: Hey folks. I just finished up my thru-hike of tha Appalachian Trail a month
: ago and need a project pronto. Just my luck, my girlfriend moves to
: Morehead City, NC (one of the better sea kayaking destinations around
: here) while I was gone. We've got the Intercoastal Waterway 300' from the
: house, and the Atlantic Ocean about 3/4 mile away. Been
: lurking/researching the last couple of months (even on the Trail!) and
: decided that a skin and frame kayak is probably the way to go for me, as
: we don't have a garage to work out of, just a HUGE screened in porch. That
: and the fact that I've spent pretty much every penny I had hiking the last
: 6 months. Any of you folks that have built a Walrus or some other skin
: boat have any suggestions or words of wisdom? I've ordered Putz's book and
: can't wait to get on this.

: Thanks much in advance,
: -John

Delurking.....??? Is that like getting the Appalachian Bugs out?

Hi John

Welcome aboard. Yes, there are several Yak-Skinners out here. Being one of them and probably the slowest one, let me suggest one thing to get you started right off the bat. Read the book.... Twice, and then...Toss the..... forms that he shows in there. Waste of 2 1/2 sheets of plywood. There are some shortie forms floating around here( literally, it has rained quite a bit in....... Oh, never mind ) and I have the numbers for drawing them up, courtesy of Paul Jacobson and Mike Hanks. And I believe Mike or Paul could direct you to the archives posting in which Paul layes them all out. They will save you losts of ply-costs. Also, my personal opinion would be to use 3/4" plywood for the forms as apposed to particle board because of the torquing of the stringers towards the stems. I have a few pics. somewhere that I can put up into an album and let you see what I did. Although I tend to go to extremes you can use the ideas and go much lighter and cheaper.

I'm getting the "eye" from T.B. here, so, I gotta go get some grub and I'll be back and see what I can do for pictures. Have you seen Bill Price's or Roger Nuffers sites? They can be reached by going to the "View User Profiles" and hunting them down. Or wait a while and they will come up and offer some info themselves. They have some awesome pictures and construction " Do's and Don't's " that you would do well to check out. More later!

Rehd