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!