Evolutions (kayak-y post warning)

Yeah, some of you are already sensing that this is a “kayak-y’ post,,,,  Kinda sorta,,, more that I will be using my home-built kayaks as an example of what one can expect when ‘teaching yourself what you already know, but forgot you knew’ (HT to Richard Bach)

Some of ya already know how the whole process began: I lost a race (took second) to a woman almost 2 decades older than myself.   In my defense, I was in a Rec-boat that had seen better days, was heavy as lead, and was absolutely in over my head in what I was getting into.   I heard about the event just that morning when Da called me to tell me about it.  Showed up and said ‘What the hell, let’s do it’ and had ZERO preparation in training, other than piddling around a lake or river on weekends.

But her boat? Glass layup, slick as ice on the water, and weighed 1/3 of mine.  And she was a retiree that was paddling distance several times a week.    

But it inspired me: little broke me wanted to race.   My brain started doing that “How can I,,,?” that I harp on frequently here, and a twitch of a memory came back to the forefront of my mind.   Amazingly it was that book called “Rascal” that brought it out.  Stirling (Sterling? I forget) built a canoe in the living room of his father’s house (mama passed away prior, never really mentioned,,) and THAT got me thinking I could do the same.  I started researching what to do and came across Christopher Cunninghams’ book on building a Greenland-style kayak.   Lots of “Duh!” moments when put into application, and I don’t think it was just my simple-headed nature, but some failure to communicate in the writing.  His words were dead on IF you knew what he was doing, but when you are wet behind the ears in Skin on Frame builds, quite confusing.    Fortunately, there is another chap that does the same thing and he makes videos: Brain Schultz of Cape Falcon Kayaks…And I have had several email conversations with Brian over time, very knowledgeable and quite willing to share the ‘addiction’,,,,

Since then, I have made 2 1/2 kayaks in total.   (how the heck do you make 1/2 a kayak???).  First was Duh!kee, 15’6″ 21″ beamed, chisel-pointed race boat (that has never been in a race,,,*sigh*). The first to REALLY teach me that I had a shit-ton more to learn, and not just about building them, but using them as well.  She was the reason behind my quest for rolling skills after she dumped me in frigid waters 100 yards from shore in any direction…. Hindsight of the incident, I could have easily pulled that roll IF I had had any lessons on it.   But I digress.

Second was Serena,,, Closer to the Greenland style with Brit influences, desperately needed a skeg/keel addition as she was so heavily rockered as to be near a white water boat in handling.  but 16’10” with a 22″ beam.  She taught me a lot about dynamic water and stability.    

Now the 1/2 boat I built.   Serena had several weak areas and over time some of those broke to the point she was not really water capable anymore.  I pulled her skin intending to ONLY replace the broken parts but somehow used her frame and built a completely different boat. Broader in beam, same length, hybrid style cockpit/deck, full skin bottom, more modern outfitting in the cockpit area, to include a ratchet-style ‘bulkhead’ footrest.   When I started that rebuild, I wanted to make her a bit larger so that B could paddle her as well and that meant more general measurements and adjustable points.   

And somehow, Duh!kee’s design crept back in: chisel-shaped bow cutwater, slightly longer keelson to act as a skeg, NO ROCKER.   

Those evolutions taught me way more about how a kayak will handle BY SHAPE, than years of paddling other people’s builds…. I can look at a boat now and see “She’ll roll” or “She’ll roll, but you’re gonna EARN it” (Looking at you Vizcaya). I can see which boat is going to be fast in line, or which will handle water standing over its head with ease.   I can tell which is gonna be ‘tippy’ and which is going to feel solid even when things are white capping.   I still have a grey area in the designs of the white water boats, but the designs there are ‘feature specific’ and adapted to moving current/dynamic water.  Different animals with different intents.   I can see old skool WW boats and estimate what they can do, but the play boats,,,, Dunno.   Just not enough experience with them to ‘get it’ yet.  (this is kind of why I still love the Perception Pirouette series.  They were based on the 3-meter slalom boats which were adapted from Greenland boats (look at a Greenland in profile, then cut away all the sharp edges and you have a slalom boat.)

And all of this comes down to my current two favorites,,, Blue Jean and Lyssa.   Both are Wilderness Systems boats, but one was designed by Harry Teiken prior.  WS paid him a commission to use the Sealution design and later hired him into the company.   NOW, Lyssa is NOT a sealution, but I can see the shape of the Sealution in her hull.  slightly narrower in beam, but the same length, and that same semi-V shaped hull, that is slightly wider BEHIND the cockpit than the deck is.   That puts the leverage of the boat in the hips, not the knees, and makes her much more responsive without being ‘twitchy’.   It’s not all the boat that makes a boat tippy, the paddler does as well.  A Paddler that grew up in a Valley Nordkapp might find a Sealution to be ‘rather boring’ because they learned to use their knees to keep balance.   The natural movement is to balance at the hip and Harry Teiken intuitively knew it, maybe even knew it overtly, but his design, partly replicated in the Tempest series; uses the hip as the anchor for control.  Some of what I just wrote, I knew, but until I had Lyssa in ‘not flat’ water, I didn’t really internalize it.   If I kept my knees locked into the underside of the deck, she feels ‘uptight’, but if I relax the knee, I can feel the boat in my hip area and things smooth out no matter how not smooth the water is.   This wasn’t as apparent in Harry’s flagship, the Sealution, because the underdeck is so rounded, your knees have nowhere to lock into: she forces you to use your hips. (this is very much like the Greenland boats with ocean cockpits, your thighs can lock into the deck, but not your knees, Same thing applies with the thigh hooks in both Lyssa and BJ.   Lizzy (the nordkapp) has knee hooks in the underdeck, and the hull shape encourages use of the knees for ‘balance’.)

So where does this evolution stop?   Probably never,,, Hopefully so in my opinion.  Currently, I have been thinking about how to build my next boat, using all the different skill sets I have been honing over the last,,, let me count now,,,  1, 2, 3,,,,7 boats I have either built, repaired, restored or just plain updated outfitting in.  Each has taught me more than just ‘kayaking’ by far,   I could cover entire texts with the knowledge they have assisted me in acquiring.   Each from different angles, but all towards design, materials, specific use, and the skills needed, both on and off the water.   WAY too much to list.

But my next boat????   Thinking Serena in hull shape, with the hard chined shape, but using Kevlar as the skin and instead of making a skin on frame boat, using the frame as the ‘plug’ to make the hull and deck forms for a composite version.  Stretch the skin on the frame, impregnate it with the resin, cure, apply 4oz glass to that, then spray the gelcoat on that.  Pull the molded form off, and glass mat inside.   Repeat for the deck, make the bulkheads the same way, and assemble as I would a fully ‘properly’ laid glass composite boat.     I may not be able to get the embedded rigging like Lyssa has going that method, but ‘first time out’, I don’t think I would want to complicate things too much either.   If it works, and I have no reason to see why it wouldn’t, I still have a frame for other ‘molds’ or go full bore and make that SOF boat alongside the glass version.   or take it apart and store it for later.    Doing it that way, I can tweak a ‘plug’ as I figure out “Oh, that didn’t work the way I expected,,,” and not need to make a completely new plug.   The only thing holding me back right now?  That Hole-y Trinity; Time Space and Money.   I am lacking a little bit of all three to do a project of that scale at this stage, and with the costs of things through the damned roof ($40/pt gel coat!!!!) I can buy a used boat cheaper than make one from scratch,,,(hey, I just did that, didn’t I?). Of course, a used boat is someone else’s design, and there is a certain amount of “I did that” involved in building a boat.(or plane, or car, or,,,) that you don’t get by buying outright.  Even building a full skin-on frame currently is gonna run me over $300 for the skin and goop, not including all the wood if I had to buy.  I wouldn’t buy the wood, since I live in the woods and have oodles of white oak at my disposal for the ribs, Coffee tree for the gunnels and chines, but millwork still costs too.

And all of this is just me looking for another distraction from ‘life’ in something that I enjoy doing: Creating things. Doesn’t have to be a boat; those are just my current fascination, like steam engines were not too long ago,,,, At least I am producing something, not being a drain on society, like so many meandering their way through life with no direction and no drive,,, May never have my name in the annals of history, but then, I have never been one for the Limelight or the Fame,,,, I kinda like my anonymity livin’ on a hill in the middle of flippin’ nowhere,,,,