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At the Boathouse
Had a pleasant surprise when I got to the Boathouse this week, longtime friend, fellow Coot, and boating adventurer, Bob Larkin was there, paddling around in his kayak. You can usually tell Bob's boats by the comm gear and electronics on board.
As Bob is a kayaker, I had him test out the Tik-Tak Kayak.
He said it was surprisingly stable, but a little small. He though the seat should be moved back a couple inches to keep the bow out of the waves. The Tik-Tak Kayak is not designed for waves, it is a pond boat.
Enough kayaking, back to work on the little Junk. Know what makes rounding the edges of foils really easy? A 4" angle grinder with a 36grit disk.
I use 3/8" hardware for most of the pivots and eyebolts on a build. It is a commonly available size for bolts and most drill indexes have a 3/8" bit. I'm drilling the pivot hole for the leeboard and into the brace at the same time - makes it easier for them to line up.
I'd started with a pilot hole, and back-drilled a bit from the inside so when the 3/8" bit tears through, it won't rip out big chunks of splinters.
We are hoping to be hosting some local kids for a Lazy Weekend Canoe build, so we stacked away the Junk and started prepping for the Lazy Weekend 2.0 build. I went to work on the sides while Curt turned to on the frames.
I like to make my mistakes all at once, so I stacked the wood I'd be using, clamped it in place, marked it, and cut all the sides, 2 at a time.
We are building 2 canoes, each needs 6 frames (which become the seat supports) and each frame needs 2 arms. 2 x 6 x 2 = 24 frame arms, cut, rounded, and sanded.
Each canoe needs 4 side pieces 14" wide and 8' long. Cut cut cut.
These are hard-chines canoes, so each boat will need to have chines attached at the bottom and gunnels attached at the top. I will be working with novice builders, so I like to pre-drill the screwholes that will be used to attach the pieces. As I said, I like to make all my mistakes at once, so I stacked 4 side pieces at a time and drilled 'em, boink boink boink.
The real trick is that the sides have to be mirror images of each other, and if you aren't careful, you'll mix it up when trying to assemble them. It pays to mark which piece is which - especially in mass builds.
We are using Butt Joints to join the short pieces into long pieces on this build. We are gluing with TiteBond III - because it is cheaper than epoxy and works great.
Good enough for the day - sides are cut, pre-drilled, and butt-jointed together. Time to hit Pig Feathers, except Pig Feathers was really busy, so we went to Holy Toledo instead.
Oh, my! That's a heck of a low tide. About as low as I'd ever seen it.
I have met this man a dozen times and simply cannot remember his name. He has a beautiful boat, though.
This morning, it was time to work on the frames. The frame arms get beveled so they fit well against the sides.
I have found it necessary to mark each frame arm Bow Forward (BF) Bow Aft (BA) Aft Aft (AA) and I still have the Aft Forwards (AF) to bevel. It is important to mark which end is the top (T) of the frame arm, too.
The braces - the sticks that go across the boat and hold the frame arms out, are attached at specific distances from the top of the frame arm (which s why we mark the (T)ops, right?)
Positioning the brace on the frame arm - I use a straight edge laid against the beveled part to get it right.
Mark where the brace goes . . . .
Countersink the pilot holes because you are so close to the end of the stick - it splits easy out there.
Glue and screw.
While I was making frames, Curt was marking out where they were going to go and pre-drilling holes for the screws that would hold them in place. The more prep work you do, the easier the build goes.
Another visitor! Mark will be helping with the kids when they get here, and he is an avid kayaker, so I had him try out the Tik-Tak Kayak as well.
He thought it was a hoot. The size and weight really appealed to him.
He was also impressed with the stability.
It even works as a Stand Up Paddle Board! Sort of.
He also liked out Skin-on-Frame canoe, the Yaquina.
Finally, as I was about to give up and go home, we had some visitors. Charlotte came over from Salem with her kids, including Victoria, who is so new she barely has the wrapper off.
Even though I showed Charlotte our infant PFD, she was unwilling to go boating, the rest of the kids, however, piled in to one of the Molyhawks. Rocky, their grandfather, was providing motive power.
Mark, in the Tik-Tak, and I, in the Yaquina, joined them. That's Lonnie Jr. in the front, Rocky on the sweeps, Bella, and in the back are Olivia and her little sister, Stella.
A good day on the water.
We went up the slough, I told them a little bit about Toledo history, and we headed back.
Mark was enjoying the Tik-Tak Kayak.
Back at the Boathouse - the whole family. |
