Map of Sandy Hook paddle trip

This is John's son Ben.  I am helping my dad out with some cool GPS mapping capability I discovered. Here is a GPS track of his recent Sandy Hook paddle trip:

Building & Paddling

With the summer here I have been enjoying some wonderful paddling. Last Saturday I watched the sun come up over the ocean from Hull, MA along the south shore of Boston. I took my parents up to visit my brother Robert and his family and began the day with a 2 hour paddle through the islands on the outshirts of the Boston harbor. This past Thursday my friend David Lyle and I paddled 20 miles around Sandy Hook which is part of Gateway National Recreation area at the beginning of the "beaches" of NJ. It was good practice for the North Carolina Challenge coming up in just over a month where we will have to do that x 5 over 2 1/2 days. I think we are ready. Back home I've been working on the cockpit recess of the "Spring Run". It seems like it takes forever since there are about 120 stips that go into it and I can only glue 4 at a time. At least I haven't figured out how to do more and do it well.

After this is completed the entire deck will be sanded and glassed. Then I install the cockpit. After that it comes off the hull in order to work on the bottom of the deck and inside of the hull.

While I've been waiting for glue to dry I began work on a Greenland Paddle. I've found helpful directions at Johns Kayak Projects (not me) These are the plans from Chuck Holst. This has been both challening and rewarding. I began with an 8 ft. piece of clear cedar. Cost is about $16 from Kuiken Lumber. I didn't use their cutting method but used a circular saw to make the initial cuts...a band saw would be much better. Then I used a course paper on the belt sander to take it down and finished with 50, 80, 100, 120, 180 grit paper. I was going to just Tung Oil it but I'm concerned that the blades are a bit fragile and might chip so I'm going to glass edges and epoxy the paddle. The weight was supposed to be 30 ounces for and 87" paddle. Mine is 92" but I exceed the 32 ounces of my postal scale. I think I'll live with the weight whatever it is. Overall I'm quite pleased with how it has come out. May sand it a little more before finishing.

Teaching the grandkids to kayak

You can never start to soon to be a future paddler. Here are David and Sara in my kayak on the East Branch of the Delaware River above Hancock NY. They both enjoyed the ride as much as I enjoyed paddling with them

Finishing the Deck

Here is the finished deck taken from the bow. I'm very pleased with how the final strips went in. I ended up cutting long miters but the Japanese saw worked well. Can't wait to see the color contrasts with the dark walnut cockpit on top that will match the stems.

Here is a view from the cockpit to the stern.

Last pieces clamped in place.

Template for the Cockpit recess. This is a contrast transition piece that levels the deck to the cockpit.

Top view of the cockpit recess cut out. Now I need to refill it beginning from the front and back. I don't have to fill it completely but around the edges enough to where the cockpit will meet it.

I'm going to use the medium brown cedar that you see on the bottom edge of the recess for the filling. Thats all for awhile. It's off to the East Branch of the Delaware for some swimming, kayaking, canoeing and lots of fishing for smallmouth, walleye and trout in the West Branch. We're excited that Ben, Emily, Sara and David will be coming up for the week to join us.

New York Mayor's Cup Tune Up

Halfway point and turnaround under the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Today my friend Dave and I stretched our experience and kayaking skills by paddling in the Tune Up race of the New York Mayor's Cup Kayak Championship that will be held in August.

This was a 14 mile race on the upper Hudson from Cold Spring south to the Bear Mountain Bridge and back. As you can see from some of the other surfski and racing kayaks we were way out of our class but did our best and finished. I finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes but considering the rain and wind we were battling I was happy. This was one step of our preparation for for the 100 mile North Carolina Watertribe challenge we plan to do in September. As we thought about multiplying the 14 miles x 3 to do 45 in a day we both groaned. We've thought we were getting in shape but have a ways to go.

As you can see, my 14 ft. Pungo was no match for the fast surfski's. It was actually the only "recreational" kayak in the race. Next year I hope to do it in the Spring Run.

Creating a deck

Before I get to the kayak let me brag on my grandkids a moment. This is David on a riding tractor that belonged to me when I was his age and restored for him and Sara last year. Dave just turned 2 and I got to be with him a few days after his birthday. Below is Sara with her first fish. We tried fishing last year twice but this time the Sunny's cooperated. Since I named my first fish Charlie, (a brook trout caught in Stokes State Forest), I asked Sara what she wanted to name her fish. She said "Sara", so we called it Sara the Sunny! What a blessing.

Below is the kingplank of the stern. Origionally I was going to run it to the end further but liked how the miters were coming out. Now I will run all white cedar in the center with the miters on the edges as I go. The little measureing tool below - forget its name - works very well to measure the distance of the angle that needs to be cut. Measure, mark and cut with the razor saw. A little sanding or trimming and it fits well.

Here is the bow coming to completion. I installed a 1/2 strip of dark cedar before the white to create a contrast line. I like how it looks and the epoxy will bring out the colors even more.
I did create a few nailholes to secure the kingplank to the forms with a tempory piece of wood on top so as not to mar them.

Here is the bow from the opposite direction before I removed the clamps and tape. It has been going well without staples.

Here is a closeup of how I have been holding the strips in place while the glue dries. Masking tape, clamps, shims screwed to the staion. Basically, whatever works.

Stripping the Deck

I've been designing the deck and having fun getting it started. I'm using the darker cedar to match the last two strips of the hull, with two white strips and then a white kingplank down the middle. Then I'll continue with some medium cedar and fill in the middle in front and behind the cockpit with the white cedar.

Here is a view of the top of the front of the hull. The miters are challenging but rewarding.

Clamps, clamps and more clamps...and I still don't have enough. To quote my son Ben. "When building a boat you can never have enough clamps." Off to Home Depot for more. The 99 cent spring clamps are a bargan. One reason for all the clamps is that I'm stripping the deck without staples. So far this method has worked well since I do no more than one strip at a time on each side.

Clamping the front miter down tight. When I turn the deck over I'll seal that seam with some epoxy and silicia to make it very strong.

I staple a short strip above the strip to be installed and then clamp a piece over it as can be seen to keep it in place.

Another method that works well is using a piece of shim, lifted on one end, screwed in the middle so it forces down pressure on the piece just installed.

A Happy Father's Day to all!.