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As a former toolmaker, my coworkers (all of us highly trained and experienced) and I used to say "Anyone can do the job with the right tools, but it takes a skilled craftsman to do the job with the tools at hand." The same for canoes and paddling... While I'll concede that there are grossly...

Well, I had a DY Special that I strip built, 16' 8" lg, 32 lbs and a rocket ship. But as the years piled on, I realized it was too limited for my preferred paddling, and had some really nasty stern hook. I decided I needed something more suited to twisty water and some whitewater, so I built...

It sucks!! But that's actually ok, since I'm waiting for my bionic shoulder to fully heal. I would have gone lift served skiing quite a few times before Christmas, but as Snapper described, we've had (capital district, upstate NY) much rain and warm temps. In fact, we're currently almost 8"...

Epifanes is my favorite... I apply 3 coats on the outside, thinned per their recommendations. Max 2 coats inside, but insides of my builds are always just a wet out. It's looking really nice, you gotta be pleased with it. Congrats on the weight, great for a first effort. Now comes the hard...

I think mem has hit the nail on the head… You’re just gonna HAVE to build your own canoe! No way around it. I have a cedar strip Kite that is a wonderful compromise hull, I built it extremely strong for whitewater and flat water use. It ended up waaay too heavy at 39 lbs, lighter than some of...

I must have mentioned this before…I once built a 37 lb 17 ft tandem using Southern Yellow Pine for sandwich gunnels. Partly because I was cheap and so was the SYP but also since it was fairly lightweight. Those gunnels survived about 25 years of my total neglect.

Whoohoo!! You’re in the homestretch now Add the gunnels, a couple thwarts and a seat and you’re ready for soft water. Have you decided on which wood for all that trim? Will you cap the gunnels? Sandwich the gunnels? Seat hanging or on cleats, or maybe on some sort of pedestal? Lots of decisions...

In another thread, I mentioned that not much changes between my visits to favorites spots in the ADK's. yknpdlr noted: So not to clutter that other thread with so much drift, I'll carry on here... During that Derecho, one of my former employees was camped at Huntley Pond In July of 1995, her...

While I’m not that fond of High Rock on the Oz, there’s a plethora of ADK spots that speak to me and I revisit them now and then. I think that’s my favorite thing about the ADK’s and wilderness in general. I can visit the same spots decades apart and nothing changes. Maybe a few trees topple, or...

Welcome, Rob I’ll echo the call for pics of those boats that you build. As you probably already know, there’s a large contingent of builders here, looking forward to see your stuff.

Once my shoulder is fully healed from a replacement joint, I’ll be back paddling my solo and maybe tandem canoes. I’ll use a single blade. I’ll likely not paddle a kayak again, mostly since it doesn’t fit the small water, beaver dam and deadfall strewn streams that I prefer. I can clear a 3 ft...

Any stressed skin composite MUST have skin on both sides... The core need only not fail in shear, and of course adhere well to the skins. I've mentioned this many, many times before---the strength of a hull, assuming geomtries and materials are the same, is a function of the core thickness...

Haha, I hoped everyone would enjoy a peek at that oops! There was a little over 30" of fresh in that rolling meadow, with a section of it firmly windpacked. You couldn't discern the windpacked from the light powder by sight, only by feel. BTW, I was a slow learner, as I tumbled twice as I plowed...

Aslowhand, Wow, I'm jealous. I'm assuming your in the Swiss Alps? And above tree line, nice. Here in NYS, my favorite BC ski spot might get 8 or 10 ft all season. Every once in a while, we get 3 or 4 ft over the course of a few days. Here I am at a little hill in MA that we can car shuttle...

Looks great!! Did you weigh it yet? I always find it interesting to see how much weight is removed when sanding. Now it's time for everybody's favorite part...sanding the inside! I use an old pair of ski goggles along with a really good dust mask. Not knowing your typical weather, will there be...

Really hard to say…started officially with 1/2 of a Sportspal split with my father, more for him than me. Started building when I was 22 years old, one every few years or sometimes 2 or 3 in a calendar year. Over 30 in total, but currently 2 in the garage, 4 in the 48 ft trailer, one under the...

I usually cut my stem strips about 4 inches wide, with the weave at a 45 degree angle (bias cut). This way, the stem pieces can easily conform to the compound curves at the bow and stern stems. Also, since the glass fibers are at the 45 degree angle, they tend to NOT pull out or fray, the way...

Glassing today?? Looks to me like “glassed” today. From where I sit, it looks like a great job!

That looks egg salad!! Glassing tomorrow? Do you have help? Be sure to knock down any dust burrs before you drape your cloth. And have you bias cut strips at the ready for the stems…

Whoa!! Hang on to that CJ, those Silver Anniversary models are extremely valuable. My highly modified CJ5 is worthless as an investment, but I’ll never part with it. It took me decades to build it just as I wanted. When my son was 15 years old, we rebuilt a 1984 Scrambler from dust. It’s been 18...