Frame Complete

Ok its time for a little fun. The frame is complete for the kid sized kayak, now its time to put something on it to keep it from rotting. I was leaning for a penetrating sealer or wood preservative but this is way more fun.

I am thinking about a tequila sunrise paint job! I have done the base coat in orange and will top it off with sunshine yellow on the front quarter and a bright red for the rear. I'll blend them in through the cockpit area to give some nice transition..

Rehab saga

So the rehab project is a crash and burn, with the amount of rot and decay in the stringer and plywood forms there is not a lot left to work with. I was able to template out the major parts except for the aft form. I will have to wing that one when we get there. Note to self, ENSURE all of the wood parts are sealed/waterproofed before skinning, you never know when a boat is going to be left out in the yard for a couple of years.

What a great opportunity to build another one! The forms are all cut out and the stringers will be ripped shortly. I am using AC 1/2" plywood for the forms and pine stringers cut to 3/4" square and 10' long.

Rehab Project

I built a 10ft skin on frame for a friends kids a few years ago. I wanted to see how a canvas skin over a pine and plywood frame withstood the test of time. I am pretty impressed how this thing held up. It was stored outside in the weather but the paint did quite well. The canvas did start to rot in places due to melting snow and catching the rain. The frame needs a little tlc and the rotten pieces will be replaced. In fact I just might use the parts as a template and build 3-4 more of them. The moral of the story is.... these little boats are tough, but try to keep them dry in storage and not at the bottom of a snow bank.

Moving on

Ok, time for the next project...

Carving a West Greenland Paddle from a cedar 2x4 is a lot of fun and takes about a day to complete. The dimensions are based on how wide your arm span is plus a little for the distance from elbow to wrist. First I hog out the basic shape on the band saw then cut the tapers with a block plane. Sanding follows that and finished up with a few coats urethane...