The Start

The tree was sliced with a 20" chain saw. The boards were flat and true enough and took 5 runs through the planer per side. The White Cedar looked straight before I cut it down but definitely had a curve to it. To get the most out of the wood I cut the strips following the outside curve of the board to get the 1/4" strips. The whole tree in 1/4" strip form is shown laid out together. The pictures of the forms show the full boat in a squashed form. The last picture shows the waterline of the forms all lined up together.

The Happiest is the person who suffers the least pain; the most miserable who enjoys the least pleasure. Jean Jacques Rousseau

A Builders Page, Introduction

Hello,

This is a chronicle of the building of my second kayak. I hope that you find the info interesting, enlightening and maybe something to learn from. This kayak is a little more special than the last one in that it is from a tree that I cut down from my fathers land at "The Cabin" in northern Wisconsin.

The boat was started a couple of years ago when I cut the tree down. It sat at the cabin for about a year drying out and then behind the garage for 9 months. I started planning on Thanksgiving of 07. Everyone asks how long it takes to build a kayak and I always tell them that the real question is: "how many hours does a project like this, allow for quality time in the shop". I do have a goal of finishing by Aug of this year so Jan and I can take both kayaks out west for two weeks. We'll see. My brother-in-law put a goal of finishing his boat in 5 yrs, just to keep it a low pressure situation and to allow him to savor the construction process.

My dad was known for his quotes, and to keep that tradition going I will sign off with a parting quote. My dad also signed off from his emails with the moniker: "Carpe Diem", which is Latin for Seize the Day. This always reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:

"Every day when I get up I have to decide whether to Seize the day or Savor the Day". Unknown