: Hey,

: I am new here and after having looked at Nick Schades book, I am interested
: in building my own kayak. Since I can't afford to buy a fancy store bought
: one, I thought this would be a way to go. I am pretty good with my hands
: so the extra work is not an issue. I have never built a kayak (or any boat
: for that matter) and already have a couple of questions.

: I have read some threads on large people and boat designs and really didn't
: feel a suitable answer came up from the discussions, at least not for me.
: All I have are my two hands and a pencil and paper for making the plans
: for the forms so I have to keep this stage as easy to deal with as
: possible.

: Here goes. I am 6'2", 240 lb with (you've heard this already)size 12
: feet. I have tested fit some boats at some outdoor shops and fit into some
: of the boats okay but am not completely sure they would be comfy on long
: paddling trips. I decided to build the Great Auk (I love the shape of this
: boat!)because it is supposed to be a little more roomy. However, when I
: looked at the plans for the forms, I just can't see how my feet will fit
: into the boat. I was playing around with the idea of taking the outermost
: deck offset and raising it 3/4 to 1 inch, essentially flattening the deck
: by raising the edges and redrawing the curve down to the hull. How far up
: can I go with the edges? Will this effect the handling/stability of the
: boat?

: The second question deals with picking out the wood. In the book, Nick Schade
: says that western red cedar can be used and can be picked up at most
: lumber yards. I've been to Home Depot to look for 1" boards to chop
: down but they all seem to be very knotty. In the book he says that knots
: should be at a minimum but if there are any they should be 1/8" or
: less. I have looked and looked and just can't seem to find boards that are
: suitable. I have decided to work with 6' long strips so I at least thought
: that it wouldn't be that hard to find stretches of knot free wood. I don't
: want to waste a ton of wood. Is all western red cedar this knotty or does
: Home Depot just have crummy wood? What is the real story on the knot
: situation?

: Thanks for the help

: Dan M.

Hi Dan

Well, as it seems you have already picked your boat, maybe this could be your second. Have you looked into building the Walrus by George Putz? There are several of us " into " these boats at the moment, and can be built in a great deal less time. The book gives all the deminsions for the forms and a great description of all the frame and deck parts, and the good thing is, it's adjustable. My second boat will be the G.A. for the same reasons you mentioned, but, the Walrus is a quicker build, so, I decided to give it a go while there's a little sun left this year. There are also shorter form numbers on a past post here, by a fella named Paul G. Jacobson that save you a lot of material, and there are a few fellas who have built it in the past and made some mod's. So, if you decide to give one a try, ???? I believe there has also been some talk of raising the deck of a couple of boats, including the G.A. and you could possibly find it in the archives.

When you are selecting wood and run into knots, I would keep them small, but, if they are a little larger than 1/8", up to 1/4", just look at them and if they have a black colored line around them, they are generally getting loose. The wood around them shrinks away from them. Remember, those knots may look bad in a 3/4" wide piece, but, when glued and glassed into a complete boat hull, they become much less significant. Just because there are a few knots in a piece of lumber, doesn't mean you won't get some good wood out of it. In-between the knots there's a lot of good wood. You will only need a few full length strips to begin with, and the rest of them can be cut out around the knots. You can save a lot of money picking out a few pieces of less than perfect lumber, over buying the clear stuff. The price difference is sometimes staggering. You may have a little waste, but, many times you will be able to use the smaller pieces up and waste little. Since you may be using the shorter material anyway, You would be better off going cheaper on the grade and price. The clear stuff is usually purchased to get the longer, clear pieces. If you buy a little of both, you may end up with a problem in shrinkage, as the clear material is usually a lower moisture content as well. Food for Thought.

Rehd