Perseverance docked behind Rays boat.

Friday morning, after years of anticipation of this day, I drove toward the annual boatbuilders gathering... with my own boat in tow.

Talk about nervous! I dont think Ive been that nervous on the road since I drove my infant children home from the hospital for the first time.

But, the boat rode on the trailer just fine, and we arrived safe and sound, just as some of the other boaters were having breakfast on the dock.

Greetings, handshakes... and my attention was quickly brought to the beautifully-restored 1964 Chris Craft Super Sport bobbing up and down at the dock.

I listened as the boats owner, Brad, was telling a boater named Dave the story of how hed acquired and restored the boat. Quickly, my anxiousness got the better of me, and I was off to my own boat... eager to get her in the water.

1964 Chris Craft Super Sport Ski Model.

Bob, another boatbuilder Id met at last years gathering, happened to be standing at my boat & checking it out when I walked up. He kindly agreed to ride down the road to the boat ramp with me, to help launch Perseverance for the first time.

With the plywood seats just clamped on with c-clamps, and the forward dock line crudely tied to the exposed deck framing, I climbed in. The Nissan 8hp motor cranked right up. I pushed the lever into reverse, and Perseverance was afloat & underway. Bob drove my vehicle back over to the parking lot, and I navigated out into the river.... very slowly.

Next thing you know, I was riding over wave after wave of a massive wake. It passed, though... and I lightly gave the Nissan a little more throttle, piloting on out into the river.

It took a while to get to the dock, because I was going so slow. My eyes darted all around the bottom of the boat, looking for any signs of leakage. There were none. She was bone dry.

When I got back to the dock, I learned that the massive wake Id ridden over had come from someone blasting through the NO WAKE zone in a big cruiser. Worse... that big wake had rolled Brads 64 Chris Craft downward, rendering the fenders ineffective, and slammed the boat into the side of the dock. The force of the impact shattered the mahogany gunwale on the starboard side.

Perseverance at the dock.

Perseverance at the dock.

Deck of Brads 1964 Chris Craft.

1964 Chris Craft Super Sport Ski Model.

Brads 1964 Chris Craft Super Sport.

Damage to the mahogany gunwale from being slammed into the dock.

The First Full-Throttle Run:

After putting more gas into my 3-gallon tank, I put it up forward, on top of the front seat to shift some weight forward. I was hoping that the added weight up front would help the boat to plane. With some help from Ray, I got the flooded motor cranked & running, and I headed out of the marina & into the river channel.

I opened up the throttle gradually at first, then all the way. The bow came right down, and just like that, my little boat was on plane & going just as fast as she could. She handled beautifully, and showed no signs whatsoever of porpoising.

I was grinning from ear to ear.

After running up and down the river for a while, I cut the throttle & put her in neutral in the middle of the river, stopping a couple of times to take photos.

Rays reflection, in the cowling of my Nissan motor.

As the afternoon wore on, I gave my first ride to Ray, who is a great guy. Hes also a great source of inspiration, and Im honored that he was the first passenger aboard Perseverance. Brad, owner of the 64 Chris Craft, was my 2nd passenger. I had a great time chatting with him while we were on the river. Before I knew it, it was time to load the boat back on the trailer and drive home.

The next afternoon, I was back.

Saturday:

I got to spend a little more time talking with Ray, Wayne, Brad, and several other boatbuilders. Then I got to ride in Waynes splendid 18 tug boat as he brought her around from the dock & into a slip at the marina.

Waynes splendid 18 tug boat, "Turtle Sundaze"

Waynes boat is powered by a 15hp Suzuki outboard, mounted in a well.

Shortly after my ride on the tug boat, I got to ride on Butchs gorgeous Tahoe, "Innocence." That boat is simply amazing, powered by a big block 496 engine. 

Butchs stunning Tahoe.

I enjoy photographing wooden boat transoms, with their names and flags. Innocence, with her beautiful swim platform, is simply captivating.

Out on the river in Butchs Tahoe.

Within minutes of getting back to the dock, I was out on the river again. This time, in Brads beautifully restored 64 Chris Craft. While we were riding, I learned that the Ski model of the 1964 Super Sport has vinyl material on the deck, on either side of the mahogany center, to provide a safe surface to walk on.

As we pulled back into the marina, we passed Bills beautiful Tahoe, "A Girl Named Lola," which was docked at the corner.

Bills Tahoe, "A Girl Named Lola," is a staple sight at the Glen-L Gatherings.

There were several other old wooden Chris Craft boats at the marina. Its a pity to see them in such derelict condition. I hope someone will restore these.

Hull detail on a decaying old Chris Craft cruiser.

Robertas Torpedo:

Last, but certainly not least, there was Robertas famous and award-winning Torpedo. Roberta is well-known among the Glen-L group as "Queen of the Boatbuilders," and for good reason. Her craftsmanship is second to none. 

The Torpedo is Glen L. Witts most recent design, in a career spanning 6 decades of contribution to the world of boat building. The Torpedo has a unique shape at the transom, reminiscent of the Chris Craft Cobra or the Ventnor boats. Roberta named her Torpedo "The Glen-L."

Robertas beautiful Torpedo.

Robertas Glen-L Torpedo.

There were several other boats at the G9 gathering... including a Tubby Tug, Squirt, Zip, Malahini, Sea Knight, Gentry, and Rays True Grit. Unfortunately, I didnt get good individual photos of all these boats. Theres always next year.

But this year, in more ways than one... I made it. Thank you, God.

Read More..

Last night, I assembled the breasthook and stem assembly for my Glen-L Zip. From my previous experience of having built stems and breasthooks for two other boats, I decided to use a different technique this time.

In the past, I would assemble the two pieces of the breasthook and let the epoxy cure. Then, later on, I would attach the completed breasthook to the stem. This time, I assembled all three pieces together at the same time, using only one batch of epoxy.

The reason for doing it this way was to avoid having to deal with the bead of hardened epoxy that forms along seams where the epoxy is squeezed out from between two parts. I’ve learned that it’s a good idea to scrape away any squeezed-out epoxy before it cures by using a small, flexible putty knife. Still, if a bead of hardened epoxy forms on an inside corner, (such as in the notch of the breasthook), it can be difficult to remove. It can also cause problems when you’re fitting pieces together.

By putting all three pieces together at the same time, this problem is easily avoided. 

I decided to assemble the breasthook and stem with the same batch of SilverTip epoxy that I was using to encapsulate limbers and underside parts on the Utility. Not much epoxy was required for this small bit of encapsulation. I had a small amount of #2 silica ready to add to the remaining epoxy when I was done. The Zip parts were disassembled and staged, ready and waiting for the epoxy.

Limbers & underside parts of the Utility needed to be encapsulated before I attach the bottom planking. I wont be able to reach these places once the planking is on.

All the Zip parts set to go: stem, mixing cup for epoxy, kitchen scale in a freezer bag, chip brush, screwdriver, putty knife, awl, small container for #2 silica, mixing stick, rag, and both parts of the breasthook.

After encapsulating some small areas on the Utility, I mixed the silica with the remaining epoxy to thicken it for gluing. I spread this mixture on both mating surfaces of the breasthook and on the top of the stem as well. I used an awl to quickly align the holes on the two parts of the breasthook, and screwed them back together. Then, I fitted the breasthook onto the stem, pressed it down firmly, and used two 2.5-pound weights to hold it down into position. Then I scraped away all the epoxy squeeze-out with the putty knife.

The Zips stem

Stem and breasthook assembled, waiting for the epoxy to cure. These parts are all made from 3/4" marine-grade Douglas Fir plywood.

Read More..

When someone mentions Eskimos or Inuit or people of the Arctic, the stereotype that most often comes to mind is snow houses and people in fur parkas eating whale blubber. However, as short as summer in the Arctic might be, people there eat plant food along with animal food.  As a matter of fact, people of the Arctic eat a wide variety of plant foods.  And we are fortunate to have a book with an extensive list not only of what they are but also how to prepare them.

The book is called, "Plants that we Eat." Although the book focuses specifically on plant foods that are part of the Inupiat diet, the listing for each plant also includes a map of Alaska that shows the range of the plants.  And although different Alaskan Native groups probable had their own preferences and their own unique ways of preparing plant foods, we can assume that many of the plants listed in this book were eaten by more than just the Inupiat. For that matter, many of the plants listed in this book can be found in the temperate zones of the lower 48.
If you are interested in wild foods, this book would be a good addition to your book shelf.

Read More..

Finally, Ive finished painting the interior area that will be Whidbey White. 

The quarter knees are taped off so that I can paint the sheers.

After the paint dried, I re-installed the stainless steel eye-bolt in the transom knee.

My daughter helped me pick out a section of Meranti plywood to add to the top of the aft seat. I cut it out of a partial sheet, and it is waiting to be laminated onto the A/C plywood thwart.

Grain pattern for the aft thwart.

Work remaining to be done includes:

• Finishing construction and installation of the seats
• Painting the sheers Sea Foam Green (some spots still need epoxy first)
• Planking the deck

The following two photos are for future reference when I install the deck cleat and bow chocks:

Measured distance from aft face of fwd frame to mid-line on deck beam - 18"

Measured distance from aft face of fwd frame to aft edge of breasthook (port side shown) - 36.5"

Read More..

While looking for something which I did not end up finding, I ran across these pictures taken several years ago at SSTIKS, the South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium which takes place every year in the vicinity of Tacoma, Washington.  Its time to dust off these pictures and share them with the world.
(Side note 1 - Dusting off is a metaphorical term from the age of printed photos.  Since these photos have never left their digital format, the dust they may have gathered is strictly figurative.  Digital of course is forever or at least as long as the storage medium lasts and as long as you have some display technology and so they do not gather dust, not even figurative dust.  In real life, they just seem to disappear never to be found again.)
I have no particular agenda to this posting other than pointing out that when you make your own stuff, you get to have it your way, within the limits of your ability, of course.

 This is a molded seat which you can just stick into your kayak or if ambitious, you can glue it in place with contact cement. Note the coaming attachment.  (side note 2 - the white stuff on the ground is oyster shells, hard on bare feet.)

 This boat may be one of the Tom Yost model kayaks.  Coaming rim looks to be plywood. Back rest is a block of foam and the seat cushion is of uncertain origin, possibly foam inside a cloth sleeve or maybe one of those inflatable seats.

 Heres another back strap version, adjustable, possibly home made.  Seating is foam pads.

 Yet another foam solution.  The seating mat seams to have a sculpted seat under it.

 The frame of this boat is made out of bamboo and the mouth has a fanciful dragon design painted on it. 

 Cushions of the dragon boat have a tie dye fabric cover on them.  Note the hull stringers of bamboo.  If you click on this photo, you can see the innovative joining of stringer parts with the skinny end of the tapering bamboo pole overlapping.

 And yet another seat cushion.  This one looks like the level of complexity that I usually aspire to.  One reason my boats have no fancy seats is that it never occurred to me to put fancy seats in my kayaks since a simple mat on the floor seems to work.  However, if you come to DIY kayaks from the commercial realm, you are more likely to feel like you should put a fancy seat in your boat like the commercial kayaks have.

One last seat.  Looks like commercial back band with foam seat.

Read More..