Search results

Lapstrake?

OK, far from my first canoe, but this is the story of my first solo canoe. I had always lusted for a Sawyer DY Special, but didn't think a solo boat was practical...my kids were still fairly young and MDB and I had always paddled tandem boats that I built. Then, on a whim, I bought a used kayak...

Mr duck, or am I being presumptuous? Welcome Let’s hear, preferably see, your canoe(s). And whereabouts in NH do you like to paddle? I’ve always been intrigued with paddling and camping in NH, but with the ADK’s in my backyard, I guess it’s just too easy to stay within the blue line.

How long of a trip would you prefer? A week, a few days? A few weeks? Weeks long trips in the Adirondacks are not typical, unless you're willing to carry significant distances, so I'll stick to shorter trip suggestions. Lake Lila is great, lots to see and do, but it has become pretty popular...

I’ve spent a lifetime paddling Adirondack waters, haven’t gotten bored yet. There’s plenty of spots that are motor free and provide all the solitude you could ever want. There are a number of us here that could suggest routes or destinations that you and your wife will enjoy. Oh, and welcome to...

Alan, I feel your pain, been there, don't wanna go there again... I'm curious to see if the multiple layers of Kevlar will be adequate for the seat loads. I know you'll get quite a bit of hull stiffening once the gunnels are on. I suppose you can always stiffen up those spots with some foam and...

I have converted many paper only plans to digital. It’s tedious and time consuming, but only needs to be done once per design. Once you have a set of points for any given section, a spline fit through those points is easy enough in any CAD program. I usually do two separate splines for each half...

Take a ride through the Adirondacks… Maybe every other vehicle has a canoe on top. You’ll see everything from Tupperware Coleman’s , all sorts of boomalum canoes, plenty of strippers and high end production boats.

I grew up paddling, camping, fishing in the ADK's with my father, uncles and an occasional cousin. The fishing was drudgery, at least for the 4 year old me...Fishing was an all day affair, which I never cared for, but the paddling and camping I liked quite a bit. Can't remember the earliest...

Whatever you end up doing for the seat itself, I'm sure will work out somehow. More importantly, be sure he paddles from the stern...nervous or uncomfortable paddlers can get quite disturbed when they can't see or anticipate off camber movements. From the stern he'll be able to see everything...

Welcome, Mr Brew, When you said Lake George, was that in MI? Do you plan to camp along with paddling? I’ve not been to the UP, but I hear it’s great for paddling/camping. I spend my time in the ADK’s in upstate NY. Fix those gunnels and get out there…

Thanks Jim, I'll definitely be buying some of that

Jim, Is that nylon cord? Or nylon tube stretched flat? Looks like you have varnish on the cord? Too many years ago, I made a dozen or so seats woven with synthetic snowshoe lacing…neoprene outer layers with a center layer of nylon, tough, comfortable and durable. The place that supplied that...

When I was still working full time, my hands were also quite rough, and I caused snags like those when smoothing out the cloth. I learned to quickly sand my hands smooth...that.s right, sand my hands. A once over with some 320 grit did wonders to avoid messing up the weave.

A side note about that polystyrene white bead board, sometimes called styrofoam. I have seen that foam installed in many motorhomes, both in floors and roofs laminated between various sheathings. I have also seen many of these structural element “composites” fail. As some here may know, I...

I only have a very short, deep keel on one of my boats, but that’s a sailboat. Some would call it a centerboard. Keels on a canoe? A hull designed to go straight doesn’t. need one. A canoe designs for turning shouldn’t have one. A keel on a hull that needs one, due to manufacturing issues, sure...

Alan, There has been much discussion around the dinner table about the best way to home build these full composite hulls. I think we came to the same conclusions as your methods just now. Minimal layers wet out over a non sacrificial plug, leaving stems open. Remove from the plug, close up the...

Alan, I used carefully placed supports, 3 of them, and measured the gunnel width at those support locations. I also temporarily screwed in place a few thwarts, which I removed after the foam was firmly adhered. The plug was laying nearby and I made sure to duplicate the dimensions before adding...

Consistency of saturation is one of the reasons why I ALWAYS apply a seal coat. It does look like you don’t have fully saturated cloth in that second pic. There’s a time constant associated with cloth wet out, it varies based on viscosity, cloth weight, weave type, number of layers, etc. It...

On the way to, I listen to the radio. Oddly enough, even though I have 18 FM presets in the CRV, all buttons lead to WEQX. I've been listening to that same progressive rock, independent radio station (from Manchester, VT) since they came on the air nearly 40 years ago. In a world of...