…continued from yesterday’s post: what makes this kayak different than the old longer whitewater kayaks and most newer crossover kayaks is that the paddler sits significantly back from center and the volume of the kayak below the water line is pushed back as well to keep things balanced on the water. This is shaping...
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Video: Testing the Swiftwater Touring Kayak
After two years of waiting I was finally able to (very carefully) test the latest prototype of the swift water touring design I’ve been working on for over 10 years now! Careful not because of the skin on frame construction, but just because I’m dealing with some spinal instability right now so I have...
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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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Video: GoPro clips from the river kayak test on the Clackamas River
While I work on the newer version of the skin on frame river touring kayak, I thought I’d throw up another edit of GoPro clips from our test on the Clackamas River a few weeks ago. This is really the sort of water this boat is designed for. It has to be capable of...
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Video: Using the experimental kayak build to reshoot our kayak building courses
The nice thing about using the deck of my F1 kayak as the foundation for my experimental river kayak, is that I can use it to get a head start on replacing all the existing videos in our online kayak building courses with the far crispier visuals and sound we are able to achieve...
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On YouTube: Experimental Skin-on-Frame River Touring Kayak, in Detail
To celebrate the super detailed video we just put up on our YouTube channel talking about the new skin on frame river kayak design I thought I would throw up some GoPro footage I took from the test paddle that isn’t quite good enough for YouTube. Here’s what those peaceful whitewater videos actually look...
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On YouTube: Whitewater testing the river kayak prototype
Turn the sound on! Here’s a short clip from the video we just uploaded to YouTube showing the latest skin on frame river touring prototype in class I to III whitewater. (Full video below!) I’ll be making a video later this week where I talk about the design and detail and the next steps...
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Video: Some cut footage from our whitewater testing of the river kayak prototype
Turn the sound on! Among the many challenges of making good video is the ruthless selection process which inevitably results in some pretty nice footage not making the final cut. Here’s a short montage of reject clips that from the YouTube video I’m making right now about our trip down to Clackamas River in...
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Video: Paddling the river kayak prototype and an F1
Tom and I took an F1 and the new river boat down to the water today for more testing. The tugboat waves were way too small to surf but that didn’t stop us from trying! Note: I added GPS speed data to some of these clips and left the sound on so you can...
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