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Jim, I forgot to ask Did you do any of your composite copies with the stems closed? The Sawyer has no tumblehome and slightly laid out stems, I think I don’t need to leave the stems open. Pretty sure it would pop off the plug with fully finished stems.

Jim, The polyester penetrated all the cloth easily, but definitely switching to epoxy next time. The hull shape has such a shallow arch and mild rocker that heat forming the foam to shape was effortless. We tossed a few 1 gallon ziplock bags filled with sand to hold the bottom stiffener in...

Mark, The polyester resin is easy enough to work with, with some caveats. Even with excellent chem vapor masks, it still stinks badly. For weeks! Good thing my shop is a driveway away from the house. Working time was adequate, but we had to always be mindful of working a sharp wet line. If we...

Bob, Yes, we wet out all 3 layers of cloth at once. It was tricky to see when the innermost layer, the carbon, was fully wetted out. After we popped the shell, I saw a few small areas that were not fully saturated in the carbon. There was little cause for concern, as more resin and cloth would...

And that’s as far as we got with it. I have a shoulder replacement coming up soonly, and likely won’t finish the build til spring. All that’s left to finish is a few thwarts and two seats. Sawyer weight 75 lbs SC-1 (Sawyer copy 1) weight 36 lbs Final weight likely 42 lbs. Son Josh wants SC-2 to...

Fitted some Douglas fir full cap gunnels, it’s all I could find quickly

Trimmed the sheer line, added carbon/foam decks and bulkheads.

Popped it off the plug, it’s floppy like a sheet of paper! Made a cradle, closed the stems. Added a bottom stiffener and a bunch of ribs from 1/8” thick H80 Divinycell. Then added a layer of 6 oz glass to the inside using more polyester resin, pigmented black.

Draped the hull with one layer of carbon 5.8 oz, and two layers of Eglass, 6 oz. Left the stems open to make it easier to get it off the plug ( the Sawyer ) Wet it out with polyester resin and good chemical vapor masks.

This is my son, SIL, and nephews fault. They all wanted the paddling experience of that hull without the suffering side of carrying it. Son Josh bought enough carbon and glass to make 4 copies, as well as replenishing my supply of polyester resin. Why polyester? It’s cheap, half the cost of...

Here’s where it began back in March All 75 lbs of it Everyone loved to paddle it No one wanted to carry it, or even fight gravity to put it on roof racks

In the southern ADK’s is Great Sacandaga Lake, formed in the 1930’s by damming the Hudson and Sacandaga rivers… It was initially called by its correct name, reservoir. I have not been fooled, it’s still a reservoir.

No doubt, the surrounding mountains are scenic… I consider Lake George to be an excellent filter, nothing more. It generally attracts the crowds that are best kept away from the nicer parts of the ADK’s. With all the inconsiderate motor boaters, jet skis, and crowds of seasonal visitors, I avoid...

Interesting to note that a particular scene required the stunt men to run a certain rapid. They refused, citing the danger. Burt Reynolds himself stepped up and said he would run that section, breaking his coccyx in the process. But the cinematographers got the shot!!

I took two puffs on a cigarette when I was 14 years old. After promptly gagging, I was told that “you have to get used to it”! I figured anything you HAVE to get used to is not worth doing. I’ve never tolerated cigarette smoke, especially as a child at smoke infested family gatherings. I watched...

I see marks like that on trails in the ADK’s all the time… If it’s a hiking (or carry) trail it’s often from winter time crampon use. Some ADK carries coincide with snowmobile trails, in that case the marks are from ice cleats and snow machine tracks. Other than that, I’m saying BIGFOOT!!

I keep my Nikon D7200 on the side of me in the Kite, just outboard of the seat pedestal. Haven’t soaked it yet, and previous to that I did the same with a D80 since 2004. Either of those DSLR’s are bulky with an 18-200 Nikkor lens, so I rarely try to stuff them anywhere. If the weather is poor...

I can see where a Dynel wrap would be ugly as can be… I searched and cannot find any Dynel solid sheet stock, I believe it doesn’t exist. A bunch of Dynel layers, some epoxy resin, a little vacuum and peel ply and BAM!! You’ve got extreme wear protection for paddle tips, edges, canoe stems, etc...

While those stems don’t look ideal, you still have options for improving their appearance. I would avoid trying to use any sort of filler, and also avoid adding small cedar chunks to fill the gaps. If you sand and shape the stem perpendicular to the keel line, you can add a cedar “stem band”...

I was just in Yellowstone and environs last week Two weeks before, a very experienced local hunter, with a rifle, side arm and bear spray had his face removed (lost lower mandible) and generally mauled by a grizzly. He startled the grizzly that was guarding its prey. No time for spray, or to...