I love adventure and have an idea for an adventure challenge and need some advice. I have built and designed a few boats (4) in my 54 years but am intrigued by the "six hour canoe", "weekend skiff" etc. It would be a grand adventure and test of creativity to fly into a foreign country (eg. Chile) with a bag of hand tools. Build a canoe or skiff take a 30 mile float trip (Bio-Bio River)
sell the boat and fly home in 10 days. With the selling price covering part of the trip and material costs.
What boat would you build? What country would you fly to? What tools and gear would you take? How much time would you need to complete the voyage? and Who wants to come along?
Sincerly,
Paddler Joe
LOL... I love it... Let me Ponder that one for a bit... Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteGreat Idea! Have to think about what country, what city at the end of the "line" to fly out of. At least with my skills, selling a boat in a country with a lower economic status wouldn't bring me much monetary compensation - On the plus side selling the vessel should buy me an extra bag of peanuts on the flight home... Very intrigueing PD Wish I could afford the flight and time away from my work. For tools I'm thinking (assuming I'm going minimalist): - crosscut saw, rip saw for cutting planks, Jap. pull saw - hammer, 2 -3 chisels, couple of knives - tape measure, steel plate tapped for cutting doweling - cast iron glue pot for "creating" glues I'm sure there are a few other items I'd like to take but I'd have to think about it. Of course, can't forget a couple of cases of "refreshment." Andy
ReplyDeleteYour proposal sounds like a very interesting idea and I, like you, prefer doing things that are somewhat adventurous and make my own memories rather than sit and watch TV and be a part of a collective cultural memory based on fiction and presented to the herd for the purpose of keeping their interest long enough to hawk a few peddler's wares. It has merit and if it is something the WBB group wants to tackle I would like to offer my experience and help to plan it.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I began an adoption facilitation service serving clients traveling to Ukraine to adopt children and I travel frequently to Eastern Europe. Our website is www.nachalaadopt.com (I have also been a motorcycle rider for over thirty years and one of my dream trips is to ride a dual-sport bike across Russia - no small task at 16 time zones and less paved roads than the state of California). Each country has different laws concerning entry into the country by foriegners and what you can bring into the country with you. Materials to construct the boat will undoubtably be different than what you are used to using and often hard to obtain. In remote regions there may be minimal government authority and a danger to foriegn travelers for the same reason recouping your costs by selling the boat is a remote possibilty - money is scarce.
Would also need to check with the CDC for what innoculations are needed to safeguard your health. And the list goes on.
I don't want to sound like a wet blanket but a trip of this nature would require extensive planning. I would start with a criterea for selecting the destination based on friendliness to tourism, minimal language barrier, and governmental stability. If you present yourself with as few a number of problems to overcome as possible and work from there you're much more likely to have a successful outcome.
Haroshee vezyeneya ee fsivo vam dobrava, moy droozhnya,
(Good luck and all my best, my friends)
The Woodwright
Dear Andymfish: thank you for the input. What is the steet plate tapped for cutting doweling, and the cast iron glue pot? I don't know if a tourist could leagally sell a boat in a foreign country but it should pay for the materails if you survive the trip. What boat would you build? Joe
ReplyDeleteJoe: I would use the doweling plate to make, well... dowels These would come in very handy for tying together larger framing members plus seats, oar locks, etc. The pot would be used for making glue (from local evergreens and sappy plants), steaming wood, making coffee, etc. I got the impression that this was sort of a survival type of idea so I am assuming I would have to make pretty much everything from scratch other than the metal tools... Oh, yeah, in the tool list I forgot to include some type of hand drill with wood boring bits. This has been kind of fun to speculate on. Gives me something to do while I do my
ReplyDelete"real" work at the flower shop. Andy
If it was me and I was looking at the photo you provided, I would look at the free plans page at bateau.com for their little plywood kayak/pirogue/canoe. At 12 ft, it's perfect for what you want, and if your tool kit included a quart of epoxy with hardener, about 25 feet of fiberglass tape and a pair of rubber gloves, you'd do just fine. If you want to see a finished one, look at the "Firecracker" files on this site. JR Sloan, Spokane
ReplyDeleteAddendum-- I talked to a friend who came back from Chile last year after spending a year in country. There's no problem finding plywood, oil-based paint and like that. Problem comes in getting it all in one place, but there's lots of folk willing to help gather the stuff. If you build the cheap canoe, you won't need to sell it, you won't have enough invested to make it worth your time. Here's a plan: get there with a couple, three weeks to spare. Go find a friendly English-speaker. Gather your materials (forget the dowels--you can buy screws in Chile, like anywhere. If you use epoxy glue, use small nails instead.) Build the little boat in a day, 'glass it that afternoon and paint it with enamel the next day. Arrange transportation to wherever while it's drying. Buy some beer and grub for the trip. Go on the trip. Take lots of pictures for those of us living vicariously. Give the boat to the guys who helped you the most, go home.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice. I enjoyed your "Firecracker" pictures. You sound like a wealth of usefull information. You mentioned 12' as a possible length if a paddling partner comes would you build two 12' or one 16'? Was the 22" beam something you would repeat? Would you advise some rocker for class II moving water? Are plywood dimensions metric in Chile and what size? Would you recomend 4mm thickness? What wood would be available in South America of similar strength? Is polyester resin ok for a hull with a two week lifespan? What resins would you find in Chile? I even thought of making this boat like "Habitat for Humanity". Leave the boat for someone to use as a way to launch a tourism business. Sorry about the bad pun. We will need a name like "Passing the Paddle". Thanks all for the advice. Paddler Joe
ReplyDeleteHi paddlejoe great question, As I am from Scotland I would love to go to Canada [does it count] I would built the Grawl an 18' One Sheet "Dug" Canoe as seen in Members projects Apart from one sheet 12mm ply and some 4x2" for the frame to set the glue, 2x2" for the seat and foot rest, All I would need is some screw to hold while the glue sets,glue, fiber glass tape,As I am I varnish man " varnish." Tools: Hand saw, Measuring tape, Bevel gauge, Drill and bits, Screw Driver,if there was room a sander.brushes. Now if you were leaving the canoe and only using it for one short trip you might get away with thiner plywood and less finesse less sanding and varnishing less taping. I would also need to take a fishing rod and takle,camping gear, doh and make a padled more 2x2" and a spoke shave, I was nearly up a creek without a paddle!!! This needs careful planing I would leave the canoe with anyone how would use it. a name !! this is the hardest part mmm they call Scotland little Alaska so how about LITTLE CAN BOGSDOLICS
ReplyDeleteI loved the great documentation of your "Grawl" I also enjoyed the paddle it looked like as much work as the boat. Your link to Hannu's Boatyard was great too. http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/gsahv/index.htm . I had no idea someone has wasted as much time as me (even more) trying to build boats from a single sheet of plywood. The trip to Canada would be great but it doesn't seem foreign enough ( I was born in Calgary) they still speak the Queens language. I think it is a law, that adventure goes up as the square of the distance traveled. Your boat reminds me of my first grandchilds first "canoe" I created it after the local boats and made it into a cradle.
ReplyDeleteNice piece of work there Joe, and your granddaughter is a real cutie... Andy
ReplyDelete