Splashing About In The Pool

This is not a series of thoughts about hitting the local pool in winter to learn new skills but rather spending time splashing about in the pool of learning and the feeling that you are slipping under. At the end of this note I will get back around to boats and building them, please bear with me as I wander in that direction.

Last year just as I was thinking about having the web site updated, the company that looked after my site folded and they did a good job of making sure the site stayed up and transferring it to a new host. The issues that arose where from the fact that the original company not only hosted the site, but looked after its content based on the information I supplied them in order to update it. The issues only came to light after a summer of designing and building new models preparing the plans, writing new content, and then contacting the new host to be told that they don’t look after content, just hosting.

Back to the pool, it’s at times like that where you suddenly realize that all the work you have put in, making you think that you were headed somewhere, was illusory. It turns out that in fact you where treading water, suspended, going nowhere, working hard but not making any progress.

The good thing about this was it gave me more reason to rethink the site and how it works. Over the years the site has been in existence one thing I always wanted was for it to be more responsive, to be able to alter it without having to write the content then pass it along and wait till it was my turn to have the updates installed. I also wanted it to be more user friendly, with our association with Noah’s you needed to get off my site and go to theirs to place a kit order, not real convenient.

With the new site the idea is to link each of the boats to the appropriate page on their site so you simply click the link and go directly to the page that contains the ordering information on their site. This should make it seem to be essentially one big site where everything you need is just a click away. To achieve this I decided to build the site with new content myself, this would leave me with all the files and the ability to modify the site in a timelier manner. 

What makes this possible is the use of a WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) site builder which means you do not need to be able to write computer code to build your site but for the most part you simply type in what you want. This by the way only works to a certain extent as you need at times when using things like Pay Pal or links to other sites to insert their code into your site to make them functional. Even this simple method of building a site at times has left me feeling like I was back in the pool, definitively in the deep end and floundering badly. I am sure the company that hosts the site must have when answering some of my newbie questions wondered how I even managed to turn the computer on in the morning.

Writing this has led me to think about the boats, their plan sets their construction and how easy it is to assume things which can leave others floundering. One of the things I noticed while going through this process was how in all our fields we tend to forget that those who are learning and those with no or limited exposure to what it is we do have no idea what some of the terminology and short forms we tend to use mean.

I guess what I am really trying to say is this dip in the pool has not been a bad thing, besides the expansion of my understanding of the electronic world, I will try to keep in mind what this experience has been like when plan sets are put together. If you are building from our plans and you think I am assuming knowledge you don’t have send us a note, it will make not only the process easier for you it may help clarify things for someone else down the road.

Massasauga 12

The Massasauga 12 is a hybrid design in that it has a stitch and glue type hull with a single chine and a cedar strip deck. The boat has more beam than many of our other designs of this length to allow for more capacity to help more paddlers fit the deck has more camber than the boats with a plywood deck. The shorter length allows more versatility when it comes to storage but with enough capacity to allow for short trips.

The hull is constructed using the boats bulkheads to help form the hull shape while the panels are stitched and glued together, the hull with the bulkheads is then used a mold for the construction of the deck. The use of a cedar strip deck allows for more individuality in the construction of the boat as well as being a simple method to increase the leg room in the cockpit of the boat. This method of construction also allows you to build a boat that is a little more special than an all plywood model.

The capacity listed on the flyer is as noted at the 3” (75mm) waterline, which is the waterline shown in the sections behind the boats data. As is our practice included in the data is the PPI number which is the pounds per inch immersion which is the weight required to sink the boat one inch deeper in the water from the designed waterline this will give you an idea of what will happen with the boat when you load it with gear and if you are a heavier or lighter than the capacity listed.

Vuntut 12

Over the past year we have developed five new boat models the first of which was the Vuntut 12 which is a pack canoe designed to be propelled by a double paddle. As soon as it was launched it proved to be a great boat to paddle with the result that it was my choice of boat over the summer, that is until someone else came to the same conclusion and as a result the prototype was sold before the summer was over.

The name of the boat is a Gwitchin word that means among the lakes which seemed very appropriate for a boat made to journey. The boat has enough capacity to allow most paddlers to head out with a pack and allow them to get away from it all.

The boat is constructed using cedar strips over molds placed on a strong back with a laminated stem and stern.

There are a number of options when it comes to glassing the boat, the standard option is to build it using a 6 oz. exterior cloth and a 4 oz interior cloth sheathing, the second option is 6 oz. both inside and out.  The third option is to use the same build as the prototype which was 6 oz. carbon twill inside and 6 oz e-glass outside, the first option listed comes standard with the kit. The carbon was done as an experiment rather than a necessity as a test looking forward to other possible lighter builds in the future.

One of the great advantages of a pack canoe is portability, when portaging this canoe during its trials I could simply put the boat over my shoulder my pack on my back and set out down the trail.

For plans, or complete boats contact us and for kits you can contact either us or Noah’s Marine.

At the present time we have begun the build of a 10’ version of the canoe.

A Toy Story

I have been thinking more about my chosen field and how it operates; much of this has come about as a result of looking at ‘green’ or environmentally friendly ways of boat building. I will begin by saying that I have no illusions about the importance of what I do, when asked what I do sometimes my response is that I design and build toys, because that is what I do. It does not matter if the boat is eight feet long or three hundred and eight if it is not a working boat it is a toy, this fact is important when you look at the idea of green boats. In a forum that I check in on regularly someone recently commented that the only truly green boat is one that you do not build, since it is only a toy and therefore there is no real imperative reason to build one.

Every time I see an article about the latest mega yacht being built and the efforts taken to make the project ‘green’ I have to chuckle. Beyond the fact that the boat or yacht is for pleasure only and therefore a toy, once the vessel has reached the point where it will do its job and hold the people it was designed to carry the rest is excess and can’t possibly be ‘green’, it exists only because it can be afforded by the owner. Many of these mega boats where designed with the capability to cross oceans, if they do a crossing it will likely do so only with a small crew on board with the owner joining it when it reaches its destination, meaning in the end it is only a floating hotel. Some do not even do that much and are shipped across oceans as deck cargo or in a ship designed for the purpose, yes they do exist.

This does not let the rest of us off the hook, in Canada we celebrate a small boat, the canoe but the canoe we celebrate is not the toy we use today but a workhorse designed to convey people and goods from one place to another in a world without roads. The footprint for an individual canoe may not be as large as mega yacht, but with the numbers of them out there they still leave a sizable footprint on our world. This really rings true when you consider the number of them wasting away in backyards or serving as a planter in a garden.

The previous paragraph does not mean that I have come to believe that we need to take up our place on the couch and remain there. We do need to get outside it is good for the body, the soul and helps form or should, a connection with the world we live in which is good for all.

It does mean that no matter how careful we are, manufacturing the craft we use requires resources, as do the trails that we find in the many parks that allow us access but we often give little thought to. These are maintained by someone who may have been flown in to do so that is also our footprint, as are the trees cut to make that trail. Our fascination with light weight gear is also a place where there is little green involved (except for that which we part with to purchase it) many light weight fibers are the result of the use modern high-tech production and research methods.

This does not mean that I am giving up on boats and the outdoors, I love being on the water and helping others get out there in boats they have built, and I will continue to research ‘green’ materials. What it does mean is that I don’t want to fool myself by thinking what I do is ‘green’ but I do want to make sure that what I do is done using materials that do the job as efficiently as possible and are as far as possible made of materials that are sustainable. Even that last statement I know could lead to a discussion on what is meant by efficiency.

Keep getting outside just remember, as you look around and enjoy the world in which you travel to look behind to consider the footprint you have left, it is there no matter how lightly you tread.

Tribute to the Source

I recently reread a book that I go back to from time to time and always enjoy called ‘A Tribute to the Source’ it is naturally about Robert Frost and is a collection of his poetry interspersed with short biographical essay’s. The book has of course nothing to do with boats or boat building but as this weekend I have been perusing a few of the books that I find myself going through and studying boats that worked well in the past and how they fit the purpose for which they where designed and how those goals where met.

You may wonder why in this age of computers, 3d modelling and performance prediction programs why I would do this. In my office in addition to the computers, printers and plotters there is the library you would expect containing volumes on yacht design, interior design, aero-hydrodynamics, boat building in wood (using traditional and modern methods), steel and aluminium, as well as various building standards. So why go seemingly backwards?

 The answer is simple these boats did their jobs well, are the product of years study, and day to day use by those who owned and often built them. Did you ever ask yourself why so many canoe builders turn out a Peterborough or similar model canoe, the materials may change but the hull shape works, it does what you want a canoe to do and it does it well. Last week I talked with a gentleman at the show we were attending and he commented on how his canvas cedar boat was a bear to get to the water due to its weight, but once it was on the water the story changed, there was nothing else he would rather paddle. Why? Because once in the water the boat could do what it was designed to do and do well, be paddled. I have a Peterborough drawn in my computer but have no intention of marketing it, it serves as a baseline a known quantity that works to which I can compare other hulls , a way to build on and compare with something that I know works well.

This does not mean that I have no use for new methods and technology some of my favourite boats are those that walk the cutting edge, like the monster multihulls, the IMOCA monohulls boats sailed for records and profit by men and women whose skill and courage you can only admire. I have followed these boats for years and as they have evolved you can clearly see how each generation of boat stands on the shoulders of those that came before, how the experience gained has informed the designs of today.

As I go back to my books and consider not which I would copy but which of the designs I am studying can be adapted to modern building methods and in particular which of the old school easily driven hull shapes would lend itself to electric power. Just which hull shape will give a smooth quiet ride with little power while serving as an aesthetic feast for the eyes while it glides across a lake on a sunny summer afternoon?

 I give thanks today for those who have come before and have shared with us their passion, and its product. Today in particular my thank you is to Pete Culler, John Gardner and to those who inspired you.

Weigh In and Ask

This past weekend we where showing our boats at a small local show and the most frequent questions have to do boat capacity. As I am getting ready for another show in just over a week and am beginning to make preparations I am giving this some more thought, as I want my signage to give as much clear information as possible. I have in the past done research to see what others are doing and thought I would take another look and see what they are doing now.

The first thing to know is that nowhere is it written that there is a particular way in which this determination must be made and the first thing that came up when doing an on-line search was this article http://www.kayakfishmag.com/features/kayak-weight-capacity/ seven companies, seven methods some even telling you they then either fudge and or real world test.

My method is to use the ABYC* standard, though even it can be used in different ways, depending on a decks camber and whether or not a boat is measured at the sheer (the point where the hull and deck meet) or just before water can get in at the hatches. I use the lowest point of the sheer line and sink the boat to this point in the computer then use this number in a spread sheet that is based on the ABYC* standard and use this for the basis of my capacity number. The ABYC* standard also works the weight of the boat into the formula so my capacity number is above the weight of the boat.

What this means is if a boat says its capacity is 175 pounds it is not going to sink at 176 at 200 you will not likely feel much difference in its handling. This number will tell you in the case of my boats that if you weigh in at 190 and you want to haul a weeks worth of gear you probably have the wrong boat for the job. You also need to take a look at the boat and use a touch of common sense our Little Lake 10 has a listed capacity of 148 and looking at the distance between the waterline and the deck in the pictures and knowing that the boat will only sink one inch for every 58 pounds that at two hundred pounds you could paddle it. Really! It’s a ten foot boat with a 22.5 inch beam you would likely have to break a part of you that would result in some serious pain/injury to enter the boat and once in may not be able to leave. You’ve seen those comedy sketches of the guy stuck in the chair right?

When you see us at shows contained in the information on the boats displayed is something called the PPI this is pounds per inch immersion this is the amount of weight that it will take to sink the boat one inch. If you then take our capacity as your guide and you like the boat but weigh a few more pounds then the capacity it does not mean the boat will not suit you. It will depend on the use the boat will see if you are going to day paddle only it is not likely to matter, if you are going to make extended trips and carry your gear it may.

So keep asking, and for fun the next time you are in a big box or even a sporting goods store and the salesperson comes over to ask if they can help tell them you where  just wondering what the PPI number was on the kayak your looking at and what method was used to calculate the capacity.

Keep in mind when you shop that how the capacity number was arrived at and what it represents matters, if it is the max the boat was designed to handle the exceeding it is risky if it is a max with fudge factor then there is room to play. Also be mindful of how much gear you plan to add, kayak fisherman in particular are real good at the just one more toy trick, the problem is all the toys add weight and often up high on the boat where it is least needed.

* ABYC- American Boat and Yacht Council they set various voluntary standards for the marine industry and though there name says American they cab often be found in the Canadian standards cited as a reference.More often than not the methods are the same in Canada and the US as  more and more effort is put into harmonizing the standards.

Bow Wow

Since the recent introduction of our paddle boards there have been many questions about how we make them look the way they do with the patterns. The technique that we use is not new and is relatively simple when I worked building fibreglass boats we used a similar technique to finish the decks on a number of small sailboats.

The patterns on the deck are not the result of great artistry or a custom made decal as some have speculated but is simply the careful application of a layer of fabric to the sheathing that covers the forward deck of the paddle board.

Step one is a trip to your local fabric store to peruse the various fabrics that they have in stock, guy’s this is a great way to fell like a fish out of water and to get more than a few questioning looks as you will most likely be the only male in the store. My most recent trip coincided with a sale so the shop was full of bargain hunting women rather than the one or two that have been there on any other occasion when I was looking for material, for cockpit covers (rip stop nylon).

What you are looking for is a pattern you like that is available in cotton, quality is not really a problem as and fabrics with a lower thread cont will actually make wet out easier. Test a small section to be sure that the colour will no be a problem with the epoxy, this has yet to happen but I’ rather be safe then sorry. When you get the fabric home iron it to get rid of the crease that will be in the fabric from the roll.

Cut the fabric about an inch smaller that the deck as smoothly and cleanly as you can. With the fabric in place I use tape to outline its position on the deck then roll about half the fabric back exposing the deck and then wetting out the deck with epoxy and laying the rolled up section of fabric back into the resin. Roll up the other half of the fabric then wet out the rest of the deck and apply the fabric, remove the tape from the deck and cover it with the fibreglass sheathing.

Wet out the sheathing and use a squeegee to force the air out of the fabric and the glass sheathing, proceed as you would for any other epoxy sheathing job adding a couple more thin coats of epoxy to fill the glass cloth’s weave.

The deck is then varnished as with any other bright finished wood project and once the several coats of varnish which you have applied are cured then the edges of the fabric if not perfectly cut or if they have threads showing can be cleaned up. This is done by the simple application of pin stripes which are available from most automotive supply stores. 

That in a nutshell as they say is pretty much all there is to it.