It’s kind of painful how little time I get to spend with a boat before I start hacking into it with modifications. Trying to find the right seat heights and position in the tandem right now. Also switching to 3/16 bolts and cup washers (always the plan). Moved the bow and stern seat back...
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Building a Greenland paddle
I literally can’t explain why I don’t like making Greenland paddles. It’s easy work, pays well, and I really believe that my shape is superior to most of what’s out there, but for whatever reason I’m just sick of making them. After 15 years of making about one of these a week I finally...
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Socks for the sawhorses
One of the smartest tool purchases I ever made was six pairs of these folding steel Trojan sawhorses when I was 26 years old. The price tag was brutal even back then, but it saved me from two decades of dealing with crap sawhorses. My only complaint is that they aren’t very friendly to...
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Efficiency, lightness, beauty, and simplicity
Efficiency, lightness, beauty, and simplicity are the life themes I aspire to. I hope someday to be able to sculpt my mind and my heart to the same perfection as a canoe, or a single speed bicycle. ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See the original post and discussion here....
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ON YouTube: A detailed overview of my latest skin-on-frame canoes
Check out the detailed overview of my latest skin-on-frame canoes just posted on the Cape Falcon Kayak YouTube channel. Full video embedded below. ___This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed.See the original post and discussion here. Follow Cape Falcon Kayak on Instagram »...
Breaking out the old rock climbing and tree climbing gear for some tree maintenance
Breaking out the old rock climbing and tree climbing gear today to deal with some perilous limbs on the the massive horse chestnut tree in the backyard. Some of this stuff is over 20 years old, and most of it has aged better than I have. The stories those ascenders alone could tell…. The...
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Video: A short video of the new tandem canoe
A short video of the new tandem canoe on the water with two adults and one child. Total payload 400lbs. Video shot and edited on an iPhone 7. I use LumaFusion for in phone video editing and am pretty happy with it....
Notes on the tandem canoe
Got the tandem canoe on the water for the second time today. My friend Don and his son joined the mission, thus helping me get a visual on what the canoe loaded with gear would look and feel like. (All pics show a total weight of 400 lbs) This canoe is 15’9” long, 36...
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Video: Just a few clips from the solo canoe launch
Just a few clips from the solo canoe launch yesterday. Photos and video of the tandem coming tomorrow. FYI , I am a novice canoeist so these strokes are likely less than graceful!...
Notes on the solo canoe
Got a chance to try the new canoes today. I’ll post my thoughts about the solo canoe today and the tandem tomorrow. The solo boat is 30 inches wide 12 1/4 inches deep and 13’9” long, it weighs 30 pounds and it’s probably about as durable as a well-made Kevlar canoe. 14’9” is probably...
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Working towards finishing the canoes today
Working towards finishing the canoes today with a quick and dirty rough install of the seats with some hex cap 1/4-20 bolts and some random hardwood dowels. Once I test the boats and decide on final seat heights I’ll replace these with oval head machine screws and cup washers for a more finished appearance....
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Almost ruined two brand new canoes today
Almost ruined two brand new canoes today by once again not taking my own advice. It seems like nearly every time I completely screw something up it’s because I’m trying to do something that I explicitly tell my students not to. In this case it was trying to use up some partially cured polyurethane...
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Skinned and dyed the solo canoe
Skinned and dyed the solo canoe today. Cool shadows on the sidewalk. I really like the curved laminated walnut and ash seat I ordered from Northstar Canoes. Not a super hard thing to make but the economics of the time involved makes just buying one the easier option, plus it supports canoe people. I...
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Reviewing shaping on the 14 foot solo canoe
Nice light in the shop this morning. This winter has been pretty brutal so it’s good to finally see the sun. With this last solo frame finished I finally have a solid sample set to analyze the shape that my rib length formula is creating. To my eye it looks good from the bow...
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On YouTube: Steam bending ribs into the solo canoe
Ribs and stringers in the solo boat today. I like to do this all in one push because the ribs are still pretty soft for few hours after steam bending and the stringers help to fair the shape and also it’s a good time to notice any out of shape ribs while the tools...
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