Chopping tenons for the new boat. One of the things I like the most about skin on frame woodworking is that it doesn’t need to be precise. This is great for beginners, because it’s a good way to get familiar with a bunch of different woodworking tasks and feel a sense of accomplishment without...
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Scaling for the new prototype 230lb LPB
Just finished the scaling for the new prototype 230lb LPB kayak size. I’m not exactly good at math (or thinking) and it’s not as simple as just multiplying all of the measurements by a ratio, so this is always a bit stressful. This time we are going for an exact proportional scale which is...
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Video: My tablesaw set up for cutting scarf joints
This is my tablesaw set up for cutting the tapers for making scarf joints. It works well for pieces for my skin on frame boats but also for making pieces for spars for a little sailboats and what not. It cuts a 16 to 1 taper which is what I prefer for anything structural....
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And here we go again…
And here we go again… while I wait for a nice day to do a saran wrap test on the 250 pound size F1 prototype frame I’m switching gears and diving into a redesign on the larger sizes of my LPB design, starting with the 225 lb size which is currently 16’-3” long and...
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Timelapse: Steam bending ribs into the new XL kayak
Sound on! Here I’m steam bending ribs into the second kayak in my recent design progression to update the largest sizes of both of my modern kayak designs. This is bend fought me a little bit because I was lazy and I let my rib stock dry out beforehand. A few ribs made it...
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Video: Laminating curved deck beams
There’s nothing like volume and tight deadlines to hone a building process down to razor sharp efficiency. Here I am laminating curved deck beams using a simple three peg mold and spring clamps. It only takes a few minutes to make the jig and I can build 30 of these in an hour using...
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Video: lashing the stringers onto the prototype kayak
Traditional Inuit hunting kayaks used a variety of methods to attach the stringers and keel: continuous lashings, individual lashings, drilled holes lashings, pegs, and even nails. It’s almost as though they were more concerned with just getting the job done rather than worrying about what was “ traditional”. Here I’m retying the stringers on...
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Solving a chine height issue on the prototype
I’ve run into a problem I don’t know how to solve on the new kayak prototype, so I thought I would submit the issue to the hive mind of Instagram for consideration: So the new big guy boat needs a slightly taller chine stringer both for skin clearance and stability, but I’m already maxed...
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Video: A few thoughts about steam bending
Here I share a few thoughts about steam bending ribs for a skin on frame kayak. People are often intimidated by the steam bending process but the reality is that if you’re working with decent bending stock and steaming for the right amount of time it’s pretty effortless. To make the process even easier,...
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Photos: Developing the larger person kayak prototype
Here’s a few more photos of the larger person kayak prototype construction process. I’m about 16 hours into the build here (including prep time). Tomorrow we put the ribs in....
On YouTube: Skin on frame Canoe Build Timelapse
I have no explanation for how this is possible but a couple days ago I realized that somehow I forgot to do the final edit on the canoe time-lapse I made a few years ago! So I spent the last couple days finishing the project. You can watch the full video below or on...
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Video: Steambending kayak cockpit coamings
Building the steam bent keyhole cockpit coaming is literally the only challenging task in building one of our kayaks, and that’s mostly just because it’s challenging to find suitable 8 foot bending stock. For people who want to tackle that challenge we have super detailed video instructions in our FREE Skin on Frame Kayak...
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Video: Tom bending cockpit coamings
Tom builds all the coamings for our skin-on-frame kayak building kits. Here he shows his technique for solo steam-bending the double-lip that gives us sufficient depth for rock solid sprayskirt attachment. He normally does this at his shop, so this is my first time watching his process and I actually learned a few things!...
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On YouTube: Liz builds an F1 kayak
Here’s a Christmas present for everyone looking for something nice to watch today. I took the footage from Liz’s recent F1 build, did a second edit, and added titles, so you can follow every step of the process. You can find the entire thing on our YouTube channel or watch it below. Enjoy! ___This...
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Repairing a cracked deck beam on the old F1
Generally speaking, I try to stay as far away from epoxy as possible but sometimes it’s just the right tool for the job. (I bought this Cab-o-sil 20 years ago!) Very cool to come across this 14 year old F1 that’s in remarkably good shape for it’s age, especially considering that the earlier boats...
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