While I wait to carve the next oar I grabbed an older set and a newer version of my outrigger and brought them down to the dock for some testing on the medium size boat. It was blowing about 12 when we got there so I rowed upwind for 10 minutes and then sailed...
"Video: A quick sail test with the rowing outrigger installed"Continue readingCategory: Prototyping
We spent the last couple days building the sail
We spent the last couple days building the sail rigs for the latest canoe set. This simple pop-up sail rig is some thing that I worked very hard designing as a way to take advantage of favorable winds without resorting to the sort of aggravating canoe sail contraptions that usually don’t work very well...
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Video: Largest of the triple nesting canoe set, Day 10
Drilled for the seat, installed the brass stem bands, and built the prototype rowing outrigger. Details on the outrigger in yesterday‘s post, rowing report tomorrow....
Spent the afternoon making a simple rowing outrigger for the new canoe
Spent the afternoon making a simple rowing outrigger for the new canoe. The geometry on this is actually a bit trickier than you would think to get all the appropriate clearances in all the right places. Like everything I make, I designed this to be simple, inexpensive, easy to build, and easily removable and...
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Video: Some clips from the recent canoe launch
Here’s a couple of video clips from the recent canoe launch. There are full construction details about this boat a couple posts back AND I just posted a detailed video about it on the Cape Falcon Kayak YouTube channel, with a lot more information than I can write here. Being a novice canoeist I’m...
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Video: Sailing the pack canoe
When I was designing the pack canoes I came up with the idea for a little pop-up sail that would hinge off of the lower part of the stem, using the end of the canoe itself as the mast partners. It folds unobtrusively out of the way and stays in the canoe all of...
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Video: More first impressions on the latest solo
Yesterday I talked a bit about my first impressions paddling the new skin on frame canoe: swift and stable enough, with a good balance between tracking and turning, but of course that’s just THIS canoe. Ever since I released the canoe building course I find it challenging to answer the common questions because unlike...
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Video: The maiden voyage of the new solo canoe
Here is some footage from the maiden voyage of the new solo canoe. For full details see previous posts. I want to tread lightly discussing canoe performance because even though I designed a canoe building system that doesn’t make me an expert canoe designer. At this point I feel safe saying that our pack...
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Video: Test paddle in the new river kayak prototype
I finally had the opportunity a few evenings ago to try the new river kayak design. I decided to load it with a heavy load of camping gear and water for the tests this time because that is the intended use for this particular kayak. (Total load in video is 225lbs) Overall I feel...
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Rigging the new kayak today
Rigging the new kayak today. Most of this is my standard arrangement: Slide Lock foot braces, Snap Dragon back band, English bridle leather deck lines with HDPE toggles tied through the gunwales for a deck line you can TRUST to actually hold things in place and to use for rescue and carrying. There are...
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Another long work day, coating the river kayak
Another long work day. We coated the river kayak today and used the opportunity to reshoot our kayak coating videos to update our ever-evolving tips and instructions and to get clearer views of the process. The coating we use on our kayaks is the two-part polyurethane sold by Corey Freedman at the Skinboat School....
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Skinning day is always a feast for the eyes.
Skinning day is always a feast for the eyes. Just a few more days until I get to try out the latest version of my river touring kayak.......
Checking float bag fit
One thing I absolutely cannot abide in any touring kayak is poorly thought out storage solutions. This presents a significant challenge for skin on frame kayak builders due to the texture of the frame and the space it takes up inside the skin. The only way that I’ve found to get satisfactory results is...
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Finishing and oiling the new river kayak prototype frame
I may never learn to properly set a spokeshave but dammit, I’m a surgeon with an angle grinder and a 36 grit sanding wheel! This morning I finished up the new river touring kayak frame and put a coat of oil on. I don’t tend to get too precious with this sort of work...
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Stringer decisions on the new river kayak prototype
After a month of way too much video production and way too little actual boat building it was a relief to turn off the studio lights and finally make some decent progress on the new version of the river kayak. I got the keel and all the stringers on… and then promptly cut them...
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