dryfly.ca started as a website for sharing one of my DIY projects, a stitch and glue kayak. Since then I've added several more projects including a skin-on-frame kayak, cedar strip canoe, kayak paddles, canoe paddles, building a spey rod, and an antenna for receiving OTA HDTV. I also occasionally ramble on about politics, technology, bike racing, product reviews and last but not least, our kids.
Click on the Photo Gallery to lots of my pictures in their full glory, including family, friends, boat building, travels, etc.
Once all the forms were in place the next thing I needed to do was shape the stems. The idea is that the outside of each stem is 1/4″ wide and the strips lie flat on the stem as they run out to the forms. Typically a spokeshave or plane is used to put a rolling bevel on the stem. The “rolling” refers to the fact that the angle of the bevel needs to change along the length of the stem.
Working the stem with my spokeshave was a bit tedious and frustrating at first. I was planing through 3 laminations of wood and not all of the laminations had the grain running the same way so it makes for some tougher cutting. It was also obvious that it would take some getting used to before I would become efficient and proficient in using the spokeshave for this job. In order to assist the work, I made a sanding stick. The basic idea is from John Michne’s website. Instead of attaching short pieces of strips to my stems, I just draw lines marking where each strip would run and then move the sanding stick within these lines. It works well, but it is better to do most of the wood removal with the spokeshave and finishing touches with the sanding stick.
When I first started with the stems I found it quite tedious and was wondering if I could handle building a strip boat. Once my technique improved the job became more enjoyable. I decided not to shape the stems all at once but I make sure that at least 4″ of shaped stem is showing above where the top strip lays. This gives me plenty of room for shaping more of the stem. Waiting for strips to be attached also helps a lot in stablizing the stem while shaping.
Holy moly batman, I haven’t updated my blog with canoe stuff for a long long time. Where to begin… Well, I should say something about the strongback. I first started with a 6×5 boxbeam setup that is typical for kayak building whereas canoe builders often go a bit bigger. I created two 8′ long sections and a 4′ long section. Hot glue was used to hold the plywood boards in place while everything was nailed together (brad nailer). I then added a few screws to help secure everything. The 4′ section sits inside the the ends of the 8′ sections, joining everything together. As I had anticipated, this nesting of beams wasn’t super easy. Well, it was sort of easy but that is because I was a bit sloppy.
I then mounted the boxbeams on some stands that I had made, and leveled the stands. When this was done I realized two things. First, not everything was level. Secondly, the box beam was way too high.
After a bit of thinking I decided to re-do the stands. This time I did them exactly as described in CanoeCraft. I made the legs and cut out sections in the box beam to accept the legs. Because my legs were wider than the boxbeam (since my boxbeam was narrower than specified in Canoecraft), I was able to cut slots in the legs and slide the legs into the boxbeam that way.
Prior to mounting the boxbeam on the legs, I reassembled the beams on the floor making sure everything was straight and level. While still on the floor I screwed the sections together. Once the boxbeam was lifted onto the legs, it was easy to level the legs and bingo! everything was golden.
With the strongback assembled, adding the forms was dead easy. I just took my time with the spacing and working the for/aft level. Since the strongback was dead straight, the forms were extremely easy to align.
September 14, 2007 at 10:19 pm · Filed under Just Stuff
wow, Emma May gets her first haircut and looks all grown up.
Emma kept getting really bad tangles in the back of her hair. I would spend 45min detangling it and only get about 70% done. Mama took matters into her own hand (and scissors) and shazam, Emma is now sporting a nice bob.
No, I’m not referring to some amazingly trumped US army attack in Iraq. What I’m talking about is much more real. This evening, armed with 100′ of extension cable and an angle grinder, I breached the depths of the Burnaby Velodrome and cut the cable lock off of my track bike. I have had my track bike at the velodrome since 2004 (or was it 2003?) which was the year in which I rode the bike once. Time and different interests prevented me from going to the track again since the inaugural ride. That, and the fact that I lost the key to the lock several years ago.
The 49cm Fuji track bike is now safely back in my garage where I’m sure it will continue to collect dust. I want to sell this stealthy stead, so if you’re interested then drop me a line and make me an offer.
September 11, 2007 at 6:43 am · Filed under Just Stuff
Grady got his hair cut yesterday and it looks damn sharp. I guess he wanted it cut because he’s joining the forces? Here he is with his Halloween costume on. Here is a little video that you may want to check out if you like to see kids clown around.
The day before I actually had the opportunity to go to the beach with the kids. This was the first time I had been there with them since June. The weather had been so crappy on the weekends and we didn’t have 1 hot/sunny weekend throughout July and August.
September 1, 2007 at 8:08 am · Filed under Just Stuff
A couple of weeks ago while visiting the folks in Invermere I had the chance to go fishing with my buddy John Z. We decided to check out Findlay creek since we thought there would be some good spots to fish from and it’s not too far to drive to. Our first look at the creek showed us that the water was getting pretty clear, which was a good sign for fishing.
The trick was to find some good spots to fish from, as the lower part was quite the canyon.
A few more clicks up the road revealed a lot of access to the water. Once we parked and got geared up, it didn’t take long to land the first fish.
A short while later I caught a cutthroat on a nymph, using an indicator. I would never have set the hook without the indicator. Using my 4wt I didn’t feel a thing but I saw the indicator dive under water.
Here’s a short video of the creek and how it was flowing. I figure another two weeks (right about now) and the water will be totally clear. As well, the creek was flowing pretty good and was pretty pushy. You couldn’t wade very deep, much past my knees and I had a hard time standing. I actually slipped once.
I’m not sure where the best spot to fish this run would be. There were a few seams to hit, and we were mostly throwing out streamers and swinging them down. I’d be interested in hearing how other people would approach this run for fly fishing.
