Look Ma, No Staples

The first picture is of a custom tip for the glue bottle. I had a piece of 3/8 inch tubing that I heated with a lighter, pulled the tube when it was hot which caused it to lengthen and shrink in diameter. The small diameter helps get the glue into the cove of the cedar strips.

Second picture shows the jigs that I use to clamp the strips in place with out using staples. The plywood on the bottom are U shaped clamps used to hold the bottom of the starter strip and with wedges, used to hold the strips against the forms. The Z shaped clamps are screwed to the forms and moved after ever one or two strips. Again wedges are used to force the new strip against the previous strips and with another wedge to hold the strip against the form.

Third picture is of a frame used near the bow and stern to hold the strips against the forms. These hold the strips tight against the forms in the area where there is a lot of stress on the strips. This strip would be helpful even when using staples, because the staples may not hold a highly stressed board.

The last picture is just a progress shot.

Quote of the day: In Mexico we have a word for Sushi: Bait. Joes Simon.

Rough Tree and a Solid Stance

A few photos that I had intended on posting previously.

The first is a view of a board as it looked after being sawn via one Homelite chain saw.

The Second is a view of the tree in plank form. (You might need to click on the photo to zoom in to see it amongst all of the junk in the shop.)

As mentioned, I will be spewing tips for the boat builder on this Blog, so one tip is that the stand for the forms should be very solid. I like the tripod shown because it will not move when working hard on the boat, especially with the extra added weights on its base. The typical H frame stands that hold the beam in one direction and has a saddle for the boat when turned 90 deg are nice but be sure to add some weights to make sure you have a solid foundation for maintaining accuracy with the forms and for the building.

Quote of the day: Pay no attention to what the critics say…Remember, a statue has never been set up in honor of a critic! Jean Sibelius

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