First marking on map: Start Saturday, June 01, 2002, 1000h. Elevation 1424 m, location N 51 degrees 59.023 minutes H 116 degrees 47.799 minutes. I am taking this reading just before I launch myself onto another page of my own history. I am excited, thrilled and nervous. I feel like a voyageur keeping careful track [...]
A Journal by Bryan Hansel 9-22 Day One Baker Lake, Peterson Lake, Kelly Lake, Jack Lake, Weird Lake, S. Temperance Lake, N. Temperance Lake, Sitka Lake, end on Cherokee Lake (site west of last portage) approximately 11 miles. Put in today at 10:00 AM after driving threw the night and only stopping at a rest [...]
By Bill Collett, Bettendorf, Iowa August 3, 2004 Pre trip plans hardly exist. I intend to solo paddle the designated National Scenic River Way of the Namekagon River. It is uncertain if I will paddle beyond that or not. All I know is that my wife and daughter are visiting relatives and friends in Duluth [...]
September 19th, Sunday Portaged into the Boundary Waters today using the 320-rod Skipper/Portage Lake entry point. Because I double portaged it, total 15,390 feet of hiking. Now that’s a long portage. The leaves on the portage were turning colors as most of them were younger bushes and trees; the tallest pines and birch were all [...]
Considering how restricted the seating actually is in the average cruising kayak, it’d better be comfortable. Hours of being jammed in an uncomfortable cockpit is no one’s idea of fun – cramped muscles, hard-spot aches, and that pins-and-needles feeling in the legs just purely takes the fun out of a day on the water. For [...]
In the Fall of 2007, I set out to build a new kayak to serve several goals: Build a kayak that fits Ilena, my significant other, better than my Romany. Build a kayak that would be a Greenland style hard chined boat that is as easy or easier to roll than my Romany. Try several [...]
Gathering Supplies (2:30 Hours) The biggest show stopper for most new kayak and canoe builders is the gathering supply step. Having to decide exactly what materials to buy, where to find the best deal, and how to get everything together in the same location at the right time is complicated. For this kayak, I’m using [...]
Fair Inside (4 Hours) After the kayak is lifted off the forms, it’s time to fair the inside. This kayak is mainly flat on the inside, so fair is easily accomplished using a block plane, hobbyist plane, and a flat surform tool. A Convex surform can be used on the concave sections of the hull. [...]
Cockpit Coaming (8 Hours) There are many methods of building a cockpit coaming and making a carbon fiber coaming is certainly one of the hardest, but it is an achievable project for the home builder. I like to build mine in four steps. The first step is to make the foam mold that will be [...]
Control Box – 1 Hours The control box for the skeg is built much the same way as the deck fittings. A four and a half inch slot is cut into the hull. It’s located near the center of the coaming. A foam mold is inserted into the slot and covered with paste wax and [...]
![080831-003[1]](http://www.paddlinglight.com/pl/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/080831-0031-150x150.jpg "Permalink to Building Ken Taylor 1959 Kayak-the Igdlorssuit – Launching")
Wetting the kayak in the crystal clear water of Lake Superior was the best reward for almost a year of building. Ilena and I launched the Iggy with little fanfare. John Amren, owner of Superior Coastal Sports in Grand Marais was the only other attendee, and he was there because we choose the beach behind [...]
The second trip with the Iggy involved a trip from Grand Portage, out to the Susie Island and then to the border.
A skeg is an effective tool that can help control a kayak in difficult conditions. In quartering wind and waves, it can be a godsend. For the average backyard builder, commercial skegs tend to be expensive and most backyard builders will have the skills to fabricate their own. When looking at skeg options, I’ve never [...]
Join us for Minnesota’s first wooden boat Meet at the Beach. The event will occur on Lutsen Resort’s beautiful beach the weekend of June 16-17. All wooden kayak and canoe builders are welcome to bring their boats to show off and let others paddle them in the waters of Lake Superior. Every type of wooden construction is welcome from Stitch and Glue, cedar strip, skin-on-frame, and everything in between. And the event is open to the public.
Canoecopia 2005: Trip Report
“It’s a Star Trek Convention for canoeists.” – Kevin Callan, he was asked what Canoecopia was by a border guard when crossing from Canada into the US. This was the third year that I’ve attended the Canoecopia, the world’s largest paddle sport expo, and this year was the first that I could fully enjoy the [...]