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Author Topic:   Building a stitch and glue kayak

Powergroove803 posted 01-31-2013 04:04 PM ET (US)
Any of you boatbuilders/tinkerers ever built a stitch and glue kayak? I have started a project and got some free plans for A Squeedunk 16. Hopefully a nice, relatively cheap winter project since football is almost over.
just a note about my project;
Since I have never built any boat from scratch I am using Luan plywood from Home Depot. $10.95 a sheet, it looks like I am going to use about 4 sheets per boats. Its 5mm, the plans call for 4mm Okoume or Maranti, but if you look at the I550 build site(a racing sailboat, the builder states you can use GOOD Luan if you want. The plys have to be a tight sandwich with little to no air pockets, suprisingly the Home Depot boards were nice and tight.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66560235@N04/8432758263/in/photostream/
Okoume or maranti is the choice from most sites I have seem but we are talking $40-$50 a sheet plus shipping so I will start with the Luan and get my first build out of the way and go to the good stuff.
Mistakes I have made so far;
My scarf joints, first scarf I sanded down both of the good sides of the 2 pieces of plywood. it should have been one good side, one non pretty side.
Mirror images have to be cut with one side up, one side down!
dont sand too much on Luan or your first(pretty ply) will go away quickly-did this on one scarf joint
Also a 4x 8 sheet of plywood from Home Depot is not 8 ft, so I had to adjust all of my stations by 3/16ths to make it fit.
All in Im looking at about $225 out of my pocket for this prototype as I have glass already, if not I figure about another $60 for the glass.
On a nicer Okoume boat Im looking at around $325-$500.
You can buy similar kits with the Okoume precut for around $700 to $950, which includes the epoxy, glass, and all wood.
A finished from the factory boat is around $2600.
I realize I could go buy a rotomolded boat for $350 but its not about having a boat, its about the build. if i had no day job I could realistically build this boat in 7 days, then 4 more days of varnish and wetsanding, not all day on those days, just dry time.
Day one: Glue Scarfs together let dry 24 hours
Day Two: Stitch and glue, add fillet, tape seams, wet out interior with epoxy for moisture resistance,let dry
Day 3: Add top, glue and tape seams, add(laminate on coaming) let dry
Day 4: add hatches, seating attachments
Day 5: Glass exterior bottom, fill coat, let dry
Day 6: Glass top, fill coat, and interior seating area
Day 7: Sand all day!
Day 8-12 Varnish coats and 24 hr dry time
Tom W Clark posted 01-31-2013 04:53 PM ET (US)
http://www.pygmyboats.com/
Binkster posted 02-01-2013 08:49 AM ET (US)
I have plans and full size patterns for a Chesapeake 17 stitch and glue kayak I bought 10 years ago when I retired. I haven't started construction as of yet, though. It looks pretty simple. I would think luann plywood would be as good as okuame, after all its just a core material anyway. Keep us informed on your build, maybe I can get up the ambition to start mine. I got into restoring a class F raceboat, a 18' bassboat, a couple of Whalers, and a antique glass runabout, so the kayak got put on the back burner. I have a rotomolded kayak that I bought a year ago, becuase everyone else in my family has one, I used it once, it is hard to paddle. Not much fun.
rich
jimh posted 02-01-2013 10:21 AM ET (US)
I think there would be great satisfaction in building a boat. I have looked at the possibility of building a useful boat, something that could replace my present boat. A popular model is the TOLMAN skiff. One builder provided a very detailed account of the construction of his boat. It was an epic project. After following the fellow's progress over more than a year through his finely detailed and illustrated web articles, and seeing how much time was being spent--not to mention how much money on materials--I realized that a project of that scope was far beyond my capacities. As result, my interest in building my own boat has now been refined: I like to read interesting accounts of others who are building their own boats, and I get vicarious satisfaction from seeing their accomplishments. This sort of surrogate experience is common. I very much enjoyed reading a wonderful account of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic explorations, but I do not wish to experience them firsthand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolman_Skiff
Here is a short video of a Tolman Skiff, FITHIAN cruising Lake Michigan, which I find to be one of the most beautiful examples of that boat that I have seen. This 25-foot hull only weighs about 1,500-lbs. It is easily driven by a 115-HP engine. It took 2.5-years to build, working part time, in the boatbuilder's garage. The cost was around $15,000 for materials.
I don't think you will see any commercial versions of boats like this because they are too labor intensive, and the cost would be very high.
Powergroove803 posted 02-01-2013 01:12 PM ET (US)
Jim, I think someone is, or did, a replica of Shackeltons skiff and sailed the 800 miles in it(?) This may be something going on right now, I want to say I saw it on sailinganarchy.com
The bigger boat project is a dream, but I have to hone my skills on something little first. The i550 sportboat does look like a straightforward boat to build, and there are a few power skiffs that look "easy", but for first time builders like myself I will stick with Luann and a small kayak.
clcboats.com has a 15 part youtube series on a stitch and glue Chesapeake 16 build, pretty good info if you can get past the cheesy humor.
andygere posted 02-01-2013 01:58 PM ET (US)
Powergroove, props to you on this project, I think you will find it very fulfilling, and I'm sure you'll wind up with a really fun boat. There is something very cool about paddling, surfing or sailing a craft that you built in your garage. Since you asked if anyone else has done this, I've shared my experience below. I am far from being an expert on the topic, and my comments are only relative to my experience--not the right or wrong way of doing things, just the way I did them.
Many years ago, I built a Chesepeake 17 touring kayak from a CLC kit. At the time, when I priced out all of the materials separately, there was little or no savings vs. buying the kit, so that's what I did. It was a great project, and it is a great boat that looks and paddles like new some 15 years later. I've used the boat on 10-day unsupported tour in the San Juan Islands, on countless day trips, and many weekend overnights as well.
Using inexpensive Luan for your first project will save you some money, but the zero void Okoume is in my opinion a worthwhile investment on a boat you plan to keep for a long time, and especially for one that will be used for long crossings, ocean paddling or extended trips. Stitch and glue kayaks are also called tortured plywood builds, because of the tortuous bends you put the plywood through in order to make flat sheets into graceful curves. Better wood (read more plys, varied grain orientation and zero voids) can take more torturing, and give you a boat with better shape. Good epoxy is expensive, and it can be a bit of a false economy to use a bunch of it on low grade plywood. Despite what Binky says, the plywood is not just core material, it's is very much structural in nature, that in some applications made stronger with an epoxy and fiberglass matrix. Many panels are not laminated in glass cloth at all, but simply sealed in epoxy. On my Chesapeake 17, the seams are filleted and taped with glass cloth, but the entire interior is not fiberglassed. Similarly, the arched deck gets all of it's strength from the wood, no fiberglass is used at all.

quote:
if i had no day job I could realistically build this boat in 7 days, then 4 more days of varnish and wetsanding, not all day on those days, just dry time.
This was not my experience, but I was building a boat that would last for years and survive rough conditions. Unless you have a very warm shop and quick setting epoxy, the lamination and fill coat times are extremely optimistic. The sanding time, well, if it was in weeks it still wouldn't be in the ball park. Could you bang out a scruffy looking but functional boat in this amount of time? Probably, but for the materials invested, I think it's worth taking the time to make a really good looking, functional boat.
Here's a link to a website I put together a long time ago to chronicle the build. I have not kept the site up to date, so links are likely to be broken, etc. but it gives you the general idea of how my kayak went together.
http://home.earthlink.net/~andygere/ches17/chespk.html
Binkster posted 02-01-2013 02:46 PM ET (US)
andy, Sorry, I shouldn't speak of what I don't know. I thought the kayaks were glassed on both sides. I know that luann has internal voids, and less plys than okoume plywood. After looking at your beautiful pictures, I realize now that I'll never build that Chesapeake 17'. If someone can use my plans and patterns, so be it. Send me your address, and $5 postage and they will become yours. I have got other projects going, and would never have the time to do it the way it is supposed to be done. As far as building any boat from scratch, I think that, that is the ultimate. Plywood is the easiest way to do it though, but living in Florida, plywood boats are not popular, and resale is very low, with the exception of racing type boats, or other sport boats that might be popular with the AOMCI crowd. I also have plans for a Glen L 14' runabout called flying Saucer. I'll never build that boat either, same deal goes for the plans. I was actually getting ready to start that project, when out of the blue I found this 14' glass Sea Fury fintail runabout in a marine boneyard, that was way cooler looking than the Flying Saucer. I picked it up for $150 and dragged it home. It needed alot of work, two layers of bi-axial glass on the inside of the bottom, needed new stringers, it didn't have a transom, the inside of the fins were hacked off, no interior and the boat was built without gelcoat. I spent countless hours restoring this boat, but it is glass with a decent resale value, and required less hours than building a wood boat from scratch. Only difference is instead of creating life, I raised the dead. Of course not as satisfying but it was something never the less.
ebwalk posted 02-01-2013 09:07 PM ET (US)
I too bought plans about 20 years ago and finally threw them out because they just made me feel inadequate. Then I bought a kit CLC Greenland kayak and last winter a stand-up paddle board I applaud your build from plans! Great fun. Here is a 3 minute you tube of my sup build.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQeUpLIE_I4&sns=em
ebwalk posted 02-01-2013 09:18 PM ET (US)
I agree with Andy's comments. It took a couple months for me (working full time to make $ and doing this when I could) it's a good project for part time builders because you often get stopped by glue drying times about the time you have to do something for the family The paddle board is my favorite boat, the kayak is really nice too, nothing like roto molded It glides through the water so easily
andygere posted 02-01-2013 09:49 PM ET (US)
ebwalk, nice job on the Kaholo! I built a surfing SUP from scratch using my own design, and a different build method. That too was a fun and challenging project that turned out well. http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=554
Binky, you certainly have the skills to build that CLC, but like anything else, you gotta love working on it. I saw the photos of the Sea Furry and that was a huge project and it turned out fantastic. I think sometimes the restorations are harder than starting with a fresh build.
jimh, I've followed a few blogs on the Tolman skiffs, and they do look like wonderful boats, but I have no idea how a person with a job and a family takes on a project like that. It's beyond hobby stuff at that point.
In any event Powergroove803, jump in there and build it. Don't worry if you make mistakes, anything you can do, you can undo, and only you will know. A good general guide on stitch and glue building is the Kayak Shop (now called the New Kayak Shop) by Chris Kulczycki. This book, and an article by the same author, convinced me that making one of these fast, light little boats was within my skills. http://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-building-books-kayaking-dvds/ boat-building-books-sea-kayaking-books/new-kayak-shop.html
ebwalk posted 02-01-2013 10:44 PM ET (US)
Wow. That is very impressive Andy. The reclaimed wood, the quality of your work and the quality of your journalism all amazing. Beautiful board.
Are you thinking about a next project or are you just enjoying what you accomplished ?
andygere posted 02-02-2013 06:48 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the compliments ebwalk, I enjoy having a woodworking project when I have the time. These days, I'm surfing and paddling more than I am making sawdust, though I did recently make a wood tail block for a custom SUP I had built by my local shaper.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/ 302_10151259504299687_2102299841_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/ 63694_10151333580474687_2079491027_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/ 735070_10151330676564687_1316699414_n.jpg
My next projects will be on the boat, including a custom rear bench seat, similar to the one that Whaler originally offered.
jimh posted 02-03-2013 02:35 PM ET (US)
I read Andy's long thread on his building of a wooden surfboard. I was very impressed with the design, construction, and documentation of that building project. There is certainly some DNA from an old shipwright in Andy's lineage.
andygere posted 02-04-2013 12:27 AM ET (US)
Thanks jimh. My dad is a darn good wood worker, and he taught me a few things when I was a kid.
andygere posted 02-04-2013 12:34 AM ET (US)
Though jimh, you are on to something regarding the shipwright DNA. The guy who introduced me to this technique for board building was in fact a shipwright who later formed a company building wooden surfboards and kits using ship building techniques.
Jerry Townsend posted 02-04-2013 01:14 PM ET (US)
Andy - beautiful job !!!
Brings back many memories from many (~50) years ago when I wanted a canoe, but didn't like the Gruman or Old-Towns (though beautiful, but heavy and a fairly shallow stem) and decided to build my own. Started with a Canadian design, saw a Popular Mechanics article on a strip canoe - then designed my own. Experimented with differnt ways of building it - foam, wood, cardboard, polyester and epoxy resins - but settled on wood and polyester resin. Started with 3/16" pine (one of the lightest woods) strips, a 1" keel, 16 foot long with a 36" beam and a nice looking recurve stems - glassed on both sides - and weighed but 62 pounds.
It has been just great - though haven't used it in many years. It has seen calm and fairly rough/mild-rapids water on the Salmon river, the Snake river. Lots! of memories - all good.
Again Andy - beautiful job. Nice shop (mine should look like yours) and keep having fun with it. --- Jerry/Idaho
Powergroove803 posted 02-04-2013 03:42 PM ET (US)
Andy et al, nice work! Realistically the build will certainly take more than 6 days, but it started out with a bang and alot of optimism....then I had to "torture the ply". Real challenging stuff, and i think the Luann makes it all that much tougher. One week in and I have the makings of a kayak. Now its on to filleting and taping, and possibly laying in some glass on the inside, definitely in the cockpit, maybe on the entre bottom area.
My plan is to build 4 boats, with this one being my first I really wanted one I wouldnt cry over if I made a mistake.
The experience and the errors have made feel more confident for the 2nd boat, one I will probably build from a real plan(Binkster check your PM)and from some real plywood.
To EBWALK and Andy- The SUP build, how much does it weigh? That looks like a fun project and the wifey says she would rather have the SUP than the Yak.
andygere posted 02-04-2013 04:28 PM ET (US)
Powergroove, post some photos as the project moves along, sounds like you are off to a good start. The surf-style SUP that I built tipped the scales at about 36 lbs fully dressed, but could have been built much lighter (20-20 hindsight!).
ebwalk posted 02-04-2013 08:32 PM ET (US)
PG- happy wife= happy life. Build her a sup you won't regret it. It was supposed to weigh in at 32 but I think it was closer to 36 But that is a mammoth board. My wife and I take a bottle of wine and drift down the creek to watch the sunset Holds us both quite well but we are shrimps at combined payload of 260 lbs. CLC has a shorter model if you don't have a big payload. This boat at 14' tracks extremely well....and correspondingly turns in the radius of an. 18 wheeler!
Powergroove803 posted 02-04-2013 10:21 PM ET (US)
More on the Shackleton cruise on a replicaof the boat Shackletons crew sailed on their rescue mission.
http://shackletonepic.com/
Powergroove803 posted 02-13-2013 02:27 PM ET (US)
New pics added as build progresses.. sanding starts today :(
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66560235@N04/sets/72157632757069869/
cohasett73 posted 02-24-2013 09:13 AM ET (US)
Binkster/Rich sent me not only the plans fully lofted for a Chesapeake 14,he also included a set of plans for a Glen L. Canyak 14.
I appreciate your kindness Rich.
Tom from Rubicon,WI
andygere posted 02-24-2013 05:09 PM ET (US)
That kayak is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work.
Powergroove803 posted 02-26-2013 12:24 PM ET (US)
Sea trials this past Sunday. Worked great, now finish the topside. I want to paint the bottom and finish the wood on top. The Luann top veneer was just too thin so any sanding left white spots. Sanding and a nice paint job will cover tha hopefully. Overall Im happy with it, but there would definitly be changes for round two. First, a flatter bottom side, real wood, and a little more patience. It was a good build and I gained valuable experience. The paddleboard is next.

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Author	Topic: Building a stitch and glue kayak
Powergroove803	posted 01-31-2013 04:04 PM ET (US) Any of you boatbuilders/tinkerers ever built a stitch and glue kayak? I have started a project and got some free plans for A Squeedunk 16. Hopefully a nice, relatively cheap winter project since football is almost over. just a note about my project; Since I have never built any boat from scratch I am using Luan plywood from Home Depot. $10.95 a sheet, it looks like I am going to use about 4 sheets per boats. Its 5mm, the plans call for 4mm Okoume or Maranti, but if you look at the I550 build site(a racing sailboat, the builder states you can use GOOD Luan if you want. The plys have to be a tight sandwich with little to no air pockets, suprisingly the Home Depot boards were nice and tight. http://www.flickr.com/photos/66560235@N04/8432758263/in/photostream/ Okoume or maranti is the choice from most sites I have seem but we are talking $40-$50 a sheet plus shipping so I will start with the Luan and get my first build out of the way and go to the good stuff. Mistakes I have made so far; My scarf joints, first scarf I sanded down both of the good sides of the 2 pieces of plywood. it should have been one good side, one non pretty side. Mirror images have to be cut with one side up, one side down! dont sand too much on Luan or your first(pretty ply) will go away quickly-did this on one scarf joint Also a 4x 8 sheet of plywood from Home Depot is not 8 ft, so I had to adjust all of my stations by 3/16ths to make it fit. All in Im looking at about $225 out of my pocket for this prototype as I have glass already, if not I figure about another $60 for the glass. On a nicer Okoume boat Im looking at around $325-$500. You can buy similar kits with the Okoume precut for around $700 to $950, which includes the epoxy, glass, and all wood. A finished from the factory boat is around $2600. I realize I could go buy a rotomolded boat for $350 but its not about having a boat, its about the build. if i had no day job I could realistically build this boat in 7 days, then 4 more days of varnish and wetsanding, not all day on those days, just dry time. Day one: Glue Scarfs together let dry 24 hours Day Two: Stitch and glue, add fillet, tape seams, wet out interior with epoxy for moisture resistance,let dry Day 3: Add top, glue and tape seams, add(laminate on coaming) let dry Day 4: add hatches, seating attachments Day 5: Glass exterior bottom, fill coat, let dry Day 6: Glass top, fill coat, and interior seating area Day 7: Sand all day! Day 8-12 Varnish coats and 24 hr dry time
Tom W Clark	posted 01-31-2013 04:53 PM ET (US) http://www.pygmyboats.com/
Binkster	posted 02-01-2013 08:49 AM ET (US) I have plans and full size patterns for a Chesapeake 17 stitch and glue kayak I bought 10 years ago when I retired. I haven't started construction as of yet, though. It looks pretty simple. I would think luann plywood would be as good as okuame, after all its just a core material anyway. Keep us informed on your build, maybe I can get up the ambition to start mine. I got into restoring a class F raceboat, a 18' bassboat, a couple of Whalers, and a antique glass runabout, so the kayak got put on the back burner. I have a rotomolded kayak that I bought a year ago, becuase everyone else in my family has one, I used it once, it is hard to paddle. Not much fun. rich
jimh	posted 02-01-2013 10:21 AM ET (US) I think there would be great satisfaction in building a boat. I have looked at the possibility of building a useful boat, something that could replace my present boat. A popular model is the TOLMAN skiff. One builder provided a very detailed account of the construction of his boat. It was an epic project. After following the fellow's progress over more than a year through his finely detailed and illustrated web articles, and seeing how much time was being spent--not to mention how much money on materials--I realized that a project of that scope was far beyond my capacities. As result, my interest in building my own boat has now been refined: I like to read interesting accounts of others who are building their own boats, and I get vicarious satisfaction from seeing their accomplishments. This sort of surrogate experience is common. I very much enjoyed reading a wonderful account of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic explorations, but I do not wish to experience them firsthand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolman_Skiff Here is a short video of a Tolman Skiff, FITHIAN cruising Lake Michigan, which I find to be one of the most beautiful examples of that boat that I have seen. This 25-foot hull only weighs about 1,500-lbs. It is easily driven by a 115-HP engine. It took 2.5-years to build, working part time, in the boatbuilder's garage. The cost was around $15,000 for materials. I don't think you will see any commercial versions of boats like this because they are too labor intensive, and the cost would be very high.
Powergroove803	posted 02-01-2013 01:12 PM ET (US) Jim, I think someone is, or did, a replica of Shackeltons skiff and sailed the 800 miles in it(?) This may be something going on right now, I want to say I saw it on sailinganarchy.com The bigger boat project is a dream, but I have to hone my skills on something little first. The i550 sportboat does look like a straightforward boat to build, and there are a few power skiffs that look "easy", but for first time builders like myself I will stick with Luann and a small kayak. clcboats.com has a 15 part youtube series on a stitch and glue Chesapeake 16 build, pretty good info if you can get past the cheesy humor.
andygere	posted 02-01-2013 01:58 PM ET (US) Powergroove, props to you on this project, I think you will find it very fulfilling, and I'm sure you'll wind up with a really fun boat. There is something very cool about paddling, surfing or sailing a craft that you built in your garage. Since you asked if anyone else has done this, I've shared my experience below. I am far from being an expert on the topic, and my comments are only relative to my experience--not the right or wrong way of doing things, just the way I did them. Many years ago, I built a Chesepeake 17 touring kayak from a CLC kit. At the time, when I priced out all of the materials separately, there was little or no savings vs. buying the kit, so that's what I did. It was a great project, and it is a great boat that looks and paddles like new some 15 years later. I've used the boat on 10-day unsupported tour in the San Juan Islands, on countless day trips, and many weekend overnights as well. Using inexpensive Luan for your first project will save you some money, but the zero void Okoume is in my opinion a worthwhile investment on a boat you plan to keep for a long time, and especially for one that will be used for long crossings, ocean paddling or extended trips. Stitch and glue kayaks are also called tortured plywood builds, because of the tortuous bends you put the plywood through in order to make flat sheets into graceful curves. Better wood (read more plys, varied grain orientation and zero voids) can take more torturing, and give you a boat with better shape. Good epoxy is expensive, and it can be a bit of a false economy to use a bunch of it on low grade plywood. Despite what Binky says, the plywood is not just core material, it's is very much structural in nature, that in some applications made stronger with an epoxy and fiberglass matrix. Many panels are not laminated in glass cloth at all, but simply sealed in epoxy. On my Chesapeake 17, the seams are filleted and taped with glass cloth, but the entire interior is not fiberglassed. Similarly, the arched deck gets all of it's strength from the wood, no fiberglass is used at all. quote: if i had no day job I could realistically build this boat in 7 days, then 4 more days of varnish and wetsanding, not all day on those days, just dry time. This was not my experience, but I was building a boat that would last for years and survive rough conditions. Unless you have a very warm shop and quick setting epoxy, the lamination and fill coat times are extremely optimistic. The sanding time, well, if it was in weeks it still wouldn't be in the ball park. Could you bang out a scruffy looking but functional boat in this amount of time? Probably, but for the materials invested, I think it's worth taking the time to make a really good looking, functional boat. Here's a link to a website I put together a long time ago to chronicle the build. I have not kept the site up to date, so links are likely to be broken, etc. but it gives you the general idea of how my kayak went together. http://home.earthlink.net/~andygere/ches17/chespk.html
Binkster	posted 02-01-2013 02:46 PM ET (US) andy, Sorry, I shouldn't speak of what I don't know. I thought the kayaks were glassed on both sides. I know that luann has internal voids, and less plys than okoume plywood. After looking at your beautiful pictures, I realize now that I'll never build that Chesapeake 17'. If someone can use my plans and patterns, so be it. Send me your address, and $5 postage and they will become yours. I have got other projects going, and would never have the time to do it the way it is supposed to be done. As far as building any boat from scratch, I think that, that is the ultimate. Plywood is the easiest way to do it though, but living in Florida, plywood boats are not popular, and resale is very low, with the exception of racing type boats, or other sport boats that might be popular with the AOMCI crowd. I also have plans for a Glen L 14' runabout called flying Saucer. I'll never build that boat either, same deal goes for the plans. I was actually getting ready to start that project, when out of the blue I found this 14' glass Sea Fury fintail runabout in a marine boneyard, that was way cooler looking than the Flying Saucer. I picked it up for $150 and dragged it home. It needed alot of work, two layers of bi-axial glass on the inside of the bottom, needed new stringers, it didn't have a transom, the inside of the fins were hacked off, no interior and the boat was built without gelcoat. I spent countless hours restoring this boat, but it is glass with a decent resale value, and required less hours than building a wood boat from scratch. Only difference is instead of creating life, I raised the dead. Of course not as satisfying but it was something never the less.
ebwalk	posted 02-01-2013 09:07 PM ET (US) I too bought plans about 20 years ago and finally threw them out because they just made me feel inadequate. Then I bought a kit CLC Greenland kayak and last winter a stand-up paddle board I applaud your build from plans! Great fun. Here is a 3 minute you tube of my sup build. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQeUpLIE_I4&sns=em
ebwalk	posted 02-01-2013 09:18 PM ET (US) I agree with Andy's comments. It took a couple months for me (working full time to make $ and doing this when I could) it's a good project for part time builders because you often get stopped by glue drying times about the time you have to do something for the family The paddle board is my favorite boat, the kayak is really nice too, nothing like roto molded It glides through the water so easily
andygere	posted 02-01-2013 09:49 PM ET (US) ebwalk, nice job on the Kaholo! I built a surfing SUP from scratch using my own design, and a different build method. That too was a fun and challenging project that turned out well. http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=554 Binky, you certainly have the skills to build that CLC, but like anything else, you gotta love working on it. I saw the photos of the Sea Furry and that was a huge project and it turned out fantastic. I think sometimes the restorations are harder than starting with a fresh build. jimh, I've followed a few blogs on the Tolman skiffs, and they do look like wonderful boats, but I have no idea how a person with a job and a family takes on a project like that. It's beyond hobby stuff at that point. In any event Powergroove803, jump in there and build it. Don't worry if you make mistakes, anything you can do, you can undo, and only you will know. A good general guide on stitch and glue building is the Kayak Shop (now called the New Kayak Shop) by Chris Kulczycki. This book, and an article by the same author, convinced me that making one of these fast, light little boats was within my skills. http://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-building-books-kayaking-dvds/ boat-building-books-sea-kayaking-books/new-kayak-shop.html
ebwalk	posted 02-01-2013 10:44 PM ET (US) Wow. That is very impressive Andy. The reclaimed wood, the quality of your work and the quality of your journalism all amazing. Beautiful board. Are you thinking about a next project or are you just enjoying what you accomplished ?
andygere	posted 02-02-2013 06:48 PM ET (US) Thanks for the compliments ebwalk, I enjoy having a woodworking project when I have the time. These days, I'm surfing and paddling more than I am making sawdust, though I did recently make a wood tail block for a custom SUP I had built by my local shaper. https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/ 302_10151259504299687_2102299841_n.jpg https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/ 63694_10151333580474687_2079491027_n.jpg https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/ 735070_10151330676564687_1316699414_n.jpg My next projects will be on the boat, including a custom rear bench seat, similar to the one that Whaler originally offered.
jimh	posted 02-03-2013 02:35 PM ET (US) I read Andy's long thread on his building of a wooden surfboard. I was very impressed with the design, construction, and documentation of that building project. There is certainly some DNA from an old shipwright in Andy's lineage.
andygere	posted 02-04-2013 12:27 AM ET (US) Thanks jimh. My dad is a darn good wood worker, and he taught me a few things when I was a kid.
andygere	posted 02-04-2013 12:34 AM ET (US) Though jimh, you are on to something regarding the shipwright DNA. The guy who introduced me to this technique for board building was in fact a shipwright who later formed a company building wooden surfboards and kits using ship building techniques.
Jerry Townsend	posted 02-04-2013 01:14 PM ET (US) Andy - beautiful job !!! Brings back many memories from many (~50) years ago when I wanted a canoe, but didn't like the Gruman or Old-Towns (though beautiful, but heavy and a fairly shallow stem) and decided to build my own. Started with a Canadian design, saw a Popular Mechanics article on a strip canoe - then designed my own. Experimented with differnt ways of building it - foam, wood, cardboard, polyester and epoxy resins - but settled on wood and polyester resin. Started with 3/16" pine (one of the lightest woods) strips, a 1" keel, 16 foot long with a 36" beam and a nice looking recurve stems - glassed on both sides - and weighed but 62 pounds. It has been just great - though haven't used it in many years. It has seen calm and fairly rough/mild-rapids water on the Salmon river, the Snake river. Lots! of memories - all good. Again Andy - beautiful job. Nice shop (mine should look like yours) and keep having fun with it. --- Jerry/Idaho
Powergroove803	posted 02-04-2013 03:42 PM ET (US) Andy et al, nice work! Realistically the build will certainly take more than 6 days, but it started out with a bang and alot of optimism....then I had to "torture the ply". Real challenging stuff, and i think the Luann makes it all that much tougher. One week in and I have the makings of a kayak. Now its on to filleting and taping, and possibly laying in some glass on the inside, definitely in the cockpit, maybe on the entre bottom area. My plan is to build 4 boats, with this one being my first I really wanted one I wouldnt cry over if I made a mistake. The experience and the errors have made feel more confident for the 2nd boat, one I will probably build from a real plan(Binkster check your PM)and from some real plywood. To EBWALK and Andy- The SUP build, how much does it weigh? That looks like a fun project and the wifey says she would rather have the SUP than the Yak.
andygere	posted 02-04-2013 04:28 PM ET (US) Powergroove, post some photos as the project moves along, sounds like you are off to a good start. The surf-style SUP that I built tipped the scales at about 36 lbs fully dressed, but could have been built much lighter (20-20 hindsight!).
ebwalk	posted 02-04-2013 08:32 PM ET (US) PG- happy wife= happy life. Build her a sup you won't regret it. It was supposed to weigh in at 32 but I think it was closer to 36 But that is a mammoth board. My wife and I take a bottle of wine and drift down the creek to watch the sunset Holds us both quite well but we are shrimps at combined payload of 260 lbs. CLC has a shorter model if you don't have a big payload. This boat at 14' tracks extremely well....and correspondingly turns in the radius of an. 18 wheeler!
Powergroove803	posted 02-04-2013 10:21 PM ET (US) More on the Shackleton cruise on a replicaof the boat Shackletons crew sailed on their rescue mission. http://shackletonepic.com/
Powergroove803	posted 02-13-2013 02:27 PM ET (US) New pics added as build progresses.. sanding starts today :( http://www.flickr.com/photos/66560235@N04/sets/72157632757069869/
cohasett73	posted 02-24-2013 09:13 AM ET (US) Binkster/Rich sent me not only the plans fully lofted for a Chesapeake 14,he also included a set of plans for a Glen L. Canyak 14. I appreciate your kindness Rich. Tom from Rubicon,WI
andygere	posted 02-24-2013 05:09 PM ET (US) That kayak is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work.
Powergroove803	posted 02-26-2013 12:24 PM ET (US) Sea trials this past Sunday. Worked great, now finish the topside. I want to paint the bottom and finish the wood on top. The Luann top veneer was just too thin so any sanding left white spots. Sanding and a nice paint job will cover tha hopefully. Overall Im happy with it, but there would definitly be changes for round two. First, a flatter bottom side, real wood, and a little more patience. It was a good build and I gained valuable experience. The paddleboard is next.