The Maiden Voyage!

After hemming and hawing about paint and it's qualitative properties, I finally got the kayak in the water! I couldn't be happier! I went for a short paddle in Cootes Paradise on the far west end of Lake Ontario, tucked away from the rest of the lake by the 403. It's fully green on its shore besides the small strip of highway ripping along one side separating one in the "Paradise" from Hamilton Harbour. I saw one deer, innumerable herons, ducks, swans, cormorants, an osprey, a couple of turtles and a dragonfly. It was really quite an abundant ecosystem, I'm looking forward to many more paddles there and on the other side as well as some of the creeks up and down the lake!

The kayak was amazing. A little tippy at first and I've got to figure out the smooth entry and exit still but I'm not worried. She cruised as straight as an arrow and just as silently. She felt the best heading into the wind and seemed not to weathercock in waves though it was incredibly calm with waves reaching as high as 3 inches! I'd like to get out in some bigger waves and see how she travels in that.

I've also added the fore and aft deck lines with some shock cord and pieces of cedar. I'll add photos when there is more light, probably my paddle tomorrow! Also, the Fire Red paint has yet to be tapped, the name (Gemini) still needs to kiss the bow and perhaps some designs shall be sprawled on her skin still.

A new home and waiting paitently for painting weather

I'm waiting for some sunny dry weather for the rest of the painting now. Patience comes easily here because I want this kayak to be awesome more than I want it to be done. So what have I done with this restless energy while waiting for the winds and waters to change? I made a new home for my kayak, where it can be beautiful but barely noticeable to the untrained eye, hidden yet accessible. I've hung it from the roof of my front porch using some eye boltings, rigging rope and an 800 lb hand winch from Princess Auto. Because honestly, where else but Princess Auto does one go when looking for such a thing?

I had some terrible rope at first that stretched right out but then on buying better rope, the system worked perfectly. It is really quite simple. I made two holsters from keel cut-offs and put a piece of rope through them that attaches to the hoisting rope via a caribiner. The hoisting ropes, one for each end go through an eyebolt in a joist, back to the stern of a kayak through a shared eyebolt and then down into the winch which I've "hidden" on the backside of the column there. It's a terrible photo here but also the tree to the right hides the ropes from street view as well and you can barely see the black stealth form of the kayak in the top of the porch. Should be nice and dry for the winter!

Skin and Paint!

 What an exhausting weekend! Saturday's here and I'm already exhausted. It took me all of Thursday and Friday to get the skin on. The long seam down the middle is so slow. It took me an hour to go about two feet at the most. It then took me another half day to the cockpit sewn in, quite daunting as my masik is pretty arched, so the hoop is actually at quite and angle and has to pick up fabric that is already really tight around the masik. Since I messed up on the bend and ended up using smaller stock than is called for this is a little worrisome as it could break or just not hold enough tension in the skin. But I used canvas so I can replace it and reskin it later if I do so choose!

And I got to the paint today too! This is expensive marine one part urethane from interlux. Boy, did that canvas suck alot of it up right away. There's two cans right there, a litre each, both top and bottom, one coat done. I'm switching to Tremclad because they're out of this paint colour at the boat store, it's expensive anyways, the guy at the boat store used tremclad on his skin--on-frame 25 years ago and it's still good and it's canvas so I can reskin later if I don't like it!

Gemini sits on Orion's shoulder

October is here in fine fashion, blazing sun in the afternoons with that warmth of summer still in our hearts. The days are getting shorter and I can see Gemini with Jupiter sitting on Orion's shoulder when I make my morning brew. I work on my kayak deep into the dark, cherishing every drop of sun. I finish without being able to see her in the full light of day so I don't get to fully see what I have done until the afternoon comes around and I roll in from work, eager to start the real work. I go to bed tired and smelling like oak and cedar, maybe some citrus and oil, exhausted but I've never felt so energetic and alive. This boat is the finest thing I've ever created, I've worked every piece of wood, bled on it, sweated into it and spent far more time with it in my head.

Tomorrow is the two month mark of the project and by golly do I have something for my efforts. Today, I finished sewing/lashing the cockpit flange to the main hoop and gave it an oil coat and gave the rest of the frame it's second oil coat. Yes, nary a blog post doesn't mean no progress, nay, greater progress than ever before. Tomorrow, she shall be ready for her skin! A skin to put on, sew the cockpit hoop in and coat of paint is in the works and then, technically, she's ready to paddle, though I plan on three to six coats and then I have to do decklines but those can wait.

 So what was I doing in these last two weeks? Pretty much the rest of the wood work. The ribs are all in, the keel laid straight and true with the two chines laid down to accuracy within a eighth of an inch, all lashed down in some beautiful running lashes. One piece of lash, runs along each stringer in such an elegant and simple fastening. In a minimal amount of turns, it tightens the previous one while holding itself true and once started, finishes quickly. It's really quite astonishing. Plus, once all the runners are hugged closely to the ribs, the frame takes on a real stiffness or oneness that really makes her feel like a boat.

The next was the deck stringers, floor boards and masik. The floor boards took two whole days because they need to be shaved to that they fit under the skin. This was not an easy task but it did reveal that one chine was off by more than a quarter inch in some places and needed to be redone. A nuisance but I should have done it right the first time. The masik was a glorious find. It is possibly the most important and difficult piece in the boat. It needs to be naturally curved or of laminated straight grain. I had a feeling my steambending plan was dubious at best. So last Sunday I was down at the Ottawa St. antique stores when I found an old yoke! Perfect! I grabbed it and practically ran home to notch it out and fit it in. It's perfect and it really finishes the qajaq in style!







The only other thing was the cockpit hoop which took two steambends and another lash where I used approximately twenty four feet of artificial sinew! This piece is just another fascination to me. A year ago I shuddered at the idea that I'd have to do that if I wanted to build my own kayak. Now, with relatively little 'live' instruction, just a book and a couple youtube videos, I have created a kayak with twenty seven pieces of steam bent wood, all done within quite acceptable accuracy (well, we'll see when we get this on the water).

With life's hilariousness, I have been given a four day weekend! What perfect timing to skin, paint and rest! I might even have her in the water by Sunday! Soon my weekends will be filled with this kayak on the roof of my truck and then in some wilderness lake! Who wants a paddle partner!