Manual is now in print

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Kudzu

Been working on this for a few weeks. Our assembly manual is now in a printed and bound book. No more CD’s!

I much prefer anything technical to be on paper than the in digital format. After publishing my book and learning the ins and outs of publishing a book I decided to print the assembly manual. I wanted to make some updates and tweak it a little bit. That has taken a little while.

I just placed the order for the first copies. Starting around February 1 if you order a kit or a plans you will now get the printed manual instead of a CD with the manual on it.

Makin’ Waves

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Kudzu

Something new is in the shop. With Shad finished I have decided it is time to tackle what i suspect will be a big project.

Who am I kidding? This is a really big project! I am about to start the restoration of Makin’ Waves. She is a 1962 Chris Craft Sea Skiff that I have owned for over 20 years. I did a cosmetic restoration on her once before. Due to improper storage she developed a leak, a bad leak and was hauled out.

I was afraid to send it to the shop because money was tight and you never know what it is going to cost till you get the boat apart. Then you are committed. So it has been in under cover for several years.

Now I have the skill and most importantly I have the space. So I have pulled in the shop and this will be my next big project.

Shad is finished and photographed

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Kudzu

A few photos from the second time out with Shad. Foggy and rainy but a great day to do some photography. Just posting a few here.

My buddy Phil out on Short Creek. Further down the river I gave him my camera and asked him to snap away. Gave me a chance to see my boat on the water.

I need to paint my logos on there and this one is done!

Launching day finally!

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Kudzu

I finally got to take SHAD out and I love it! After just a couple of minutes I found myself paddling, concentrating on my photography instead of the boat. It was like putting on an old pair of slippers, You don’t think about them, you just put them on and go about your business and that is exactly what I did.

I found SHAD a little smaller than most of my boats. I straddle the boat in the water, park my butt in the seat and then pull in one foot then the other. Because it is a little lower volume I could still do this but I had to lean back a little to get my leg in. It rubbed against the frame under coaming. I could get in without risk of getting stuck, it was just lower and that makes it a little tighter to get in. That was a surprise but that was the only one. I found it comfortable, easy to turn and tracks really well.

I was expecting really hard tracking but a little lean and it started to turn slowly. A lean and a little paddle stroke and it would go where ever I wanted.Just really impressed. This may become my other go-to boat. I still Long Shot better, but she is a close second.

Here is some photos from the paddle.BTW, at the end of the paddle I took several of her on the water and shore….. but I forgot to check the lens and there were big water drops that ruined the photos. So I will have to take some more. Gives me an excuse to go paddling again.

: My audience for the launching

: Late arrivers comeing to see the launching.

: Nothing here to see, move on.

: Blue heron looking for his lunch

: As Buzz Lightyear would say…”To infinity and beyond!”

: Kiwanas fishing pier

: After 30+ minutes of paddlign toward the traffic, the bridge appears out of the fog.

: And the fog just starts to dissapear!

: A different perspective of the bridges

: Just as suddenly the fog starts to roll in on me. Time to turn around.

: The Islands soon dissapeared from view

Finished!

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Kudzu

Rigged up and ready to head to the water in the morning (hopefully). I have some toggle handles made and ran out of paint so I left them off for now. Here are the photos. Enjoy!

Kudzu Craft nuclear green

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Kudzu

I got my green! Well not exactly but this is pretty close. A tad yellower than I had in mind but it is as close as I can get. After all searching I found this at of all places my local Ace Hardware. The paint stores couldn’t mix it but the hardware store can? Really? Well if the quality of the paint is there, they have my business.

Anyway, check it out. It’s not finished but it’s close. Look at those lines, even if I do say so that is a good-looking boat. Now if it just paddles as good as it looks.

Now, with these you can see why I call it Nuclear Green, I think it may glow in the dark! Anxious to get the rigging on the boat, that will help by breaking up all that green. So stayed tuned!

New Years Day paddle

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Kudzu

Meet up with some friends for a News Years day paddle. Wind was wild today! As we ate breakfast we decided the Beech Creek would be the best choice and provide some shelter from the wind. Still there were times it was liking paddling against a wall. You arms were moving but you were not going anywhere!

: Everyone must take photos as you leave the ramp. It’s a requirement!

: Gulls, Gulls, everywhere Gulls. They like to gather int he shallows at the head of the lake.

: The entrance to Browns Creek.

: Phil, ex Jar Head, commando and master of disguise.

: Dead end. Another victim of one of the many storm we had last years blocks our way.

: Turning around and returning.

: When your draft exceeds the waters depth you are most assuredly aground.

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Kudzu

Finished the sewing and ready for a coat of paint. Should have her on the water by end of the week.

Shad part II – stitching it up

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Kudzu

Frame is finished and now it has the lines I was looking for. Now just to finish it and spend some time in the water with it.

Here it the obligatory FrOG (Frame On Grass) photo. You know if you build one you have to post the FrOG photo! You can see this is lower profile boat. It’s not small by Greenland standards but it is a pretty low profile boat, but still should have plenty of room inside.

The last roll of polyester I received had a lot of creases and some dirt along the edges of the first few feet. Even though the creases will come out and dirt stains would be cut off I wouldn’t sell it to anyone so I cut off a long piece and saved if for this project.

Here I am sewing the bow end on the boat.

After about an hours work I have one end of the boat sewn. I have been working on my technique and I have no pull holes so far. I realized that I was sewing the skin on too tight and that is why I still get a few pull holes. This time I sewed it on a little looser and not a single pull hole! Keep that in mind when sewing yours. It’s going to make finishing easier and it will look better too.

The finished bow. I had to quit for the day at this point. I expect to finish sewing and shrink the skin tomorrow. I like to think I will start painting but I amt setting the goal a little high I think.

Shad part II

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Kudzu

With the hand tool cabinet finished I started to strip Shad naked. Once I had the skin off and started looking over the frame I discovered some other issues with the frame. None serious but all put together this would have not been a good paddling boat.

Once I put the strong back on the stands I noticed it had developed a twist in it. No way can you build a good boat on a bad foundation and that is exactly what your strong back is. A foundation. I decided it was time to try another style strong back I had been thinking about for a while now. But more on that in another post.

I cut the lashings at the bow and stern ends and removed the frames I suspected. I starting with the bow, with the gunwales loose I played around a bit and I could see I was onto something. I recut the frames, installed them on the boat and clamped the gunwales in place . The curve I wanted was there!

Here it is lashed in place. If you look close at this photo and compare it to the previous ones you will see a very big difference in the sheer line. The Gunwales are not forced into shape either, so there should be no tendency for the boat to deform once it comes off the strong back.

While not lashed in place you can see the sweep the stern if you look at the gunwale. A big improvement over the first attempt. Not as dramatic as the bow but still very much a Greenland look.

I am tired and I am busy with work so it will be a couple of days before I get this one finished but I am hoping to skin it over the weekend. I found my green paint I think, so this time around maybe I will get what I really wanted!