: Hello all,

: A lot of people shy away from building a kayak because they think
: they need a big shop. As you know, I build kayaks on my porch,
: and recently started building surfboards as well. The surfboards
: kind of kicked off and the local news did a story on me. If you
: think you need a big shop, check out mine.

:
: http://www.youtube.com/user/CBSNews2?feature=mhum#p/a/u/2/Q6U06Ro4i6Q

: Notice how that forstner bit skipped while drilling that hole. I
: was on camera and had to be cool, but inside I was screaming! I
: had contemplated an inlay there, so that just gave me reason to
: do so and that covered the slightly oblong hole. I had drilled a
: small pilot hole and went larger than I should have so the bit
: walked. In the part where I'm drilling sideways I'm opening up a
: vent hole because these boards get a gore-tex vent to let the
: air pressure vent out since they are sealed. Without that the
: board would delaminate.

Nice work, Malcolm.
On shop size. It depends on your definition of big. My 'shop' is a converted garage, 23' x 13' that was made into a temproary apartment so it doesn't have all the floorspace available in width. The clear space is still 23' long but is 8' wide in the middle section.
For Ireland, a shop is necessary given that we can get four seasons in a day, weatherwise. :D Particularly if using powered tools.

Mike Savage
South West Cork