I’m working on so many projects at once right now that it’s difficult to find time to work on things much less write about them, but I’ve been steadily working on rebuilding the flat deck F1 frame this last week. I removed the sawn curved deck beams and replaced them with my normal laminated...
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Video: Flat deck F1 saran wrap test
I wrapped the new flat deck F1 frame in plastic and took it out along with a standard F1 for a comparison. As far as the water is concerned it’s mostly the same boat. Quick, stable, and maneuverable, but I did make a few shaping changes. I moved the entire volume of the hull...
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This frame is making me work really hard not to increase the weight or the complexity of the build
This frame is making me work really hard not to increase the weight or the complexity of the build. There’s just something magic about a 30 pound kayak, so I try to keep my base models in that range. That way if someone has to build one of these out of something heavier than...
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Building a sawn curved deck beam for the flat deck F1 prototype
I decided to use a sawn curved deck beam for the flat deck F1, mostly because I can’t think of any way to laminate that shape that I would feel comfortable putting in a plan set. (I am open to suggestions?) I made several of these and stood on them, comparing the deflection to...
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West Greenland Kayak Build, Frame number 3: Second water test
West Greenland Kayak Build, Frame number 3, second water test. After pulling a quarter inch of rocker out of the stern, we wrapped the frame in black plastic and then wrapped it again with the last of my clear plastic which actually ended up adding so much tension that it distorted the frame, but...
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Video: West Greenland Kayak Build, frame number 3: First water test
West Greenland Kayak Build, Frame number 3, first water test. (there’s music on this one). I’m not sure I actually got a good sense of the kayak this time out. We ran out of the clear shrink wrap and so this time I bought black wrap to try to reduce the number of distracting...
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West Greenland Kayak Build, frame number 3: Building the deck
West Greenland Kayak Build, frame number 3, building the deck. I started the new frame with a few mistakes. I missed a rotted area when prepping the gunwales and then screwed up a mortise in a way that’s actually a bit of a structural issue. Nothing I can’t work around but still a bit...
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Video: West Greenland Kayak Build, on the water tests 5 + 6
West Greenland Kayak Build, on the water tests 5 and 6. For my next experiment I copied a detail seen on a few historic Greenland kayaks which is to add an extra stringer below the gunwale, projecting some extra volume further down in the hull. At a little over a pound this was by...
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Video: West Greenland Kayak Build, on the water test number 4
West Greenland Kayak Build, on the water test number 4. More experiments with stability. In the previous test I added a secondary stringer to the outside lower edge of the gunwales, which didn’t increase primary stability much but did add noticeable secondary stability, at the expense of a bit of glide. For this latest...
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West Greenland Kayak Build: Fitting and sizing and 3rd on the water test
West Greenland Kayak Build, fitting and sizing and 3rd on the water test. I had my friends Jared and Tom over to check the frame fit on a larger body side. At approximately 6 feet and 190 pounds both guys should really be in the stretched version of this boat. Here I was just...
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Video: West Greenland Kayak Build: Saran Wrap test 1 + 2
West Greenland Kayak Build: Saran Wrap test 1 and 2. FYI there’s music on this one. When designing in skin on frame there’s always a dynamic tension between gunwales that are flared enough to project a reasonable sheer line, but still vertical enough to project the ribs down at an angle that will allow...
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Why this sort of testing is necessary in the first place?
Instagram‘s new video features are giving me serious frustration right now so if you notice videos popping up and disappearing that’s why. I’m about five days into testing this kayak every day with different modifications on the water and I’ve got a ton to say about it as soon as I can actually post...
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Video: plastic wrapping the frame for testing
I’ve never been a big fan of plastic wrapping skin on frame kayaks to test them, because the wrinkles from the wrap and the difference in shape from the water pressure change the performance so much that it really limits what you can learn this way. I can also skin a boat for real...
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Just a couple more pictures of the recent Greenland kayak
Just a couple more pictures of the recent Greenland kayak build. I used rare earth pigment directly in the coating this time and really like the color. It’s a lot harder to get a nice finish with rare earth pigment than with acid dye, and the colors are limited, but if you manage to...
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Video: West Greenland build recap
So just to recap, the kayak pictured here is a West Greenland hunting kayak replica that I’ve been building with students for about 12 years. Over that time it has slowly evolved, so I wanted to build a new one as close to the historic lines as possible to check for negative design creep...
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