Here on the Oregon coast I spend so much time buried up to my eyeballs in foam that it’s easy to forget that my sea kayaks actually have other uses besides surfing. Left to my own devices I would do nothing but work compulsively and surf. So when my buddy Kiliii asked me to...
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1935 Sisimuit Replica Greenland Kayak
Canadian Museum of CivilizationLength: 17′ 1/4″Beam: 19-5/8″ I like the integrated skeg, secondary chine, and strong sheer in the bow. The footroom is better than average too, 10 vertical inches! Collected from the town of Sisimuit in 1935, this beautiful, curvy hunting kayak is the real thing. I’ve built over fifty of these with students....
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Salmon River Canyon: The First Known Class 4 Descent
I’ve been poking around in the Salmon River Canyon long before I ever thought about paddling it. Every few years in late August I head out there with an ultralight climbing kit to explore some obscure side tributary in search of hidden basalt gorges and waterfalls. There are hard-earned splendors awaiting the intrepid canyoneer...
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Home Sweet Home: My First Class of the Year at the Shop
Traveling affords me an amazing opportunity to see cool places but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that exporting my whole process to remote locations isn’t a heck of a lot of work. I don’t teach here in the winter because it’s yucky outside and cold in the barn. Once spring has sprung...
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Life by kayak 2009
Cape Falcon Kayak celebrates another year of remaining financially solvent without having to get a real job…. …which is probably a good thing, because it seems that even ‘real jobs’ were in short supply this year. Like many of you, I was sweating pretty hard this spring when for the first time in five...
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1926 Sisimuit West Greenland Replica Kayak
This replica qajaq was built on commission for Ed Zachowski, the original was built in Sisimuit in 1926. The sequence shows the construction phases from survey drawing to paddling on the water. Note the dramatic sheerline and the lack of lashings on the hull. The kayak is fastened with 1 1/4 galvanized nails. Barely...
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Early 20th century East Greenland Kayak Replica
Greenland National Museum, Nuuk. Ca. mid 20th century18’1″ LOA 18 1/2″ Beam 6 3/4″ depth to sheer The mysterious East Greenland kayak, ultra low volume, fast, maneuverable. Let’s be clear, there is not a lot of stability in a boat of this type. The kayak will spear through all but the smallest waves. It...
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A New Seating Option for the F1
For years I’ve found the best seat for a skin-on-frame boat to be two thicknesses of foam camping pad. Two strips below the ribs on either side, and then a full length pad extending past the feet, (make sure to cut a hole for your pump). I like this arrangement because it gives good...
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Skipping work, what I did today instead
Oh, how I wish I could have worked for me when I was in my early twenties. This morning when I went to pick up Greg and Diana, I made the mistake of passing by the ocean, five minutes later I was waxing poetic in their kitchen. “We’ve got a lot to do today, so...
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Crash Landing the F2 at Arch Cape
“Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” The important thing to point out here is that things didn’t feel right from the beginning. It was a beautiful morning but for a variety of reasons Leann and I were having a hard time getting our act together to get on the water. It was 11am by the...
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Getting to Know Your New F1
You just finished my class, you commissioned a custom boat, you found one used (unlikely), you went mad with desire and snatched it from a guy you saw carrying it up the beach in one hand…. …however you acquired it, congratulations, you are now the owner of one of the single most awesome kayaks ever created, and I...
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Rhino: Experimental Skin-on-Frame Surf Kayak
What’s up with the Rhino? Well… since the text and photos below were posted, I’ve built 3 more of these, and I just can’t get it quite right. The boat does everything it’s supposed to do, holds in tight on a wave with good speed and clean cutbacks, and functions OK as limited range cruiser. I’d...
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Double Your Fun: Testing the New F2 Tandem Prototype on Washington’s wild Ozette Coast
Leann and I arrived at Neah Bay at 1pm the day before summer solstice. After a few hours of sorting food and packing gear we were ready to launch. 3pm might not be the best time to launch an untested kayak onto a rock studded fogbound coastline in the wind and drizzle, but we...
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The F2 Tandem Sea Kayak
24 inches wide, 9 inches deep, 20 feet long, custom everything I like doubles, a lot of people don’t. While it’s true that a double removes some of the freedom and spryness of traveling in singles, it also adds efficiency for straight line travel and can be a great way to even out the...
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Paddling with Wally around Cape Falcon
After months of high surf and freezing weather, I was ready for a change. On April 1st the swell dropped providing an easy window to get offshore. Every year holds a handful of days where the non surf savvy paddler can explore the Oregon coast. During these times I like to take friends out to...
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