Cape Falcon Kayak

Happy Holidays: My From-Scratch Pumpkin Pie Recipe, Enjoy

December 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Everyone has a secret life, something surprising, something other than the things we are known for. Me? I bake pies. Not just ordinary pies, I bake really good pies, pies that elicit slightly sexual mmmm’s and oh-my-gods from those lucky enough to plunge a fork into one. I use a simple butter crust, fresh local ingredients, not...

foam thigh braces for skin on frame kayak

Foam Thigh Hooks

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

For whatever reason, some of us still prefer a keyhole style cockpit. The problem with most home made long cockpits is a lack of positive thigh and knee hooks to keep a good grip on the boat while maneuvering and rolling. Here are some quick and easy knee hooks you can make at home....

Ted’s Anti-Pop Footbrace Solution

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

I like the slidelock footbraces better than any other, they allow easy adjustment while paddling, which is important to me because sometimes I am in my boat for 10 or more hours! That said, they have a few problems, the main one being that the spring that holds down the adjuster to lock it isn’t...

David’s Greenland Foot Pedals

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Check out this awesome invention. David Lustgarten decided he needed more foot support for his 1935 Sisimuit Replica Qajaq. So he invented these totally ingenious foot pedals. In his own words: “I thought about a lot of ways to make the bracing; bolting to the gunwales, a rod across like a closet rod, etc. Instead, of...

Black Friday Bargain: A Very Special Cape Falcon Kayak Shopping Day

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

This festive season I was fortunate enough to suffer a wisdom tooth abscess and for the last few weeks holiday libations consisted of antibiotics, vicodin, more antibiotics, and finally oxycodone. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice to say that I alternated between worrying that the painful infection would kill me, and hoping that it...

Installing a Snap Dragon Back Band

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Leaning against the wood gets old in a hurry, not to mention you sit too far back in the cockpit. I like the comfort and simplicity of this band. Be careful during this process, you don’t want to ruin the coaming. Using a 5/32″ spacer, drill a 1/4″ hole in the coaming at the...

Murder by Kayak: An Incidental Deer Hunt on the North Fork of the Nehalem

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Chained to my desk, grinding through the crummy day paperwork, I watched out the window as pea sized droplets strafed the newly muddied garden and drained away in rivulets. Successive waves of windy liquid blitzkrieg broke leaves and stalks off any crops who’d been lazy about shoring themselves against the season. As the hours...

Cape Falcon Kayak 2010 Review: A Kayak Named Sarah McLachlan

November 2010June 2023Leave a comment

What’s up with the climbing gear? I’ll get back to that, but if you’ve followed this site for any length of time you’ve at least suspected that this isn’t really a site about kayaking at all, but rather a site about living. More than making the best skin-on-frame kayaks in the world, my website...

Surf, Salmon, Sunsets, and Smiles: A Couple of Beautiful October Days Boating with Jeff and Cate

October 2010June 2023Leave a comment

After teaching at the Lumpy Waters Symposium in early October, my friends Jeff and Cate stopped by the Cape Falcon barn for a visit. I checked the swell, the weather, and the river levels, none optimal, but all doable. I think we could have some fun. We loaded up the boats and the fishing and crabbing...

Crabs for Dinner: A tale of modern day kayak hunting

September 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Crisp clear air, sunny skies, a perfect September morning… …and I have to work. It seems unjust to do anything of the sort, but I’m on a clock to complete things that have already been put off nearly past the last possible moment. I load the kayak anyways hoping I’ll be able to make up enough...

Killer Waves and Stolen Crabs: Biting off a bit more than we could chew on a big Oregon surf day

August 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Monday night I checked the buoy reports, 6 feet at 11 seconds and falling, a pretty serious swell to be considering a kayak crabbing mission through the open beachbreaks, but with a little drop and a little luck we might be able to finesse it. At 5:30am on Tuesday morning I loaded the boats...

Dirk Catches a Wave: A Quick Morning Session before heading back to Newfoundland

August 2010June 2023Leave a comment

It’s common for me to host students from all over the world, but less common that any students arrive here with a rock solid roll and a thirst for open water. When they do, if the surf cooperates, I try to show them a good time. Dirk came here from Newfoundland to build a boat, but...

Pat’s Pacific Adventure

July 2010July 2023Leave a comment

Just a few photos of my friend Pat paddling on the coastline in front of my house. Someday I will actually take some photos of the surf part of things!...

Building a Belcher Islands Kayak Frame from Driftwood with Hand Tools

June 2010June 2023Leave a comment

Me: “Belcher where?”Harvey: “They’re on the east side of Hudson Bay.”Me: “You’re talking to a guy who didn’t know where Kansas was until last week.” This spring I received a very unique commission. A gentleman contacted me with a photo of a soapstone print depicting an Eskimo and his kayak. The print had been given...

The Vulcan Surf Project: Modified Fiberglass Squirt Boat

May 2010June 2023Leave a comment

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,...