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.

The Incipient Kid

I got the title for this post from Bonnie.

Pretty cool huh? I'm getting a little excited.

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?

Sick Day

Ok, so what do you do in March, in Michigan, when its snowing outside, and you have the flu? You watch the Weather channel, and read Wenley of course.
I have a little proof that spring is on its way though.

I'm sorry

I'm sorry that I have not been blogging lately. We've been really busy lately, and the flu didn't help either. Three in the morning and a dehydrated expecting mother is a little nerve wracking. Everything turned out all right and everyone is doing well now. The sleep-less nights have already started.

I'm gonna be a dad!

Whoa, look what I did. It's pretty cool, we are both excited. I'm sure that there will be plenty of more pictures and news to follow in the next days, weeks, months, and years. Woohoo, I'm gonna be a dad!

Ice-Out!

That's a pretty dramatic title for a rather sublime picture. It rained last night, and the ice was gone this morning - yippie!

Spring?

The forecast for the next few days is: Unseasonably warm, and rain. Supposed to be near 60 deg F. That should get rid of the rest of the ice on the lakes. Can't come soon enough for me.

The above picture is a view of my backyard. It will change soon though. The woods is owned by a builder, and it is for sale - only after he builds a house on it. Urban sprawl is a huge problem, and this neighbor of mine is perpetuating the problem by building a house first, and then looking for a buyer.

Oh well, everything changes - seasons, views, neighbors.

Almost

I really hurt today. All over my body, sore muscles and bruises. The rolling class that I took yesterday was great, and after some really good instruction and set up, I was able to complete a couple of rolls with help from Ron Smith the instructor. It was a great confidence builder. A couple of times when Ron told me to do it all myself, I kind of psyched myself out, rushed it, didn't use my head (for its mental abilities or counter balance) and blew it, but I think I can work that out. I may not have a roll yet, but I am very close. I have had a taste of success. With more practice and help this spring and summer, I hope to have one before autumn. I need to lose some more weight, especially around the middle, and I need to improve my flexibility, and abdominal strength so that my set up is easier to get into. It felt good to get back into the Gulfstream for the first time in more than four months. Almost there.

Rolling 101

I am so excited. I am going to go paddling this Sunday. Paddling in a pool anyway. I have signed up for a rolling class with Black Parrot Paddling. I haven't been in my kayak since October, and it looks like it will probably be at least another month before I can paddle outdoors again. The pool will be a very welcome alternative. I am looking forward to learning how to roll with much anticipation. I have only rolled a whitewater kayak once before, and that was in a pond with a whitewater guide watching and giving encouragment while I had a paddlefloat on the paddle. Every time that I tried it without the float, the paddle would just dive, and I wasn't even close. Of course looking back now, I didn't give myself many useful advantages, like nose plugs or goggles (why be bothered with the extra weight on my head?), and I was using a one-piece whitewater paddle with only a 45 degree feather....oh yeah, the coach was left-handed (I'm right-handed), and everything either looked backwards or felt backwards to me.....ha,ha,ha, it was a nobel effort on both mine and the instructor's behalf. I think Sunday will be much more productive.