Thankful for summer, and time on the water. Prototype skin on frame solo canoe from above, packed with flotation and a week's gear. This one is sized for a 175-200lb paddler plus gear, and weighs in at 19lbs. The movable thwart worked out well for seating adjustments and carrying....
Category: Prototyping
Answering questions about the adjustable thwart
Been getting a lot of questions about the adjustable thwart. Here’s a close shot of the attachment on the prototype. A series of notches allow it to snap into place in four positions along the gunwales, and then bungee on, wrapping the ribs. Because the ribs are mortised into the gunwales, they can serve...
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And here are all three solo canoes, complete, unnested
And here are all three solo canoes, complete, unnested, with the removable thwarts in place. From left to right: 10′-6″ long, 25″ wide, 9″ deep, 14lbs, 11′-2″ long, 27.5″ wide, 10″ deep, 16lbs, 30″ wide, 10.5″ deep, 19lbs. There’s so much to say about these designs- you saw the nesting, and I had a...
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First canoe on the water
On the water. Lots of adjustments to make to dial this design in, but ultimately this first round of boats is a success. Working on another video on this portion of the build, and then we’ll take the larger two on a river trip to put them through their paces before starting the build...
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Finishing touches on the canoe frames today
Canoes are lashed; finishing touches on the frames today and then skin goes on tomorrow. I can already see a hundred changes I want to make to these designs – particularly changes to the stronger locations to better strengthen now and stern. But it’s worth finishing out these boats for some field testing next...
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Three boats ribbed!
Three boats ribbed. These three will be fully built this week and tested on the water. It will be interesting to see how these sizes align to my intent for paddler size / paddler + gear. Already thinking there will be some intermediate sizes as well, likely 5 total....
Ribs, ribs, ribs.
Ribs, ribs, ribs. This is just a small portion of the growing rib graveyard as I develop the new canoes. Oak, bamboo and ash, and milling another set of oak today. It’s a small glimpse of the time, money and material that goes into prototyping. If this was just about getting the shape down,...
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Progress on the mockup canoes
Learned what I needed from these mockup canoes, now it's time to tear them apart and start over with modifications. The gunwales will be set aside for a future variant, the ribs to the growing rib graveyard in the corner......
Test ribbing number one, with white oak and stringers
Test ribbing number one, with white oak, and stringers clamped in place. This boat was disassembled and ribbed a second time with carbonized bamboo, and will ultimately be disassembled entirely to make some design changes to the gunwales. This is what’s so great about skin on frame – it allows for rapid prototyping when...
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Bamboo vs Oak
I get a lot of questions about ribbing with bamboo, and for years that’s what I used in my boats. But it was hard for students to get the steep bends needed for the F1, hence the switch to white oak. But this boat doesn’t need such dramatic bends, so we’re doing a trial...
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Getting ready to rib this prototype canoe
Getting ready to rib this prototype. My goal here is more than just shape, I’m also looking for an intuitive measurement system that will scale with paddler size, just like for the F1 kayak. ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See the original post and discussion here. Follow Cape Falcon...
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The Vulcan Surf Project: Modified Fiberglass Squirt Boat
Everything I ever needed to know about life I learned while surfing. I learned that no one approach will work every day. I learned that some days are going to be better than others, but even in the worst of days there is an optimal flow. Harmonizing with this flow may mean being aggressive or yielding,...
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Rhino: Experimental Skin-on-Frame Surf Kayak
What’s up with the Rhino? Well… since the text and photos below were posted, I’ve built 3 more of these, and I just can’t get it quite right. The boat does everything it’s supposed to do, holds in tight on a wave with good speed and clean cutbacks, and functions OK as limited range cruiser. I’d...
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The F1 Kayak: Adventures in Kayak Design
“Brian, I finally got a chance to paddle one of your kayaks. It was my birthday and Judy let me paddle her boat. It was a peak experience, it was like wearing silk underwear.”– Lorraine “Thank you so much for the loan of the F1. I had a blast! Today I took your boat out on...
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Concept Kayak
This kayak is intended to be a maneuverable, versatile, tight fitting high performance skin-on-frame day boat that weighs less than 20 lbs. I am hoping to cruise at a bit over 3 mph with a sprint speed a bit over 4. The short length should make it fun for river running up to class...
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