Finally began construction of my first ‘strip-plank’ kayak. I purchased the plans from an online site at the beginning of the year while offshore in the Indian Ocean, as a project for whenever I returned home; so it only seems fitting now that I’m stranded in the central valley for an undefined length of time, that I get started on stripping (the wood planks that is). I’ve chosen to use a lighter cut of Western Red Cedar and a darker cut of pink Redwood for the ¼ inch thick strips. It took me a full day to rip and plane the ¾ inch boards, with another full day to glue and cut out the paper forms from a sheet of plywood and mount them in almost perfect alignment on a 16 foot two by four. In total this hand crafted sea faring kayak will be 19 feet in length from stem to stern, with soft chines and a relatively flat bottom. I finished the first two full length strips this evening, with another 100+ to go. Not to mention the faring, sanding, fiber glassing and outfitting… but we won’t think about that right now. The projects turned out a life lesson already, take everything one day at a time. 
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Let the Time Pass
Six emails expressing my interest in volunteer and field tech positions for seabird research across the globe, from Florida to Hawaii, have been submitted with cover letters and resumes attached. Now all that’s left to do is wait and enjoy the free time.
Finally began construction of my first ‘strip-plank’ kayak. I purchased the plans from an online site at the beginning of the year while offshore in the Indian Ocean, as a project for whenever I returned home; so it only seems fitting now that I’m stranded in the central valley for an undefined length of time, that I get started on stripping (the wood planks that is). I’ve chosen to use a lighter cut of Western Red Cedar and a darker cut of pink Redwood for the ¼ inch thick strips. It took me a full day to rip and plane the ¾ inch boards, with another full day to glue and cut out the paper forms from a sheet of plywood and mount them in almost perfect alignment on a 16 foot two by four. In total this hand crafted sea faring kayak will be 19 feet in length from stem to stern, with soft chines and a relatively flat bottom. I finished the first two full length strips this evening, with another 100+ to go. Not to mention the faring, sanding, fiber glassing and outfitting… but we won’t think about that right now. The projects turned out a life lesson already, take everything one day at a time.
Before I glue strip number three down however, I’m taking a side trip with a good friend Rachel and my trusty companion Reef to Colorado, to visit another good friend from college Kelly and her boyfriend Matt. Along the way we plan to meet up with another good friend Esa (an ex girlfriend of mine none the less) with her boyfriend Saylor and camp somewhere outside of Vegas the first night, before driving a likely white and slippery highway 70 through Utah to Denver, and 25 up to Fort Collins, on the following day (assuming all the passes stay open). Kelly reports it was nine degrees at her house yesterday, so I made sure to pack the ear muffs, and chains of course. No need for an ‘esky’ to keep the beer chilled on this trip, I’m not in Australia anymore.
Finally began construction of my first ‘strip-plank’ kayak. I purchased the plans from an online site at the beginning of the year while offshore in the Indian Ocean, as a project for whenever I returned home; so it only seems fitting now that I’m stranded in the central valley for an undefined length of time, that I get started on stripping (the wood planks that is). I’ve chosen to use a lighter cut of Western Red Cedar and a darker cut of pink Redwood for the ¼ inch thick strips. It took me a full day to rip and plane the ¾ inch boards, with another full day to glue and cut out the paper forms from a sheet of plywood and mount them in almost perfect alignment on a 16 foot two by four. In total this hand crafted sea faring kayak will be 19 feet in length from stem to stern, with soft chines and a relatively flat bottom. I finished the first two full length strips this evening, with another 100+ to go. Not to mention the faring, sanding, fiber glassing and outfitting… but we won’t think about that right now. The projects turned out a life lesson already, take everything one day at a time. 
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment