Tacoma, WA In a previous life I designed and made fine wood furniture. I own a Mariner Express and have always wanted a Coaster. Decades ago I attempted to design a skin on frame Coaster from offsets. When I discovered Brian’s Cape Falcon work, it was a Godsend. His wisdom gathered from thousands of iterations...
"Father Son F1 Builds"Continue reading
A combination of wanting a new year challenge and a Christmas spent binge watching Tally Ho a wooden sailing yacht rebuild with some amazing craftsmanship and not a straight line in sight got me focussed on wanting to build something interesting. The weight of my plastic kayak and Brian extolling the lightness of a skin...
"Lewis’s F1 build, Cambridge, England"Continue reading
March 14th, 2023. A few weeks ago my wife, Kate, came back from a shopping trip and handed me a paperback book she’d picked up for me. The cover read “How to Build a Boat” by Jonathan Gornall. I started reading that night. The book tells of how the author, with absolutely no experience or...
"Adam’s F1 Kayak, Norfolk, UK."Continue reading
Chapter 1, The Slow Start Been paddling since I was a boy. Owned quite a few paddle craft, both canoes and kayaks. Have three right now- all rotomolded. Never wanted boats with wood- too much maintenance. Even read McPhee’s Survival of the Birch Bark Canoe. Loved the book, but it didn’t change my attitude. Then during...
"JK’s Central Florida Canoe Build"Continue reading
Introduction To begin, the Cape Falcon skin-on-frame boat building system is comprehensive and easy to understand. Even inexperienced woodworkers should be confident in their ability to build a Cape Falcon skin-on-frame canoe. The nature of the system allows for a great deal of flexibility in the type of canoe you build. You decide the characteristics you...
"The Milburn’s Quad Nesting Canoes"Continue reading
February 14, 2023 – This build is a work in progress. Photos and descriptions coming.
I’ve decided to edit this blog quite a bit, since there are so many good detailed build stories already here. I think what would be most helpful to others who want to build this boat is for me to cover what I tried that worked or didn’t work, what I forgot to do in the...
"Sam’s LPB Build, Seattle, WA"Continue reading
Background and Prep Work I started getting interested in building a pair of canoes over 2.5 years ago. I soon discovered Cape Falcon Kayak and decided to buy the canoe building course. It is extremely detailed and customizable to your needs. With that and the detailed instructions I felt I could come out with something...
"Jim Walter’s Nested Large Solo Canoes"Continue reading
In Early December 2022 I purchased a plan from Cape Falcon Kayak to build a Skin-onFrame Canoe. After reviewing the course I settled for a Tandem Canoe. Brian suggested the size: 15’8″, 36 wide, 13″3/4 deep depth to beam.37, rib length to beam .40. The first challenge was finding the right wood, clear and straight...
I’m looking to add some extra value to my F1 student blog so will be emphasising things that I have done differently and or my failures. Early apologies to the “inch” people as throughout I will be quoting dimensions in mm. Living on the Gold Coast, SE Qld, Australia, I am a world away from...
"Don’s F1 Kayak Build, SE Qld, Australia"Continue reading
