(Entry 12) Now isn't that a sexy thing?

I guess I managed to get a lot of work done over the last few days.  Now she is Dacron covered and ready for sealer (Varnish).  I'm very impressed with the way it has turned out, my only hope is that I enjoy paddling it around.  After seeing the skin on the frame today, I have no doubt she'll float, instead I find myself asking...Will she track straight in the water?  Will she be tippy?  How long will she last?  Either way, I'm very happy to have made it this far with only minor errors (mostly from lack of experience/knowledge), and I think I can live with that.

There are two things I need to do and I'll be floating around on the lake, errr, make that three.  I need to coat the boat with Varnish/Clear Coat, about 5 coats (or more).  I need to attach the rub rails to the outside of the gunwale, it will prevent damage to the side of the boat from the paddle (hence the name, rub rail), it will also help hold the covering of Dacron on.  And, last but not least, I need to make a frikken' paddle. Why not just buy one?  

Why not have just bough the entire canoe?  It is for the experience, and to say that I've made a canoe and a paddle with my bare hands (and some tools, lol).

I'm planning on making a Greenland style kayak paddle.  I know what you're thinking, "It's not a kayak Brad, it's a canoe".  Indeed you are correct, but it is so low to the water, narrow, and I will be either sitting on the floor or kneeling, and that makes it enough like a kayak for me.  It seems like a simple enough process to make a paddle, making an efficient paddle that holds up to the abuse is another story all together.  I will include a picture of the Greenland style kayak paddle at the end of this post, and you can come back later and see how mine turned out compared to a pro's.    

Well, as you can see, you can see through the boat.  It is a very light fabric, and it is so taut, it's almost like I made a drum (and actually sounds like it too).  Check out those nice floor boards (above), they are made of the spruce I originally cut for the longitudinal members/stringers for the boat.  I was actually too cheap to go out and buy the proper wood, I just recycled the lumber I was originally going to use (plus it is hard to get a 16 foot piece of wood home in a Honda Civic).

So, if I get energetic enough to coat her with Varnish tomorrow and install the rub rails, maybe by the weekend I'll have her on the maiden voyage.

Okay, here is the picture of a Greenland style kayak paddle.  This one looks like it is made of two different types of wood with tip protectors of some kind.  I can assure you, my paddle will be only ONE kind of wood, and it won't have any such tip protection...So we'll see how horrible mine turns out.

I've also decided to steal this little gem of a picture.  This is the next boat I plan on building, it is a Greenland Style kayak.  Most of these kayaks that I've seen pictures of weigh in at about 30-40 pounds.  They use a very heavy cotton skin (more protection, but more weight also), and very thick longitudinal stingers.  I'd like to try and give it a redesign by reducing the size and thickness of the stringers, and by using Dacron instead of the heavy material they typically use to build them.

At any rate, we'll have to wait and see!

Thanks for reading.  See you for the last post soon, will she float?