You know that saying about the cobbler’s kids never having shoes? For the first time in a very long time, I’m building *my* ideal F1. This surf-optimized F1 will be the new Cape Falcon demo boat, available for test paddles if you’re passing through Portland. I always like to see folks try out one...
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Brittany in the shop, building keyhole kayak coamings
Brittany in the shop, building keyhole kayak coamings....
It’s not every day you put a kayak on a tiny car
Snapped this photo this morning, because hey, it’s not every day you put an F1 on a tiny car. Little did we know that this would be the start of a three-hour long kayak car chase. Two F1s were scheduled to go out today. They were 99% identical. Packed this one on its way...
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Video: Oiling paddles in the summer sun
Oiling paddles in the summer sun...
Video: Rolling my West Greenland near-replica kayak
Short video rolling my West Greenland near-replica kayak. Just posted a video walk through of my West Greenland design, its history and features - check it out on the YouTube channel!...
Canoe build 2, Prototypes 6 and 7 complete
Skin-on-frame build 2, prototypes 6 and 7 complete. 11' long, 26.5" wide and 11'-8" and 28.5" wide, weighing in at 17 lbs and 19 lbs respectively. Getting closer to dialing in the measurement system to be scalable to any size....
Canoe build 2: Coated and curing
Coated and curing… there’s nothing like the ghost white of a new skin. UV rays interact with the polyurethane coating on skinboats, causing them to yellow over time, which is why I stick to warmer earth tones with my dyed boats. After a summer of paddling, these boats will be more of a cream...
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Canoe build 2: Skins and outwales on
Skins and outwales are on canoe round 2 (aka prototypes 6 and 7, but who’s counting?) Really interested to see how these paddle, and getting closer to a truly scalable rib measurement system. At least one more round of prototypes ahead, a few other variants, and then a final build to film the instructional...
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Canoe build 2: Ribbing action shot
Ribbing action shot. Stringers and keel get tied on today, then it’s oil the frames and get them out in this heat to dry. Working with adjustments on multiple variables in this iteration on frames, I already have a new list of changes to make, but it’s worth finishing out these builds to see...
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Canoe build 2: Final ribs going in canoe prototype number seven
Final ribs going in canoe prototype number seven. Shape looks good, we'll see how it actually paddles......
Canoe build 2: Second full set of ribs for the day, ready for the burn pile
Second full set of ribs for the day, ready for the burn pile. I'm getting closer to working out the rib length system for the new canoes. Another day, another hundred dollars of really expensive finely crafted firewood....
Canoe build 2: Developing rib length systems
Developing stable reproducible rib length determining systems is the hardest thing I do. Basically the idea is to identify a series of mathematical relationships between the width of the deck and the appropriate hull shape. When this works it means that you can completely rib the canoe perfectly in less than an hour and...
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Canoe build 2: Temporary spreaders in place
Day 2, canoe round 2. Temporary spreaders in place, stems on, keel in place temporarily to check rocker. This is how I build, and how I teach: no molds. You can see the mortises lining the underside of the gunwales- ribs will be cut to size, bent to shape and fitted into each mortise....
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Canoe build 2: Gunwales prepped
Gunwales prepped for canoe build round 2, and an off-the-cuff video on the why and how of laminated gunwales for skinboats posted to the YouTube channel....
Lightweight camping out of small boats
Working on a new instructional video series on lightweight camping out of small boats: a super in-depth look at what I pack, how I pack it, and why, after 20-some years of ultralight river trips....