Finished the new 22 1/2” size LPB frame a couple days ago. It was nice to get back to basics and just build one of my kayaks with zero modifications. You can really see from the stern view how this kayak differs from most normal sea kayaks. The dramatically Swedeform shape is an inch...
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Started the day with a little bit of skinboat science
I started the day with a little bit of skinboat science, basically using a hanging scale to determine the amount of outward force that was being exerted from one of my spreader forms, just to make sure that I’m not flying too close to the sun with the tension here. It’s a fine line...
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Expanding the sizing for the LPB
While I wait for strong winds to test the new sail set up, I’m starting on the long overdue project of expanding the sizing for my LPB kayak to the same level of detail as my F1 which comes in seven sizes for paddlers from 100-250lbs. The story of the LPB is one of...
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New project! LPB kayak prep
New project! I’ve always done my router work outside due to the huge amounts of microfine cedar dust it produces. Its a bit rough in the winter time! Here I’m working late to finish a double LPB kayak prep before some nasty weather arrives. I’m bouncing back-and-forth between a lot of projects right now...
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Video: Some “throwaway” on the water footage
(FYI, there’s music on this one.) It’s funny how often the best shots aren’t actually the things you were trying to film. These are just a few ‘throwaway’ clips that Liz caught while she was setting up the camera and I was towing the East Greenland kayak down the lake for a skills session....
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Video: A few edge turns in the LPB
A few edge turns in the LPB for the new video we are making about this design. I’m not actually paddling very well here because I’m focusing on flying the drone. After going through a set of maneuvers in all four of our kayak designs I had a face palm moment when I realized...
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Kayak building in Sweden
We offer a $75 discount on our plans and video courses to anyone who is willing to put text and pictures of their build on our Student Builds Blog. This is a great way for people to save money, but it’s also just really cool for me to watch people building their boats all...
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Video: Sail testing in the LPB
I managed to find some decent wind yesterday to test the new sail rig. With the wind blowing 12-15 and gusting to 25, and 1-2mph of current against me, I started out with the 1 square meter ripstop nylon sail, but it was too twitchy in the gusts, and I had to throw several...
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Video: Rolling a kayak with the sail up
As is so often the case with me and sailing it was blowing like crazy until literally the second I put the kayak in the water and then the wind completely died. A bit frustrating but we decided to use the opportunity to do a little bit of sail rolling practice on camera. I...
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Rigging the LPB kayak
I couldn’t bring myself to set the sail project aside quite yet so I grabbed a completely different kayak off the rack (my LPB design) and spent yesterday evening rigging it. On the last rig I was veering towards complexity so this time I decided to simplify every detail as much as possible and...
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Some thoughts on the LPB kayak
Before I move on to new projects I want to take a couple minutes here to talk about the kayak that I built last week while I was talking about living with ME/CFS. This design is called the LPB which stands for “long pointy boat,” and at 16’4” it is both longer and pointier...
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Timelapse: Ribbing the LPB in a ridiculous way
Well, last week’s experiment of working on the floor ended up being a failure. While it did make me feel a bit better while I was working, I had to work twice as long to get the same amount done which ended up making me feel a lot worse. It did, however, make my...
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Using this LPB kayak build to talk about chronic illness, Part 7 (Video)
For my 7th and final post talking about my experience living with ME/CFS I want to try to give a voice to the millions of patients who rarely have one. As this series has illustrated, the lives of people living with chronic illness are often very different than they appear. People rarely advertise that...
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Using this LPB kayak build to talk about chronic illness, Part 6
For post number 6 here talking about my experience living with ME/CFS, I want to talk about the psychological side of the disease. I’ve been sick for two decades but nine years ago my life imploded completely when I had to stop working. Losing my farm, my home, and my workshop was like getting...
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Using this LPB kayak build to talk about chronic illness, Part 5
For post number 5 in my short series here talking about my experience living with ME/CFS, I want to talk about surviving the disease. Generally speaking the severity of ME/CFS increases with metabolism but also increases with lack of blood flow, so symptom management revolves around trying to find ways to increase blood flow...
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