Took the new 230lb size LPB kayak frame down to the water for some shrink wrap testing. I couldn’t get my hands on an appropriately sized paddler for the test so we had to rely on Tom plus some water bags for weight. This is a little risky because there’s no guarantee that the...
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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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Video: Chopping tenons for the new boat
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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Will’s quadruple nesting canoes
I am absolutely thrilled to share this quadruple nesting canoe build by Will, an Air Force pilot living in Illinois. Working with his wife and two young sons they completed these Canoes in 7 weekends and then took them on a river trip. All four of them fit together on top of a car!...
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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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Joe’s Senior project rowing shell
Check out this 23 foot rowing shell in progress by Joe in Maryland. Joe (a senior in high school) approached me last year to see if I would be willing to do a remote apprenticeship with him for his senior project. Having already built one of my Canoes I knew that he had the...
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For Sale: small size LPB kayak, paddled twice
New small size LPB kayak, paddled twice, $1250. (Half price) Heading into the 2023 design season I’m about to have way too many boats here so it’s time to get rid of some of last year’s prototypes. This is the prototype of the smaller size LPB kayak, which targets a paddler weight of 125...
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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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Tools: Shop Fox calipers
I switched over to these $40 Shop Fox calipers a few years ago when my $120 Starret broke after just a couple months of use. (their fractional calipers aren’t rebuildable anymore). I’m pretty hard on calipers, but this first shop fox lasted over two years. We’ll see how the next one goes. Does anyone...
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A rare occurrence in Portland, Oregon
The kayak storage fence triumphs again! A rare occurrence in Portland, Oregon, a snow storm dropped 10 inches on us a few days ago. I invented this set up a few years ago when I was rebuilding the fence. It stores 8 sea kayaks in a space 28 feet long and 5 feet high....
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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: Brian Schulz, woodworking machinery innovator
What do you think, is it time to replace it or should I fix the base plate, make some new knobs and just keep truckin’? I’m inclined to get the metabo cordless that I demoed a few months ago, but this thing still has a lot of sentimental value. FYI when I actually use...
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More next steps in the big person kayak evolution
I’m having trouble deciding on the next steps in the big person kayak evolution. I was going to build another 275 pound version, but this time an exact proportional scale of the F1, as opposed to my slightly modified scale that we tested last week. But after seeing the layout for that turn my...
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