winter project completed

RICMIC

RICMIC

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Feb 21, 2012
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Two Harbors, Minnesota
After a couple long, tough winters, and enduring the covid shutdown. I finally completed my cedar strip kayak. I bought the plans from "Laughing Loon", and fabricated the whole thing starting with live cedar trees on my property. I have extensive canoeing experience, but very limited kayak creds. I had the plans for a solo canoe build, but didn't really need another canoe since I have four of them already. I still have a redwood strip canoe that I built over 30 years ago.
The completed "Shooting Star" is an Aleutian Bi-darka style, and the completed 16 1/2 foot boat weighs in at 37 lbs. I can't wait to try it out, but the winter refuses to loosen its grip. There is still 2' of snow and 3' of ice on the lake that is only 50 feet out my front door. I actually finished the Greenland style kayak paddle before I started the boat, since I got the plans in March and didn't want to be working on the kayak after the winter ends.
I'm already researching some grand expedition...underconsideration: Rocky Mt. House to Lake Superior
Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico
Yellowstone River to Lake Superior
I will only be 72 the summer after next, so I have plenty of time to plan.20230417_153324.jpg20230412_134901.jpg
 
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RICMIC

RICMIC

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Feb 21, 2012
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Two Harbors, Minnesota
tim said:
beauty of a boat!

what is with the double front on the bow?
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Tim, that is callled a bifrucated bow. (SP??), In calm seas, the bow is out of the water, but in wind/waves, the lead bow splits the wave and the second bow guides the water to lift the bow. I don't know if I am explaining it correctly, but if you see a modern ship in drydock, they also have the weird bow below the waterline. The stern also has a different shape, and it acts like a boat-tail bullet to cut resistance, and it also gives a surfing effect in following seas or surf. The Aleutes used a similar canoe to travel from the Aleutians to California and back again.20230417_153419.jpg
 
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buckbull

buckbull

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I love these kinds of threads. What an awesome boat. How many hours do you think you have in it? Also, would love to see some pics of your DIY canoe's.
 
Timber Stalker

Timber Stalker

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May 22, 2020
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Beautiful craftsmanship, I appreciate anything hand made, well done sir! I don’t know much about kayaks but yours if the best looking one I’ve ever seen. I’m sure it took more than a weekend to build.
 
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RICMIC

RICMIC

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buckbull said:
I love these kinds of threads. What an awesome boat. How many hours do you think you have in it? Also, would love to see some pics of your DIY canoe's.
Click to expand...
I did not keep track of the hours spent on the kayak, and did that because I didn't really want to know. A lot of the time, I could only work for an hour, then had to wait a day or two for the epoxy or varnish to set up for another coat. I also had to make a "practice" build of the bow and stern section because of the unique shapes and techniques that were required. I almost didn't do that, but am glad that I did, because it was an absolutely necessary part of my education. Sand, sand, sand, was a huge part of the process, and if I were ever to build another I think that most of my mistakes would be avoided that had required a whole lot of extra work.
The canoe that I had built was supposed to take about 100 hours to finish, but I put 130 hours into that. If I were to do the same canoe again, I would expect to do so in much less time. But, building a kayak is much more difficult and labor intensive, and I am sure that I spent ell over 500 hours on it.
The redwood canoe is hanging in my garage, and will get a pic of it when the snowbanks recede. I last used it when my wife and I camped by Green River Lakes in Wyoming in 2020. We paddled up the river a ways and into the lake and fished. The biggest pain was all the roadside Invasive Species checks that we had to stop for in 4 different states.
 
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RICMIC

RICMIC

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ScottR said:
Looks like a great trip and a lot of fun!
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Yes it was. I had snowmobiled into the lake several years ago and in my mind it is more beautiful than Yosemite, especially without all the crowds. I could easily spend the entire summer at various "disbursed camping" spots throughout the west. During that covid year, a lot of other folks were of the same mindset.
 
buckbull

buckbull

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Wow. You really have a talent and must have the patience of a saint. That canoe is beautiful. And I can certainly believe the 500 hours you spent on the kayak. I'm fairly handy in the workshop but I don't know if I could pull that kayak off.
 
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RICMIC

RICMIC

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Feb 21, 2012
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Two Harbors, Minnesota
buckbull said:
Wow. You really have a talent and must have the patience of a saint. That canoe is beautiful. And I can certainly believe the 500 hours you spent on the kayak. I'm fairly handy in the workshop but I don't know if I could pull that kayak off.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I do consider myself to be a fairly good carpenter, but never was much of an artist. I trap shoot with a guy who can carve animals out of wood that you swear are real. My grand-daughter can make a pencil portrait from a color photo that you swear is a black & white photo. Those type of talents have to be developed for sure, but you need to be born with the gift.
I think that this was possible for me primarily because of the current phase of my life; healthy, retired, too many friends who don't do things that I still like to do, a good work space (AKA Shop), tools, a lake right outside my door, and lastly - two long, cold brutal winters.
Heck, I don't even know if I can get in and out of the thing.......if not, then it may well become wall art.
 
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CrimsonArrow

CrimsonArrow

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Feb 21, 2011
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T
RICMIC said:
After a couple long, tough winters, and enduring the covid shutdown. I finally completed my cedar strip kayak. I bought the plans from "Laughing Loon", and fabricated the whole thing starting with live cedar trees on my property. I have extensive canoeing experience, but very limited kayak creds. I had the plans for a solo canoe build, but didn't really need another canoe since I have four of them already. I still have a redwood strip canoe that I built over 30 years ago.
The completed "Shooting Star" is an Aleutian Bi-darka style, and the completed 16 1/2 foot boat weighs in at 37 lbs. I can't wait to try it out, but the winter refuses to loosen its grip. There is still 2' of snow and 3' of ice on the lake that is only 50 feet out my front door. I actually finished the Greenland style kayak paddle before I started the boat, since I got the plans in March and didn't want to be working on the kayak after the winter ends.
I'm already researching some grand expedition...underconsideration: Rocky Mt. House to Lake Superior
Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico
Yellowstone River to Lake Superior
I will only be 72 the summer after next, so I have plenty of time to plan.View attachment 43679View attachment 43680
Click to expand...
regardless of how she paddles, she’s definitely a looker
 
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gonhunting247

gonhunting247

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Jan 21, 2014
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That thing is beautiful, great work, I consider myself to be a good carpenter also, but those boats are beyond that, they are works of art!
 
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RICMIC

RICMIC

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Feb 21, 2012
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Two Harbors, Minnesota
The ice went out on my lake yesterday, so I hope to get her in the water soon. But, there is so much stuff that I have to do, and I am in the middle of a "broken stuff" epidemic.
 
RICMIC

RICMIC

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Feb 21, 2012
1,924
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Two Harbors, Minnesota
I was finally able to get out on the water between two Canada fishing trips. I dumped it the first two days that I tried to get in it, but finally learned how to shoe-horn myself into it. I have a ways to go before getting my sea-legs, and am far from comfortable enough to go out on Lake Superior. But, it sure is fast. Without racing or being in paddling shape, I was able to do a circuit of the perimeter of my small lake (3 miles of shoreline) in 26 minutes. Granted, I could not actually follow the shoreline, but did do so as close as possible.
No photos yet, as I have only a 2 day turn abound before heading west for 3 weeks.

Canada fishing photos to come later....I caught over 200 walleyes and 100 northern pike, plus one 17" brook trout.
 
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