Building
a Nansen Kayak
...not an archaeological dig!
More bamboo-kayak-building photos coming. I've gotten to the
point of attaching the chines. Now, if it would stop
raining.
Oops. Now, if it would warm up some...
Pages of background
with images of the original Nansen Kayak.
The
Great Awk Paddle: bamboo, ply and carbon
fiber
Begin
here...
...end
here.
I was inspired by Marc Pettingill's Widgeon paddle
article in WoodenBoat some months back. Essentially I made
an angled blade and then began shaving the edges until I got
a nice balance. I still haven't shaved both blades,
which probably says something about paddles. I want to try
S-glass as well as carbon cloth. The paddle held up very
well for a season, except for breaking at a place where I
did a dumb stunt when epoxying the bamboo to the blades:
don't make the cut between nodes, make it at a
node.
St
Michaels Sailing Scow: a genuine, 12-foot one-design
sailboat.
About
the Scow: dimensions will be added. As well as new class rules,
since I've pirated administration of the class from whoever had
it before <grin>.
An
AS19 Model
About
Bolger's AS19: has anyone ever built one of these? Is it a
Martha Jane in miniature, a stumpy AS29, or a leeboard Long
Micro? I bought plans because at one point I thought this would
be a nice cruising boat for Chesapeake waters. Now I have other
plans... and other plans.
The
Tacking Proa, or, the Bolger Ama
Saga
These thumbnails will have to do for now, until I get
all the scans organized.
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Ama and Vaka from starboard.
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Beams are 2x2x8-ft scrap. Beams are lashed to ama
and to the canoe with genuine flotsam poly line, of
which there's quite a bit along the Chesapeake shores.
The sail is my Chinese lugsail. The vaka is a Coleman
molded canoe.
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Ama and Vaka from port.
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The oval thing in the canoe is the leeboard. I
tried several different mountings and finally opted
for a simple rope. There is a push-pull tiller
attached to a balanced rudder on the canoe.
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Ama only; bow view.
 The
ama is scaled way down from Phil Bolger's
Tarantula design. It's a simple box-sharpie
hull with some rocker. It's very nearly symmetrical
fore and aft.
Don't ask me why I
built this one, it was a whim.
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The ama is lauan ply with a 1/2-inch ply bottom.
Some bulkheads are blue foam. Chines are fiberglass
taped and epoxied.
At the time this photo was taken the hatch covers
were not in place, in case I wanted to add weight
inside the hull. There are fore and aft airtight
compartments. The aft compartment has a lower deckline
than the fore compartment. I figured a place to stash
stuff made sense.
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The whole banana head-on.
Yes, it's true that the ama has no stem or
sternpost. I couldn't decide what to put there. Still
haven't.
It's interesting to note how well the lashings
worked out. They didn't come loose, and they allowed
lots of flexibility so the ama rode over chop
well.
I also tried split-rail fence rails which I found
washed up on the beach hereabouts. They're a cheap and
easy way to get an ama happening, but I did want the
tack and tape experience.
Has anyone considered "Trex" recycled-plastic
boards? It's waterproof and fairly heavy, almost to
the point of neutral buoyancy. I imagine a sort of
"T"-shaped ama providing weight and some lateral
plane.
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These items
aren't quite ready yet:
Peero
Rigs: Gaff, Lug, Batwing, More
This past summer I quickly cobbled up some more rigs
for the Bolger peero. Self-explanatory photos and drawings
coming sometime... they're tiny and therefore suitable for
almost any boat.
Skinney,
the Sailing Canoe: it's Bolgeresque, but from maybe
1925
Here's a 17-ft, sharpie-hulled sailing canoe. I'm
making a model. I don't think you could find a simpler sailing
canoe design. By Chester Nedwidek, from MoToR Boating.
Deadfall
Cedar, Ash and Locust: I Collect Tree Parts
This is what I make cleats from. I've made cleats
completely freehand (saw, chisels, drawknife, rasps) and with
the assistance of bandsaw and sander. I've expanded my horizons
to include woods like Paulownia and Osage Orange.
The
Butler
Cleat: a Jam Cleat for
Canoes
Just what you wanted: a historical essay on cleats...
now featured on the Cleats Page.
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Couple
Hifalutin
Paragraphs.
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Caption.
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