a question on canoe building

not all the photos came so here are more. one shows the stringers being glued to make them longer to fit the right length and the other is the frame almost done. took it to the sun to check how it looks.

some how i uploaded the wrong photo. i will try again

 

the stringers

 

hi Peter
thanks. i was planning to paint with oil paint to protect the wood since i am out of epoxy. "oil" means to brush it with something like lin seed oil? and varnish means using Lacquer ? if so, it means i have to buy that but oil paint i am planning to use on the polyester so i thought i could use it also to protect the wood. i don't plan for this kayak to be a lot in the water. maybe 15 times a year in the summer only when there is no wind. other wise i go sailing. i have a small 21 feet sailing boat which is great fun to sail.

did you staple on the wood of the bow and stern and left the staples there? sounds like an easy solution. it is probably hard to notice since it is painted over.

 

Looks great yoram! I can't wait to get a splash report.

What sailboat do you have? haha I too would usually rather go sailing than kayaking, and only get out the 'yak a few times a year...

As far as the stems, that's what I did, just left it. It is a bit noticeable because the polyester may not lay perfectly flat on the stems, but I am content with it. I mean, painting the frame is fine, I just wouldn't do it personally. Some people don't put anything on the frame at all!

I really think you should post your build here:
forum.woodenboat.com

There are alot more woodenboat builders on that forum, and often more helpful. You will get waaaay more responses that's for sure!

 

If the staples are left in place they may rust, unless you used stainless steel staples. The same applies to screws. It is difficult to seal wood perfectly using paint or varnish and cracks usually occur around fasteners, which will allow water in.

 

thanks guys. always good advises.

i have Marieholm Seacat 16 sail boat. it is a Swedish boat from the early 70's. i am not very experienced but i love sailing. it has a small place to sleep for 2 adults and 2 kids. the fjord here is very nice for sailing and relatively big and has about 10-12 different marinas in it, though there are many places with shallow waters, even in the middle of it so many times in the past i wanted to have a canoe or a kayak to go to all those shallow interesting beaches and now i build myself both...life is good.

the only problem here is the weather. sometimes i envy the people in florida with the warm weather and so many different styles of boating options.

 

progress?

 

no. it turned out that i got the wrong polyester. it is too thin to work with so i have ordered from George Dyson and now i am waiting for it to come. mean while, lots of good sailing days.

it turned out that next to where i live, there is a Danish guy who has been studying the kayak building for 30 years, especially the sof type. living in Greenland and Alaska. i went to check it out. amazing. he chops the wood himself, prepare the oil paint himself by digging minerals from the soil, he uses only natural materials, using heavy canvas for the skin, he also design the kayaks so they would custom fit each person according to his body. i am thinking about taking a class with him when i get the time,
here is a like to his web site
http://www.naturlivsskolen.dk/natur/Velkommen.html

you will need google translate if you do not speak Danish

i also red a lot of threads on the wooden boat forum. real serious boat building projects some people have. it will be a joke to put my kayak there

 

How is progress? I haven't seen anything from you on the forum for a couple of months, hope everything is still moving ahead.

 

thanks for asking. i had some progress. i was planning to write about it here but i did not know how to do it properly. i thought i should start a new thread with all the info from the start since it started as a question about a plywood canoe it became a sof kayak. and then i was wondering if there is any good in writing about the kayak since most people here are not interested in it and more then that, i have done a poor job, so what is there to be useful for others?
anyways, i have decided to write and put the photos so other could learn how not to do certain things. here is the link
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/bo...ime-many-mistakes-learn-39310.html#post480305

thanks for all your help during this time

 

Never a joke to put your kayak on wood boatbuilding site. They all are equal in importance and many are curious about your build. Few have time or resources to build big things but kayak build is available to all and your experiences and pictures will be very welcome to all interested.

 

I second that Bataan. Lots more guys actually building kayaks than actually building the bigger stuff. And the guys building kayaks are often doing so for the first time, and seeing how others dealt with their builds gives not only ideas but also confidence to them.

Yoram glad to see you're back. In between various other projects (and lots of sailing) I have begun another sof, a Disko Bay Greenland Kayak. It is all framed up, I just have to add in seats and finish the coaming and I'll be ready for skinning.

Cost so far: $40 for the skin, $10 for a quart of paint for the skin, $10 for stainless steel staples (for the skin), and $8 for a small aluminum L-bracket and screws which I will be using for the seat. All the wood was scrap I had laying around from other projects so no cost there...

What will you be doing for the coaming Yoram?

 

peter, i envy the prices in USA. here everything is much more expensive. good luck with the kayak and send photos.

i have done the coaming with plywood, at first i cut many pieces and glued them together and then i have found a big piece of plywood and managed to get 3 layers of coam from it. i will post it in the thread i am working on right now.
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/bo...ime-many-mistakes-learn-39310.html#post480313

 

This is a large forum. If you get the attention of just a small group there will always be some that follow your adventure with interest. The nice thing about the small boat threads is, since they usually get built, there are tangible results, so if someone is trying something new there is something for me to learn. What more can I ask?

In my experience the large and popular thread can also degenerate into arguments with disagreeable threads, most of which are off the topic. I'm looking forward to moving over to your new thread.

 

peter, the Disko Bay Greenland Kayak looks very cool and elegant. i checked it out on the net. good luck with it.
i also had a few projects and also sailed as much as i could. it is Scandinavia here and the weather even in the summer could be a bit cold and lots of rain. since i sail for fun and not as a challenge i went sailing when the weather was nice.
about building the kayak, i think that the bottom line is that i enjoy the building process more then enjoying the product itself. kayak here could be nice but it is more about sailing here since it is a windy place and since i am not such a good kyaker, actually very lousy one, the kayak will be in the water maybe 5-10 times a year.
i am contemplating now building a trimaran, a very simple one that will be basically a big canoe with 2 amas. it will be for sailing, rowing if necessary and i really want an electric motor to it but the extra wight of 2-3 batteries is a draw back. some kind of boat, day sailor that i could easily get in the water and will be shallow enough to get to all the interesting places.