do take up the bulk of it as far as I can tell.

 

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I don't have any yet, but those look good to me.  I think the only way a person could  get a better fit would be to custom make them.  And to get a better fit, would take some experience if a person did make them.  I have the valves, tubes and glue to make some, tried to lay them out once and it wasn't easy.  I don't think I would have and any better fit, had I completed the.  But, I got sidetracked and haven't got back to that project yet.  

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