It's a Start

After a week of reading/researching and dredging up materials, I'm actually getting around to starting the Disko Bay. I easily managed to find some cedar at Home Depot that I can rip for the gunwales, chine and keel. Finding the plywood for the frames was another matter. Marine plywood cannot be gotten easily in this neck of the woods. I could order a sheet but the cost would be over 200.00 a sheet - eventhough I only need 1/4 of a sheet. Regular exterior grade plywood can be used but this wood tends to be very splintery when you cut it and often full of voids. I just find it nasty stuff to work with!!  I toyed with the idea of making the frames from solid cedar pieces lap joined together - but that was proving to be too complex a job and I'd be better off going with the exterior grade plywood for the amount of extra work involved.

One more trip to Home Depot yielded an interesting find - Russian Birch plywood. I had no idea if it was exterior/interior or what and the sales dude was not much help either. Interior/exterior plywood is classed by the waterproofness of the glue. Incidently, the standards for testing the glue involves boiling. There was no indication what type of glue was used. My frames call for 1/2". There was 11.5mm and 17.5mm (13 ply) available in 2x4 sheets. Always erring on the side of caution, I grabbed the 17.5mm 2x4 sheet and decided to give it a whir. Without going ahead willynilly and building a boat with plywood that could possibly melt once water hit it, I decided to give this stuff a test. And the test was as follows:

I cut off one corner (there goes any chance for a 33.00 refund from Home Depot), sanded one edge smooth (this stuff has incredibly hard edge grain)  and popped it into a pot of boiling water where it sat for a full hour at a rolling boil. At one point, about five minutes in, I thought the plys were delaminating but on closer inspection, it was refraction or the water distorting how it looked, After an hour I took the piece out and the plies were intact. I took a knife and tried to separate the plies but no go. They were stuck as fast as when they went in. Even the sanded surafce was still as smooth - with no rasied grain!  In a similar test, I dropped in a piece of "supposed" exterior fir plyood but it did not fare so well - I could split the laminations with the knife.

After the boiling I put the test piece in the freezer for a few hours. The dishwasher was due for a run, so, just for poops and giggles,  I took the wood and popped it in with the cutlery. After three water cycles with the water temp at 160, the wood was still intact.  I threw it in the freezer overnight just to be mean!!  The next day, I dropped it diectly from the freezer back into a pot of boiling water. After 20 minutes, I took the boilding water and wood and threw it in a thermos and took it off to work with me. At lunch time, I replaced the water with freshly boiled. After 8 hours in boiling/very hot water, there was still no delamination, nor could I separate the plies with a knife.  That's good enough for me!!   The only consequences of the exposure to boiling water were the facts that the wood swelled about 1mm in width and it went a dull gray-ish colour. Again, fine by me!!   As a footnote - I will be encapsulating the frames in epoxy for further waterproofness!!!

Let the games begin!!



Test piece after the boiling/freezing. Glue  intact and edge still smooth!!



Having determined that the plywood was suitable, I could move onto making the frames. The "plans" that Dave Gentry provides are simply a set of offsets (measurements) to make the frames. In the image below you will see these offsets. (I purposely blurred the numbers. If you want them you will have to contact Dave yourself).  This was just a test run of frame #3 marked (with an an extra 1" added to the masik - an idea later abandoned) and cut from plywood underlay - not suitable for boat construction.

Below is marking out on the "real McCoy" Notice the fine surface on the wood. It is like this on both sides - which means no splintery and  knotty side on the other!!

The first frame I cut is #3 or the masik. This frame is located right under the front of the cockpit rim. You will see that the height of the frame is 10". Add on another 1/2" for the deck stringer and that is the total height of this boat.  Obviously your feet have to fit through this opening which is a mere 7" high. I'll have to rejig the deck height at the footbrace - frame #2 (thanks to size 12 shoes) but it should work out fine!! It's going to be snug, though!! The boat should be 21" wide.

Partially completed frame #3.

I'm telling myself that I will not pull a blitzkrieg on this build - like I did with my last boat. There's a lot less work and because there's no urgency to complete the boat nor the contraints of working with epoxy, I'm looking forward to a more leisurely building pace. For the record, the first frame took about 2 hrs to complete (loft and cut) but the next one's will probably take half that time!!

Of course, the time frames may be all moot. My polyester fabric left San Francisco enroute to Canada on June 12th. With the current strike, gawd knows where it is and when it'll get to me!!!!

Thanks for dropping by!!!

A SOF Distinct Possibility

Just like building paddles can be addictive, so too can be boat building!!  I really like my new boat and it will remain my "main ride" for some time but there's always been a certain allure of a skin on frame (SOF)!! Back in the late 1970's, as a teenager, I built two SOFs but they weren't up to snuff and they are both rotting now under my uncle's cabin!!

I think it's time to revisit the idea of making a SOF - and doing it right!

The Disko (not to be confused with Disco!!) Bay boat is a well documented and oft-reproduced kayak design from the West of Greenland. Dave Gentry of Gentry Custom Boats has devised a way to recreate the Disko Bay in non-traditional building method. It's a wooden framed skin boat but minus all the steam bent ribs. Instead there is a small number of frames made from marine ply. Once the frame is completed, it is skinned as per any other traditional SOF. The boat looks and feels just like a Disko Bay of traditional construction but with a lot less frame work.

Dave Gentry has also slightly modified the design to include a larger cockpit coaming as opposed to the traditional small round one - this is great for tall people with stiff knees. The design also has a raised masik and foredeck to accommodate larger feet - another bonus for me!!

Even with these modifications, this is one nice looking craft.

Image courtesy of Gentry Custom Boats

Image courtesy of Gentry Custom Boats

Image courtesy of Gentry Custom Boats

Image courtesy of Gentry Custom Boats

If I decide on this design, then the next big question is "When?" I keep saying it'll be winter project but I'm not sure I can wait that long!! Decisions!! Decisions!! Decisions!!

Paddle Canada Atlantic Paddling Symposium 2011

After waiting for it for months, the 2011 Paddling Symposium has now come and gone. Unfortunately, I did not take nearly as many pictures or videos as I had originally intended so now I have to rely on my own memory. So, in the words of Bender, the crass robot in Futurama, "We're boned!!"

Getting there is NOT half the fun!!

My first session was Greenland paddling with Maligiaq Padilla. When it comes to Greenland paddling, Maligiaq is one of the best in the world. By way of background, Canoe and Kayak published a great article on him back in Feb of this year.

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Saturday AM at Sandy Pond. Cold, windy and wet!

Maligiaq demonstrating his preferred loom length.

Maligiaq and students on Sandy Pond

On Sunday AM, I headed off to Sandy Cove to take part in a wind management session. The day was almost perfect for this session as there was a pretty stiff breeze blowing once out around the headland.

Sunday AM. Parking lot at Sandy Cove.

There was a number of sessions going on at the same time so there were a lot of boats and people on the beach.

That's a lot of boats. Sandy Cove beach.

Instructor Blair Doyle (NS) at the beginning of the session on Wind Management.

Sunday afternoon, I was back at Sandy Pond for Greenland rolling. By now the weather was breaking a little and the sun was actually trying to shine. When it did, it made all the difference in the world. But for some reason, the water in the pond felt even colder than the day before!!

On Saturday, Maligiaq asked me about my boat. I started to explain how it was designed by an individual (Duane Strosaker) in Califiornia but as soon as I said that, he knew right away who's design it was and that was why it looked familiar to him. He said that he'd never paddled one before but understood it to be fast because he was at another paddling event where Duane won the race.  On Sunday Maligiaq asked to paddle my boat.. When he came back, the first thing he said is "This boat is very fast"!!  Having not paddled a lot of different boat designs, myself, I do not have a good way of gauging a boat's speediness but that was my initial impression when I first paddled this new boat.  I'm taking Maligiaq at his word - he'd know better than me

The funny thing is that Maligiaq is so small, when he sat in my boat, he makes it look huge!!

Sunday PM. Back at Sandy Pond. Maligiaq asked if he could try my boat.

As for the event, as a whole, sure, it's great to take in some instruction, but that's only one component of the Symposium (or Retreat). It's just fun to get out there among so many avid paddlers. There's lots to talk about, new boats to see and old friends to hook up with. We stayed in a house with 11 people. There's was lots of time spent sitting around just yakkin' while enjoying a few drinks, beers and/or wine. The two suppers were excellent. I always leave with great memories of the event and looking forward to coming back next year!

Kudos to the organizers and to all who attended. It was a great time!

Testing. Testing. 1-2-3. Testing.

Finally a chance to give the new boat a good test. On Sunday a group of 8 paddlers left from Bauline en route to Pouch Cove. The total distance was 21.8 kms  by my GPS. Total time in the boat was around 3.5 hrs. There was a variety of conditions ranging from flat water, to swells, to clapotis and even some surf. It was good chance to see how the boat reacted and to see how the new setup would feel after being in the boat for a few hours on end. Everything worked out great.

Thanks to Tony, Dennis, Dean, Stan, Tobias, Gerard and Clyde for a great paddle and here's a few shots from the day. Sorry, not much commentary. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Putting in @ Bauline.

Dennis (l) and Dean (r) inside the breakwater.

Gerard cruising along  . . .

. . . and checking out one of the neat caves we encountered.

Stan in a steady downpour!!

It rained pretty hard - 'nuff said!

Fog rolling down the hills.

Playing in one of the numerous waterfalls along the way.

Dean (l) and Clyde (r) sittin' in the surf.

Regrouping

Dennis 

Tobias (l) and Gerard (r) getting ready to have lunch.

High and dry.

Between a rock and hard place. A little white paint was left behind!

Heading towards Pouch Cove.

Taking out in Pouch Cove #1.

Taking out in Pouch Cove #2

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle . . . .

When I needed a seat for my new boat, I set to cannibalizing my plastic Baffin. First, I liked the seat and second, it fit in the new boat perfectly. Of course, this left a perfectly good boat without a seat. There was the option to replace the seat with a factory one but it would cost 160.00 plus tax and shipping = around 200.00.  Ouch!!

I decided that I would build one out of foam. So I set to work but was not getting anywhere. It was a warm (relatively) day and I was working outside. Outside the shed stood two lawn chairs destined for the garbage next week. Suddenly I had the craziest idea - "I wonder if I could make a kayak seat out of a lawn chair?' I seem to recall seeing it done but did not know how well it would work out.



Your garden variety lawn chair!!



I simply started hacking, trying to get the chair to, at least, fit inside the hull. I made one cut that proved wrong but was later easily fixed by some West System G-Flex epoxy which is specifically designed for use with plastic.

First round of hacking and one bad cut. These "L" shaped pieces proved invaluable when left in place. The back was too high as well for comfortable lay backs.

B  E  G  I  N    P  A  D  D  L  I  N  G       I  N  T  E  R  L  U  D  E

Having been cutting and fitting for about an hour and making some good headway, I put the seat away for a while so that Cheryl and myself could take our 11 year old daughter for a scoot about in St. Philips. Bridget showed an interest in going so we made hay while the sun shone.

Following Bridget out!

Cheryl (l) and Bridget (r)

Bridget all decked out in a drysuit and Greenland paddle!

Cheryl and Bridget stopping for a snack of almonds!

It was a nice little excursion about the harbour and it helped Bridget gain some confidence on the salt water. She handled her boat very well even though a good breeze came up and she even had to punch out through some waves after landing by herself on the beach. She's on the way!!

E  N  D    P  A  D  D  L  I  N  G     I  N  T  E  R  L  U  D  E

As for the seat, I splinted and epoxied the mistaken cut and later that night I sanded and painted. Here's the final product:

Painted and the back trimmed to the right height.

The "L" shapes that I retained where perfect for bolting the seat to the boat - as per the existing holes in the hull!  I reused the back band  that originally came with the boat but did not use with the new one as I am experimenting with the foam pillar with that boat. I popped in the foam hip pads as well. Total installation took no more than 15-20 minutes.

Back band and hip pads in place.

For now the hip pads are held in place with Gorilla Tape.

While it may look nice, it feels even nicer. I was truly amazed at the level of comfort from this simple setup. It's actually more comfortable than the setup I have in my new boat!!  My intention is to have Cheryl use this boat so I had her come outside and sit in the boat. I could tell from the initial look on her face that she, too, found the seat quite comfortable! She feels the way I do about this setup. I can't wait to give it a whir!!

And that, my friends, is some good recycling!!

A day of firsts . . .

My last run in the new boat was less than ideal. I was too loose and it showed after a few hours of paddling. Since then I've remade the thigh braces altogether. Today was my first chance to try them out. They really snugged things up nicely. I'm happy!! For the first time I felt truly comfortable in the new boat!

Today was also the first time trying the new rack on the car as well as using the new foam pads I just made. Both worked great - even though it was only a 3 km drive to the put in!!

And most important!! Today was Cheryl's first run on the salt water for the year. Accompanied by Tony and Dennis we paddled from St. Philip's to Topsail return - for a total of 14 kms.

I'll let the pictures tell the tale!!

First time putting the boats on the Hyundai. Works great!!

Putting-in @ St. Philip's.

Grouping up outside to cove in preparation for moving out!

Tony(l) and Dennis (r) just off Whelan's Beach!.

Cheryl (l), Tony (c) and Dennis (r) cruising by the icicles.

Following Cheryl through the rocks.

It may be mid April but we still have icicles.

A little break on Topsail Beach.

The final leg. Cheryl just before turning the corner into St. Philip's.

Thanks to all for showing up and a big congrats to Cheryl on her first, of many,  trips on the briny!!