Sept 2012, Slice and Dice

Late posting of previous work: With the help of my bro n law, Jim we got the next kayak out of Chequamegon forest (actually, the family's north forty section of the Chequamegon National Forest). Jim brought up his new four wheeler and that worked quite well to get the two smaller Cedars out of the tall trees but the big log, destined to be the next kayak was a little more than she could handle.

We used a come-a-long to slowly drag the log from where she was laying for the last year. We put small rollers under the log for easier rolling and used 3-4 chains to lash trees to hook the come a long to. We had to drag the log 100 yards to get to the point where we could reach the chains with the old Toyota pickup. It took two runs with the Toyota to get the log up from behind the shit house to the top of the lawn. We dragged the log under a tall Maple, lifted one end with the come a long and backed the boat trailer under the log. My 17 ft fiberglass Four Winns weighs quite a bit so it's trailer should have been able to handle it quite well but I was still very nervous. I was sweating it during every one of the 245 miles back to Mpls.

I was pretty proud to use my own chain saw lumber mill to make Jan's kayak but I was determined to not waste so much wood this time. I went onto the WoodMizer web site and also did a Craig's List search for people who owned band saw lumber mills. I found one guy who called me after I had the tree already cut up and said that his minimum was $210 and would charge $0.50/mile from St. Cloud. I found two other guys who could not handle a 25 ft log but the guy who did the cutting only charged me $49 for the whole log. I gave him a good tip.

The WoodMizer was gas powered and computer controlled. It took the WoodMizer only 35 seconds to cut the 22 ft length and it barely left any saw dust! I had him cut the boards a full 1 inch to leave some room for plaining but it cut so smooth the boards hardly need any it. If you are interested, leave me a note and I'll gladly give you his details. He can bring the saw mill to your site to do the plaining.

The kayak is now under my shed roof, sitting on blocks with wood strips separating the planks. I hope to start work on my last boat next August.

QOD: From the book: Tour de France by Graham Watson: About a week after my return to England, I was going smoothly  at a fair pace to the top of Highgate West Hill, that evil little pimple whose gradient sprang to mind in the first ramp of l’Alpe d’Huez, when a paunchy, oldish man on the far pavement yells: “Push harder on the pedals.” No hint of a smile or cheer of encouragement. In France they shout – pedestrians or cyclists, it make no difference – Allez’ Courage!

The Epic 2012 Sauna Tour

It was a fabulous all around trip. A great experience.
More details to follow.

Pics

12-Feb-2012, My New Avatar

This space reserved for the discussion on my bitch'n avatar.

Third Time's a Charm

Not that I have any regrets with the first two yaks. The first kayak plan was chosen to get the biggest boat, that would hold the most gear and allow me to go on longer expeditions. Savor Diem. The plans were from One Ocean and they were of the Cape Ann Expedition. I can't say enough about the great web site that Vaclav Stejskal created for the benefit of all. He teaches boat building, tests materials, recommends material supplier, etc. If you buy the plans he has ever more details on building a fine craft.


The boat I built for Jan definitely needed to be smaller. For this I wanted to try a different company so I went with Guillemot and bought the plans for the Guillemot S. The S plans create a boat that is very stable and can keep me from getting too nervous when Jan or my daughters get in to tall seas.

The next one will be more a model of speed, agility and efficiency (at least I will have to learn how to pack more efficiently). I have not bought plans yet but I'm thinking that the Gillemot Night Heron.

The boat building for number III started on 11-Nov-2011 when we went to the family cabin and cut down a few White Cedar trees. I was looking for one tree (first Picture) that would do it but the best tree was going to be hung up by another tree (second picture-with my son Jake, at the saw). We actually had to cut a third tree down to get the trees to fall. There was more dry rot in the center of the trees than I would have like but not much you can do about that. Between three trees and maybe this time using a band saw lumber mill, I might get enough good boards. Last time I used a chain saw lumber mill I made for my dad's 20" Homelite chain saw. It worked well but wasted a lot of wood.

QOD: That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).