I have some questions about marine glue ups and finishing, and a bonus question about 3-D plastic printing for anyone who’s going to take pity on me: I’ve been doing a lot of epoxy work for the last few weeks, prepping all the parts for the canoe pedal drive and I have to be...
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Video: Cutting mortises and tenons in hardwood for the canoe seats
Finally bought the plunge base for the Makita cordless trim router to have a more convenient setup for the many smaller mortises I cut. In this case I’m using ash to make canoe seats. The tool can absolutely handle 3/4 inch deep mortises in a single pass but I usually do 2 passes in...
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Timelapse: More progress on the pedal drive canoe
More progress on the pedal drive canoe. This nonsense is just an over engineered plug for the box to see if I notice a difference in drag while sailing with the pedal drive removed and the hole in the bottom plugged versus non-plugged. It would have to be a pretty noticeable difference to add...
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Video: a handy jig for drilling straight holes
It’s tempting to be proud of this handy little jig, but in reality, the fact that it took me 25 years to think of it is a sad testimony to my flickering intelligence… When I build this I start with a 12 inch long block of wood that’s 2 1/2 in square, cut the...
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Progress on the canoe build
Today I finished taking measurements for the plan worksheets and then I rounded off the rest of the stringers with the slick plane. (the quality of these has really gone downhill over the last few years, can anyone recommend a better radius plane for breaking edges?) After that, I made a stem template out...
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Video: Cutting and mortising the canoe gunwales
Started the day by slicing the laminated gunwales on the table saw. Just barely had enough Titebond 3 in the joint and there was a few gaps, so next time, I will definitely be putting the glue on both surfaces of the thirsty cedar before laminating. Next, I tried an experiment of using a...
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Switching focus to canoes
With Liz working on the plans for the recent kayak design updates, I’m switching gears to focus on canoes. Every year I try to update one of my building courses with the latest modifications and building techniques. This year it’s time for the Skin-on-Frame Canoe Building Course to get some fresh updates. My original...
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Video: Making steam-bending oak for our kayak cockpit coamings
Making steam-bending oak for our kayak cockpit coamings. Normally I just buy this stuff but all of my suppliers were running low so we fired up the chainsaw mill to tackle this log a friend generously donated (thanks again Don!). Coamings are a challenge because the wood has to be perfectly straight grained and...
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Well, I totally f**cked that up!
Well, I totally f**cked that up! Today was supposed to be the start of a project where I build a 15 foot canoe out of this incredible Sitka Spruce 1x12x15’ (not a cheap or easy to find a piece of wood) but on the very last planing pass I got dyslexic for a moment...
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Video: A 90-second tour of our modern kayaks
My kayak outfitting recipe is an eclectic mix ingredients, but each element has a very specific job to do. Feel free to ask questions!...
Timelapse: The kayak coating process
Sound on! Here’s a time lapse of the kayak coating process. The whole thing takes about a day and then that’s it for the life of the skin. This is about as close to a miracle as you’re gonna get in the world of marine finishes. I love how the colors on each of...
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Video: Just some close clips skinning the kayaks
Check out the sound here. Just some close clips skinning the kayaks with my new Sigma 30mm 1.4 prime micro 4/3 lens (60mm 2.8 full frame equivalent). Not a huge change in imagery, but a big difference in how often I had to drag a 30lb studio light around for each shot. Should be...
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The secret to any good boat coating
The secret to any good boat coating is lots of light, lots of ventilation, proper working height, good walking paths, and being well organized. Actually following the instructions is helpful as well. Here I’m working with the two-part polyurethane sold by skinboats.com. The product goes on wet on wet over the course of a...
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Just a little home-improvement project
Just a little home-improvement project to deal with the out of control kayak prototype situation I’ve got going on right now. These simple racks are very space efficient and work great for boats or lumber....
The 230 lb LPB is coming together
I am extremely happy with how the new 230 pound size LPB frame has come together. This version is 23 1/4 inches wide and 17 feet long, although just like all LPB’s it is 1 inch narrower where you actually take the stroke, and that combined with the flared hull makes it functionally equivalent...
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