North Alaska Replica Kayak Frame Build, Day 15. We started the day by planing and cutting some beautiful clear bending oak that we buy from Zena Forest Products to make the ribs for the kayaks. The ribs in this kayak are cut oversized and then thinned on the ends to encourage a very specific bend, and a flat bottomed kayak that won’t collapse. White oak doesn’t carve nearly as easily as the green softwood that the original ribs were made of, so we used a strategy of table-saw, angle grinder, and a lot of elbow grease with a block plane.
After test fitting the ribs it was time to start the deck beam lashings which took surprisingly longer than I expected. Tom and I worked continuously on it for half a day. The lashing twine I ultimately settled on was a waxed, twisted, golden colored synthetic material, it is a bit different than the flat stuff I use for my normal kayaks. I think it does a good job of approximating the look of the original lashings, and complements the color of the pine nicely.
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