The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Some interesting paddle making here:

http://dogpaddl.startlogic.com/index.html

I'm not a customer nor do I have any affiliation with the above company. But I have tried and handled these very light and sturdy paddles.

Its not hard doing the solo fibreglassing. I use a squeegee for wet out, and foam rollers for "tipping" any bubbles or redistributing resin after its all done. I was concerned the first time about the wet edge, but found that it wasn't really an issue. I started centre bottom of the hull a...

Actually Jess, Girls (women) tend to have a LOWER centre of gravity than men. Its because of the reduced upper body mass, and proportionally larger pelvis. Its not a lot (a couple inches), but it does make it more stable for you when doing balance related things. And you're welcome with the explanat...

For most paddlers the water line length of 14-15 feet gives reasonable capacity with a minimum of wetted surface area for efficient paddling below the transition to most of the drag being from wave making. (Hull speed related drag.) Unless you are willing to paddle hard all the time the loss of spee...

There's no need to go as long as 17' unless you want a bigger boat, which I don't think you do. Something with a waterline length of about 15' will give you a good compromise between low drag and capacity etc... Also a 15' boat is lighter, and being shorter will turn much more easily than a longer b...

I would also ask about if you intend to do much portaging... Portaging a kayak is a pain compared to a canoe. Its also less pleasant in really hot weather. But that said if you really are sure its a kayak you want I'd say you can't go wrong buying Nick Schade's book and building one of the kayak des...

Personally I don't think there is a NEED to justify anything... Its a hobby that you enjoy and that should be enough, its better than going out drinking with the boys as a way to "relax". But if you want to get into details: - its cheaper (usually) than buying the equivalent boat, if such ...

Has anyone built one of these yet?

I'd love to see photos, hear paddling reports, etc...

So many ways to size a paddle. :big grin The best way is to have it fitted "in use". I like the paddle to reach from the lower and at the throat just above water level to the upper hand straight out from the shoulder, your arm parallel to the water. Or an approximation of that is to rest t...

Yes. I routinely edge my paddles with a bias cut strip of glass cloth stretched around the edge/tip of my paddles. I sand away any varnish etc, to expose bare wood in the tip area. 4-6 ox cloth, starts out about 1 1/4" wide and 8-10" long. The bias cut lets it form to the curve of the edge...

I've used water based polyurethane to finish paddles in a variety of woods. (Cherry, ash, hard maple) and maintain the original wood colour. It doesn't have the yellow tint that most (all?) oil based polyurethanes, and spar varnishes have. But I don't believe its as effective a UV protectant either....

This cutting of the material for the stem is to accomodate the width. The key here is that the vertical position of the station form is not determined by the "points" but by some other common reference point that you can locate easily on the form and the stem. In other words the points of ...

I second Nick Schade's book as a good source of offsets for a versatile kayak... Not only that the Auk has very nice aesthetics.

I've paddled a Mattawa several times solo. Its fairly light and quick on its feet feeling, but it really does require the "Canadian" style of solo paddling, by kneeling in the bilge, due to the fairly substantial width. I never felt the compromise was one that I could live happily with. Th...