My son and a friend have been working on this for about 8 days..
Total costs of wood materials was $14.00 (salvage DF from a recycle store, willow limbs, some scrap oak pieces.
No nails, screw or glue. (Except for glue used to make 1x 2 out of 1 x 1 stock for the gunnels, and to make the deck rib connections at the peaks.)
Every connection is either mortised and doweled or lashed together.
Skin will be ballistic nylon coated with urethane.
It is being built out of scaled drawings of Aleut Indian kayaks.
Not a bad framing job .
“Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more.”…Seneca
Replies
I'm impressed, particularly that they're sticking with the old approach. I'd like to see more photos, as they complete work and put it in the water.
I had one back in the '50's to mid '60's. The framing was a lot lighter than yours. I skinned it with canvas and sealed it with CrissCraft Racing Boat Bottom Paint.
When your son makes the next one, suggest he take a plane and knock off the edges. It'll lighten up things and will not weaken anything. I was always in swimming trunks and sharp corners would have caused some discomfort when I got knocked around.
The lashing/joinery is impressive.
I also stuffed half inflated innertubes into each end. That really helped when I got swamped.
I tried to go across Lake Erie to Canada with it twice. Both times the choppy water defeated my attempts.
It met its demise at a four foot waterfall. All I have left of it are the paddles, fond memories, and my wife. My first words to her were "I have a kayak, would you like to go for a moonlight ride?" (I was so-o-o smooth!)
Her first words to me were "Listen, Nanook, I'm here to learn. Turn around and leave me alone."
Eventually she fell for my charming ways and the fact that I was the only guy in town with a kayak. ;-)
Good luck and I hope your son and his friend have a ball with it. The guys in the fiberglass or plastic ones will drool with envy.
Looks good where can you get a plan.
Thank you
vocteach, That I will have to ask my son. He is gone for a few days so I will ask him when he returns. Here are some pics of the frame complete except for the cowling framework.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Very Nice work!, You should be proud of your son.
Is that from the "Foxfire" book series?
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
voteach,
My son's answers to questions asked here. "we were helped somewhat in our project by harvey
golden, author of 'kayaks of greenland'. his book
(which is incredible) and some other info are
available at his website. http://www.traditionalkayaks.com/the two books/papers we were working from are 'hooper
bay kayak construction' and 'the king island kayak'.
the boat we built was a slightly modified king island
replica.here's the two bibliographies on the papers, from
harvey golden's website.Zimmerly, David
1979 "HOOPER BAY KAYAK CONSTRUCTION" Canadian Museum
of Civilization Mercury Series, Canadian Ethnology
Service Paper No.53. Ottawa. 1991 "THE KING ISLAND KAYAK" In Heath, et al.,
"Contributions to Kayak Studies," Canadian Museum of
Civilization Mercury Series, Canadian Ethnology
Service Paper No. 122:1-38. Ottawa.the skin is a single piece of 12oz. ballistic nylon,
which will be coated in a special uv-resistant
urethane. it is sewn on with nylon string.the frame was lashed together using artificial sinew,
which is available at leather-working shops. it is
fine nylon strands which have been laid together and
waxed rather than being braided or twisted together,
so it has near zero friction. you can build the frame out of almost any material,
but cedar, fir or hemlock are the best for the gunnels
and stringers for light weight vs. strength. the ribs
can be oak, ash, willow, etc. nearly anything strong
that can be steam bent."
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Very nice work he's doing. You should be very proud.
Would you mind asking him what his source for the 12oz nylon is? I have a 1920's wood/canvas canoe that needs restoring, and I'd like to go with the nylon/urathane instead of the traditional painted canvas.
I'm sure we'd all like to see more photos as the boat progresses!
Thanks
Stray,
Thank you and I am proud of him.
I will ask him the source when I next see him.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Stray , Sorry about the delay in replying.
Here is a link to a supplier for the nylon and the coatings.http://www.skinboats.com/supplies.html
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Fantastic. Thanks.
The next time in Seattle, I'll have to check them out in person. Looks like a cool company.
Stray , My son is trying to talk me into grinding the glass off my old original wood/canvas and re doing it with the nylon/ urethane as well. Gunnels need rebuilding anyway so I might just do that . Mine is a 18' Chestnut, had an 18' OldTown growing up as well as a 16' Kennebec. All redone with fiberglass. Great old boats !
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Stray ,
He is working on the fabric cover as I post this. Here are some pics. This is a different frame then pictured earlier, his cohort got the one I pictured earlier , then the two of them helped six other people build frames last week as well as built this one for him.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Very cool. I think the nylon is the trick for the wood canvas to get the same look but maybe a bit lighter weight.
I haven't had any luck identifying the make of mine. Not an Old Town for sure. It's a nice little 14' . I've taken some extended solo trips (well I had my dog with me) and it is sooo much nicer than my aluminum.
The poor old girl has dry rot on several ribs, needs seats re-caned, etc...
If you do your canoe in nylon please post some pics/tips as to how it went.
Thanks again.
Cool!
What's it lashed with? I wonder how comfortable that's going to be to sit in. Kayaks are great fun- I've had an old beater fiberglass one for quite a few years, that one looks much classier
It's going to take some fancy sewing to make the fabric for that craft- is you son sewing it or using the heat-seal nylon?
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
zak,
The skin will be sewn . The lashing they used was a high strength nylon, strange stuff almost flat , not braided or woven that I could tell. My son's friend has built 4-5 kayaks with others, one completely out of driftwood and skins.
The sitting has me curious as well, although you would actually be seated on the willow ribs , and know doubt some padding.
One thing about a boat like this is it's flexibility , the lashings allow everything to move with the waves.
Kayaks are fun , I grew up with both kayaks and old wooden canoes so introduced my kids to them when they were about 10.
My son is fairly accomplished with the kayaks, runs some pretty serious white water. Stuff I never got into , I am a flat water boater.
I will post the instruction book name etc. when I can get my son to tell me what it is . I showed your bridge stuff to him. He is a back country person himself and loved what you had the chance to work on..
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
That's great- I imagine it would move with the waves more than a fiberglass or plastic boat, and it will probably be a lot quieter, too.
I noticed you're in McMinnville- If you're ever down the road near Lincoln City, you should check out the Drift Creek Falls Bridge. It's a short hike, maybe a mile and a half from the parking lot. Spectacular bridge, 280' long, 3' wide, 106' over the creek. I helped rebuild it in the (very rainy) winter/spring of 2002.
Is your son working in the backcountry? Good jobs in the wilderness are tough to find, but they sure are satisfying.
Sorry bout the hijack- back to the boat now.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
zak,
See this post (89130.13) for answers to some questions about the kayak. My son is actually familiar with the bridge you mentioned, I have not ever seen it before myself. (Think I have been to the coast here about 6 times in 40 years except for when I worked on a house down north of Florence )
How does one go about checking employment opportunities with the bridge building company?
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
emailed you.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
zak,
prospero apparently doesn't like me, as it refuses to notify me of messages , nor does it forward e-mails. "Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Edited 4/30/2007 7:25 pm by dovetail97128
Dovetail-
I got your pm this morning, I sent you a reply at that address- did you still not get it?
I'll resend it.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Dovetail-
Sorry I can't seem to get an email through to you, although I recieve yours.
If your son wants to talk to me about the bridge building company, he can email me (or you can try again) at zaksteig at gmail.com. @ rather than "at", of course. Or he can contact the company directly at the email address listed on the sahale website.
Good luck, and let me know what happens.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
zak, Thank you . I will pass the information on to my son. Right now he is off trying to help teach some others about the kayak building.
I do appreciate your efforts in trying to e-mail me, I don't know what the problem is , but am pretty convinced it is at my end of the line.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Amazing work! I deleted my previous message about the lashing as I found the answer later. Where do you get the lashing and the skin material? I assume the ballistic nylon is expensive.
sasquatch ,
I will post the answers to your and others questions when I next talk to my son. he has taken off for a few days.
I asked the boys about the ballistic nylon and IIRC the price was about $120, I don't know if this includes the urethane for coating or not.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
sasquatch , see my reply to vocteach for some answers.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca