New Wheels

Well, I didn't make it through the season before my cart broke. I had to fix it so that I could go paddle. Here is a picture of the new and improved version. I was able to reuse some of the old parts, and the new wheels make a lot more sense. They don't weigh as much, they don't need to be inflated, and they don't take up as much space. I simplified the design a little as well. The first test run today, worked out real nice.
Here are some pictures from my paddle today.

Portage

Because I live so close to some great paddling water (about 300 yards), I built my own portage cart. Parts include 1 1/2 PVC, a "pool noodle", some steel pins with spring retainers, and a nice set of tires, that are too heavy, and too expensive. I originally found a couple of pictures on the web that gave me all of the required info. My little cart is working very well, but I have a couple of small manufacturing flaws that are resulting in a slow breakdown. The heavy wheels and my constant overloading of the cart put a lot of stress on the PVC where the retainer pins cross through, and the holes are tearing out. One day soon, it will need a serious rebuild. The cool thing is: I now know where I got the dimensions correct, and where I came up short. I just need to find a new set of wheels that are lighter in weight. This particular set actually have sealed ball bearings in the hubs. Total overkill. I just hope that it lasts until winter.

Compass Before and After

I made a little change to the way my compass is secured to my kayak. Here are a set of before and after photos. I wanted to place a bungie with some beads here where the compass is so that I could place a spare paddle on the front deck, and with the compass located like this, it was really getting in the way. Here is the new location of the compass, I just threaded the deck lines through the existing holes in the base of the compass, and it is now sort of permanent. I stared at the deck lines on my CD Gulfstream for a long time before I did this though. The deck lines were very tight. I don't know if this is common for all kayaks, but Current Designs puts a lot of tension on them. I was trying to figure out how they make them that tight. The only way I could figure is that they leave the last recessed cleat loose, when they thread the deck line and tie the knots. Then when all of the knots are tied, they then mount the last cleat. Anyway this is how I took the deck lines off, threaded a couple of beads and the compass, and then retied the knots, then totally abused my fingers while pulling the cleat back into place and held it while I tightened the screw.This view shows the new bungie with beads, and the compass located further forward. I can still read the compass easily, and being further forward, is less likely to make me seasick when viewing. The beads work very well for stuffing a GP paddle under, and they work so-so for stuffing the shaft ends of my euro splits under.

Slow Progress

I'm still working on the Greenland paddle. I have the urethane on the tips and I started rubbing in coats of tung oil. The problem is, I will leave a generous coat of tung oil on it overnight, and when I look at it in the morning, it all soaked in and doesn't look like there is any oil on it again, so I rub in another coat. After the third coat, it is starting to look like it is building up, so I will keep at it.

I went back for a second rolling class on Sunday (with a euro paddle). I still haven't been able to get a roll all by myself yet, but I learned some more. With my goggles on and the nose plugs of course, I was able to relax enough and slow down to reduce each stage to simple mechanical steps so that I could assess my form. I still have a problem tucking and extending my right arm far enough during the sweep to keep the paddle at the surface of the water. Each time my instructor(Rob Taylor) would help by positioning my blade at the surface, I could execute the roll with enough force that I would need to brace on the oposite side to keep from capsizing again, but I just can't seem to get into that sweep position on my own yet. So last night I rode my bicycle ten miles and did twenty sit-ups. The only reason I did only twenty, is because I couldn't do twenty one. I'll keep working on losing weight and building my ab strength.

Correction

A little correction to the last post. Urethane on the tips, not epoxy. I plan to buff out the freshly urethaned tips with steel wool tomorrow night, and then give the entire paddle a good coat of tung oil. I'll have some more pictures then.

My New Greenland Paddle

Finish sanded and ready for epoxy on the tips and a couple of coats of tung oil. I still need to burn my initials and the date into it also. It turned out pretty good, and I'm happy with it.

Latest Greenland Paddle Work

I have a paddle now! This picture shows the end after I roughed out the contours.
Here is a picture showing more of the contours after roughing out.
Here the ends are trimmed and rough sanding has been started. The random orbital sander, loaded with 60 grit, does wonders for smoothing out the planer marks and true-ing up the edges. I still need to thin the tips some more. It's not perfect, but it is all mine. It really is cool to hold something in my hands that I made myself.

More Greenland Paddle

My Greenland paddle is progressing nicely. Here it is after roughing out with the bandsaw.
Here after I cleaned up the edges, and started to layout contour lines. Next step will be to knock the corners off. It is even starting to feel like a paddle.

Greenland Paddle

I am making a Greenland paddle. I took Matthew Keller's advice and building it myself. The instructions at QajaqUSA are very good, and the video by Matt Johnson really fills in the gaps. This is a really ugly 2x12, with one good edge.
Now its a pretty decent 2x4.
The jack plane is my friend, a rather stubborn and obnoxious friend, but in the end my new friend.
Tapered to 1/2" at both ends.
Layout for cutting.

More pictures to follow in the days to come.

Little Projects

Here is a little project, that has been keeping me busy. I had to retrieve this from my sister's house, and then assemble it. Look's pretty official now, doesn't it?