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James

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Maker,mender,woodworker.

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Bloggers post some photos and comments about their progress each time they work on their boats, along with an initial paddling impression and another one 6 months later. In exchange, they receive a partial refund on their plans or building course.

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This was a nice email to wake up to: . “I have b

This was a nice email to wake up to:
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“I have been meaning to do this for a while - I just wanted to express my appreciation for this wonderful design of the F1 and the seamless build experience from your videos and personal availability. It is a rare product where over the course of time you get a greater and greater sense of satisfaction. That has been my experience with this boat. Each trip brings more satisfaction with the performance and paddling pleasure. I have had the boat on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, in the Gulf Islands and twice in the Discovery Islands on multi day trips (the last one was 5 days/ 4 nights). This Sunday I paddled the West Vancouver shoreline and had a Humpback whale surface within @ 50 m of the boat.
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So, thank you again - I know just a little of the thought and effort that you put into prototyping your boats. You completely hit the nail on the head with the F1 design. I would not change a thing. -Mike”
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#seakayaking #skinonframekayak #seakayak

Actual quote from this paddle: “We probably shou

Actual quote from this paddle: “We probably should have learned how to paddle the canoe before filming ourselves doing it.”. The reality is we’ve done almost all of our canoeing in solos, which limits my tandem experience to Boy Scouts and Liz’s to none. I wish I had an audio recorder running the entire time on this paddle….
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Anyway, this is what the latest pedal drive prototype looks like with all the pedal stuff stripped off. Just a simple small canoe good for day trips, or potentially a large solo with a lot of cargo capacity. Personally, I’m not a big fan of compromise boats like this because it’s easy to create a canoe that doesn’t do anything well. (the compromise, being solo and tandem ability not pedal drive and paddle. Going forward I think I’m firmly in the camp that a solo should be a solo and a tandem should be a tandem. It’s nice and light though and a good size for minimalist flatwater exploring. The nice thing about our system though is all you have to do is change a couple numbers and you can make the canoe bigger or smaller. Looking forward to building a bigger one in the spring. Song is the History of My Heart by Headland.
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#canoeing #peace #smallboats #skinonframecanoe

Here’s our basic setup for doing studio work: I

Here’s our basic setup for doing studio work: I like this song because it’s simple, sturdy, and gets the job done. All this hardware has a lot of battle scars it this point, but it just keeps working with my most important requirements.
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#videography #instructionalvideo

Every year for about a week around the equinox, th

Every year for about a week around the equinox, the sun beams into the studio early in the morning. It’s a nice thing to wake up to.
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#accidentalart

Here we are transforming the pedal drive canoe bac

Here we are transforming the pedal drive canoe back into an ordinary canoe. The finished results ends up about 3 pounds heavier than the same canoe without pedal drive capability, which isn’t too bad. In the original prototype all these parts collectively weighed about 5 pounds more, so we’re definitely making progress.
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#prototype #pedal #paddling #skinonframecanoe

Some thoughts on using the latest solo/tandem peda

Some thoughts on using the latest solo/tandem pedal drive canoe prototype in solo mode: I love paddling/pedaling this boat! I was afraid that the pedal drive would steal some of the magic of normal canoeing, but it turns out that it’s just a different flavor of addictive. With no paddle tipping in the water it’s super quiet, and using the largest muscles in your body, speed is trivially easy to maintain.
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Weaving through narrow channels with the rudder takes more knack than you’d think and it’s fun to use the the canoe paddle at the same time for extra tight maneuvers.
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Just like I mentioned a few days ago, the solo tandem compromise makes this a little small for a tandem, it’s also a little too big for a solo! This is just the nature of compromise boats, and that’s why I normally don’t build them! The solo tandem compromise also causes it to trim a little bit stern heavy. Personally, I’m OK with that because it’s not hard to add a little weight upfront when needed. I am going to need to add a slightly bigger rudder, however, to keep it under control in the wind. Most of these issues would disappear just building this as a properly sized solo canoe.
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Right now we are working hard to create plans and videos for how to build this, and we will probably release it as an add-on to our normal canoe building course.
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Video taken with the @skydiohq drone, song is A fool in Chains by Headlund.
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#canoeing #pedalpower #skinonframe #prototype #paddling

I’m doing an experiment this month where I’m g

I’m doing an experiment this month where I’m going to be sharing some parts of our job that you don’t normally see here on Instagram. Let me know what you think, and if there’s anything specifically that you’re interested in seeing or learning about?
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#videography #contentcreator #behindthescenes #burnout

The audio from this clip is quite entertaining, bu

The audio from this clip is quite entertaining, but despite two very frustrating hours of trying I just can’t get it to upload.
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This was our first time at this particular lake, and we were not aware of the remnants of an old dam just below the surface. The pedal drive fins kick up but that still leaves about an inch and a half of the drive sticking downwards from the bottom of the canoe. Even then it’s usually not a problem unless the surface that you hit is perfectly vertical. (for example, it will ride over a log or at least the impact will be spread out over a longer time) in this case we basically took a direct hit which is not an insignificant amount of force when you consider the momentum of 350 pounds moving forward and then coming to an instant stop. I can’t say what would happen if you were moving at 5 mph with a full camping load but the fact that the drive and the boat handled this impact and suffered no damage is a good sign.
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#directhit #destructivetesting

I’ll definitely get more and better footage of t

I’ll definitely get more and better footage of this later but I just wanted to share a quick clip showing how the Hobie Mirage Drive works and what happens when it hits submerged obstacles. This is of course the kick up version, it’s more expensive, but I wouldn’t even consider not purchasing this style. I would have broken my boat or my drive five times over by now.
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#pedalporn #canoedesign #paddling #prototyping

A cool feature of the new tandem pedal drive canoe

A cool feature of the new tandem pedal drive canoe is that it can be pedaled from either seat if used in conjunction with a reversible Mirage drive. Here I’m pedaling in reverse (Liz is facing forward and steering with the rudder) then I pull the Forward lever and Liz pulls the drive and flips it around to take over. It only takes one paddler, slightly more than mild effort to keep the canoe going at a quick cruising speed, so with the ability to switch out one person can rest and also perform tasks like making food or navigating. I imagine you could cover a lot of distance this way easily.
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#canoe #pedal #smallboats #prototype

First trip in the new pedal drive prototype was ex

First trip in the new pedal drive prototype was exceedingly pleasant, if not quite perfect. Just a recap of yesterday’s post, this new version is 33” wide and 15’6” long and can be used as a day trip tandem for lighter paddlers, or a solo capable of carrying quite a bit of weight. I designed it to sit on a 4 inch waterline with 300 pounds on board, but it’s actually sitting at 4 1/2 inches which pushes the flood level on the Drive box 1/2 inch higher than I’d like.
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I always knew this was a risk, but I deliberately undersized both this, and the previous prototype to understand exactly where the lower size limits are, so I can give accurate sizing recommendations in the plans we are developing.
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Our system will let you build any size canoe you want so getting this right it’s just a matter of changing the size to match the intended load. This same Canoe 1 inch wider should be about perfect for 300 pounds and 2 inches wider and a foot longer should get us up to about 400. It’s important to get this right because the box should not spill water inside the canoe until the canoe reaches an angle of heel where you’re already tipping over anyway. Raising the height of the box isn’t really an option because it wouldn’t allow the reverse to function or give enough heel clearance for people with larger feet.
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The position of the drive relative to the paddler position it’s a little close for people with longer legs, so I will keep that in mind for the next version. (Seat on this is higher than the last which changed to geometry).
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The seats are set up to face each other, which I really enjoy for the ability to interact and also pass things back-and-forth easily, but the bow paddler can also remove the back rest to face the opposite direction to use the boat like a normal canoe.
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Speed, glide, and maneuverability are all excellent and the steering system works flawlessly. It’s an absolute pleasure to be in and I was jealous of Liz in the drivers seat. I’ll let you know how it works as a solo tomorrow.
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#canoeing #canoedesign #skinonframe #paddling #pedalpowered

The second Pedal Drive Canoe prototype is finally

The second Pedal Drive Canoe prototype is finally finished. You haven’t seen much of this canoe yet because I had to choose between documenting the build for social media and actually creating the video course for how to build it. I really want to push this design over the line this year so I decided on the latter.
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This time we decided to go with a small tandem that can also be used solo. Just like with the solo prototype I built this tandem as small as I dared because I need to know where the lower limits are, and I know that if it will work at this size, it will work at any size.
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The actual finished width is 33 inches wide but it started 34 before I pulled in a little tumblehome. Now we test…
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#canoebuilding #skinonframe #smallboats #prototype #boatdesign

Check out this lovely video of @lucy_an_j using ou

Check out this lovely video of @lucy_an_j using our pop-up sail system on a solo canoe built from our plans. Our building system will let you build a Canoe in any size you want, Jason decided to go a little small on this one but if he’s happy, I’m happy. I’ll let him describe it in his own words:
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“I’ve been hobby wood worker for 40 years making everything from furniture to scroll sawn wooden gear clocks, woodturning ect. I’ve never been as satisfied or excited as I am with this canoe and your course. Wooden boats have been my only focus for the past 3 years. During this time I also built two stitch and glue canoes and a paddle board with plans from Chesapeake light craft, and a strip built paddle board. I’ll probably never make anything other than skin on frame again! The boat is 30” wide 14’2” long and 28 lbs. I’m 220 lbs. and my dog lucy is 50 lbs. Fits us fine but planning on building another one a bit bigger. Thank you for all the information you offer and continued work you do!”
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#canoedog #canoeing #canoesailing #canoebuilding #skinonframe

One of the many cool things about a Greenland padd

One of the many cool things about a Greenland paddle combined with a kayak with a flat back deck is that it makes a great stabilizer for getting in and out of the kayak. For on the water launches the key is to keep the paddle tip slightly underwater and never stop looking at it until you are fully seated. The big mistake people often make is that they don’t fully trust the stabilizer so they will look over at the perceived safety of the dock, which causes the stabilizer to pop out of the water, which causes them to fall toward the dock, hit their head on the dock, and then end up in the drink. If you keep looking at the stabilizer the whole time this doesn’t happen!
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#greenlandpaddle #seakayaking #kayaking

Check out this student build by Jorge who just fin

Check out this student build by Jorge who just finished this beautiful 16’6” x 36” tandem canoe! It’s a bit heavier than it should be due to the floorboards, (most people don’t believe me, but camping mats in the bottom work fantastic and weigh nothing) but if he’s happy, I’m happy.
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“Maiden voyage was a succes! Canoe tracked pretty well, Wasn't very windy today and we were on a small lake but the few gust we got gave us a good push can't wait to try the sail on a bigger body of water. Our dog Boommer approves. End up doing 6 coats of poly. Did laminated ash and walnut for the seats with a solid walnut yoke. Cedar floor boards and brass stem bands front and back. Super happy with how it came out and can't wait so the adventures to follow. Thanks for all your help along the way! Next building an F1.”
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Thanks for the photos Jorge.
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#canoeing #skinonframecanoe #canoedog #woodenboat

FYI there’s music. Just another quick trip down

FYI there’s music. Just another quick trip down to the river to check the fit of a new backrest design, and various other aspects of the ergonomics before I fully commit to those decisions on the current prototype. I was lucky to get a big barge wake for a little bit of rough water testing. Interestingly, the water level in the drive box barely moves even in heavy chop.
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#prototype #pedalpowered #paddling #urbanpaddling

It seems like you need to build about 10 of someth

It seems like you need to build about 10 of something before you start becoming efficient. I’m finally getting my mojo with these curved canoe seat rail laminations. I left the sped up sound on this one which is kind of fun.
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#canoebuilding #woodworking #laminating

Over the years I’’ve built a handful of skin o

Over the years I’’ve built a handful of skin on frame upwind sailboats, and they worked fine, but at the end of the day I still think that plywood is the better material for the job because it’s stiffer, heavier, and you can build in watertight bulkheads. It’s also just a better match for the amount of complexity that any upwind sailing rig requires, because the time, weight, and cost savings of skin and frame aren’t nearly as prominent when you factor in the effort to build the rig. There’s also just that damn dagger board trunk and rudder which is a fairly fussy project in the skin on frame, and I HATE leeboards.
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Fast forward to the present moment I’ve been working on this Pedal Drive Canoe system which has both an integrated rudder system and a perfectly daggerboard sized hole in the bottom of the boat and suddenly the balance of consideration starts to shift again….
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Speaking from experience, I’m not a big fan of lug Sails or sprit Sails on small skin on frame boat, and I don’t have the time to fuss with any of the fancier options, so I think I’m headed for the tried and true high peak lateen a in a 3 square meter size to match the current boat that I’m building.
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The only problem is that I need to find someone to design the sail, so I can supply my students with sewing patterns. Does anyone know how a person goes about getting a sail designed or how much it costs? If I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do it right.
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#canoesailing #sailing #smallboats #smallboat

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