From Instagram | Cape Falcon Kayak

On riving knives and tablesaws

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

Couple weeks ago someone asked me why I don’t have a riving knife on my saw. That’s a great question considering that I suffered an injury from a blade bind about 15 years ago that easily could have been fatal. I was using all of the proper cutting techniques when a piece of ash...

hands tying kayak stringers to frame with artificial sinew

Video: lashing the stringers onto the prototype kayak

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

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...

What’s next for the big guy/gal kayak design

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

For everyone who is following this project, I want to take a moment to talk about what’s next for the big guy/gal kayak design. I’m happy enough with the trim and the volume for the intended paddler weight of 275lbs that I’m considering putting out a beta version for anyone who wants to be...

a skin on frame kayak wrapped in clear plastic for testing

First saran wrap test of the big guy kayak

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

First saran wrap test of the big guy kayak prototype. Brian is 6’2” and 265lbs which is just 10 pounds lighter than my target weight for with this build. He’s not a super experienced paddler so I couldn’t get nuanced feedback, but a saran wrap boat never paddles the same as a normally skinned...

laminated stringer on a skin on frame kayak

Solving a chine height issue on the prototype

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

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...

Photos: Finished frame details for the big guy kayak

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

Some details on the finished frame for the big guy (or gal) kayak prototype. I’m probably somewhere around 30 hours into the project here. Next I wait a couple days for the oil to dry, wrap in plastic and hopefully do a float test! ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed....

Photos: More progress on the big guy kayak

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

A few more photos of the progress on the big guy kayak prototype. Seems like things are going pretty smooth with just a minor diversion of having to cut the entire thing apart to replace a couple ribs that weren’t giving me the shaping I wanted. I’m about five days into the build here,...

Video: A few thoughts about steam bending

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

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,...

Photos: Developing the larger person kayak prototype

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

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....

Well, it’s finally happening

February 2023June 2023Leave a comment

Well, it’s finally happening, I started work on a kayak design specifically aimed at 275 to 300 lb paddlers. This is a bit tricky because it’s not as simple as just scaling one of my existing designs, I’ve tried that already, and the kayak didn’t perform the same and the hull balance was wrong....

On YouTube: Skin on frame Canoe Build Timelapse

January 2023June 2023Leave a comment

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...

Timelapse: Giovanni steambending his canoe ribs

January 2023June 2023Leave a comment

Thank you to Abby of The Bainbridge Barn for sending me this video of one of my students steam bending the ribs in his canoe. I really like it sharing photos and videos of student builds because it helps people to see that you can get the same results without being an ‘expert’. If...

Video: Steambending kayak cockpit coamings

January 2023July 2023Leave a comment

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...

Video: Tom bending cockpit coamings

January 2023July 2023Leave a comment

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!...

looking down the length of a canoe frame with newly-bent ribs in place

Giovanni’s tandem canoe in progress

January 2023June 2023Leave a comment

Here’s an excellent example of a tandem canoe in progress using our building system. Giovanni has just finished steam bending the ribs and tying the stringers on. I generally encourage people using our canoe building system for the first time to build a small pack canoe first just to get a solid foundation before...