Strongback 1.0 and 1.1

Alternate title for this post: Why You should Strive to Make Every Step of the Process as Perfect as Possible

The fact that I'm using version numbers should be a not-so-subtle hint that things didn't go very well. I decided to do a box beam as described in The Stripbuilt Sea Kayak. So I got myself a sheet of plywood, ripped it into appropriately-sized boards, and then used the table saw to make the rabbets for the glued joints.

The mistakes I made were on version 1.0:

1. Rabbets were not cleanly cut. I should have checked these more closely and sawed them a second time on the areas that didn't get cut cleanly.
2. Due to some measuring mistakes, I ended up having to build it out of shorter pieces in a couple of areas. This may have made it less stable with shorter overlaps of the boards making up the sides.
   
3. I used screws as well as glue to hold it together. The screws raised the plywood a little where they went in.
4. I didn't put any internal cross pieces in to keep it from torquing.

I knew it wasn't perfect, but I thought I'd be able to get the forms adjusted on it. Wrong. The holes in the forms were not large enough to allow for the amount of adjustment I needed. So, I enlarged them a bit and rounded the corners of the box beam and belt sanded the areas that were most obviously too high, giving me strongback 1.1.

To make a long story short, after much work trying to get the forms aligned on the strongback, I was not having very good luck. I came to the humbling conclusion that my first attempt was too sloppy and that I needed to work on Strongback 2.0, which I will discuss in a future post.

Why build a sea kayak?

Ultimately, I have to blame my friend Steve. Some years ago he suggested a multiday kayak trip in the San Juan Islands. Despite the crowded coves, the power boaters who cursed us to our faces, the million ton ferry that used its air horn to encourage us to get the $#%* out of the way, and the LSD-crazed locals who nearly set the campground ablaze, I found the trip enjoyable.

The self-contained nature of the boat and the self-reliance required to move the boat across the ocean gave gave me a feeling I've only had backpacking or rock-climbing -- only more so. Since that time, my wife and I have bought recreational kayaks suitable for lakes, bays, and slow rivers, and we've managed to go on a couple of ocean day trips in rented boats. The more I've kayaked and the more I've learned, the more I have felt inclined to kayak.

Inclinations led to web searches which led me to Nick Schades excellent Guillemot Kayaks site. The voice in my head (which has served me well throughout life) said "What could be more self-reliant than paddling around in a kayak you built yourself?" After a year of drooling over these beautiful wooden boats, I ordered Nick Schade's first book The Strip Built Kayak. Finally my wife said, "Why don't you go ahead and build one?" The fact that my wife would suggest I undertake such a garage-crowding, sawdust generating activity shows that either (a) I married an encouraging, understanding woman, or (b) she just likes it better when I'm out in the garage. I firmly believe (a), but either way, I'm building a kayak now. The model I settled on is the Guillemot.

So, I ordered plans and set out on a kayak building adventure. And, an adventure it is, fraught with fits and starts. It is forcing me to learn new skills, to learn how to be patient with myself, and giving me the opportunity to buy lots of new tools. What could be better?

Back from the Dead?

An update:

Sadly, pottery as a career did not work out. While I garnered many a positive comment on my pottery, I sold almost none. I gave it a try as a career and have moved on.

I spent last fall and winter teaching part time at Lane Community College and doing a little part time programming work for The Conservation Biology Institute. Career-wise I am aiming to do ecological modeling. Towards that end, I am in the midst of a master's degree in Biology at the University of Oregon. I've been lucky enough to be part of a modeling project looking at the ecological effects of climate, human effects, and fire in the Willamette Valley. I am concentrating on the fire modeling piece of that project. This fall (just about a month from now), I will be sitting in classes with a bunch of 18 to 22 year olds. The adventure continues...