Chesapeake Light Craft

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Chesapeake Light Craft designs and manufactures the world's most popular kayak kits and plans.
http://www.clcboats.com/

Gar Wood

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Cartaphylla

 

by Prairie Schooner Greetings PackerKruez and the newly forming 'gang' - work gang that is... Glad to see this new forum for us 'wannabes and gonnabes. Truly, such stuff are dreams made of. Locked in the house to run with the dream-machine, as the great out of doors and garage-shop is frigid aired to the painful extreme these days. Great weather for skiing, but there's not a ski-able mount anywhere to be seen here on the prairie and my knees just wouldn't enjoy it any more.

As to plans for a build... No doubt I'm "preaching to the choir" here but....After having studied and pondered and changed my mind more times than my mind can easily tolerate,

I've pretty much decided on a design by an Australian fellow by the name of Jeff Gilbert. I'm sure you've seen some of his craft on the web. Here's a link that comes to mind. You'll have to contact Jeff directly about my build choice however. It's not yet readily available as a package as far as I know. I'm certain a little encouragement and some shekels in the mail would move Cartaphylla's (my build-hope) design into the open a little more. Contrary to popular belief, boat designers do not live a life of luxury. It costs to put a design into the public eye. Aside from builders' encouragement the poor fellows need to keep the galley stocked and Aspirin in the larder. (A shameless plea to throw some business his direction).... Mr. Gilbert's "Cartaphylla" is my choice. This is a new plan not yet readily available as a "complete plan kit" and I believe only one is in build at present. I'll attach a drawing of the 5-ft beam version in this e. Jeff has done a mod version of some 5'8" beam, which I am opting for. Although my sailing grounds are in Tornado Alley I worry less about knockdown recovery here in mid-continent waters than a little more room for the 'oh so necessary' schmang we boaters require for our comfort and clutter factors. She should still be extremely efficient and track like a dart. Note that the ballast is unconventional as all get-out. It's a lead filled oil/water-drilling pipe that is attached externally. Extremely clever in my opinion and manufacture easily jobbed out rather than attempting a forge in my back yard. A 'reality' to deal with for a great many designs is the requirement of forging your own ballast. I want the neighbors to wonder and oohahh at my project, but not phone in frantic calls to the EPA, neighborhood watch, DEA and whomsoever would freak at billowing forge fumes and the squeal of lead pours through the night. I have chosen Cartaphylla partially because of a pioneer spirit in that by building from offsets and ideas still in development I can throw a little more of me into the project as opposed to a completely developed set of plans, building schedule, et al. But this thought leads me to a thought. How much of the 'brain work' do you want prearranged for you? What are you prepared for? How much building experience do you have? How brave (fat, dumb and happy) are you? Sometimes I peg the fat, dumb and happy meter....planning projects it would take pharaoh's minions to accomplish. This is no lightweight project on our minds here gang. Be a smart scout. Be Prepared! Do some real soul searching and research before you jump into the building frenzy. Remember always as well, whatever the plans say about build time, expense and ease.... multiply that estimation by some factor approaching the yield of atom bombs. Well, at least double the estimate... The issue of what to build is one that has been both a joy and a curse. There are so many designs to choose from and so many personal options to consider, that making a final decision is a labor of love and hate, and a perfect appeasement for the procrastinator lodged in all of us in some degree or another. It is my firm belief that one should consider wants and 'realities' very carefully before jumping into this marriage-like project. For some, ripping a boat together on the garage floor is as simple and joyous as the magazines and web sites would have one think. For others, myself included...I figure this will be my only build in this lifetime and so I want it exactly right. Whatever our criteria for a plan might be...the choosing is one of the most important and perhaps most enjoyable aspects of the entire project. I'd suggest doing a lot of reading, (so many building philosophies out there!) comparing, monitoring the reality meter, and perhaps purchasing of several to many study plans and the like prior to deciding on the eventual 'companion'. In the process of preparing, you will fall in and out lust for many designs and learn more than you ever expected through the process. Another plus in taking a goodly time to decide is the benefit of learning more than you might suspect about your dream boat and boats in general. Needs and wants will change many times. It is an awful thing to realize this enormous investment cluttering up the workshop just isn't what you really want half way through the project. I'm reminded of a wise sage's advice long ago. "If you're going to jump off a bridge, jump off a short one. You'd hate to change your mind half way down." Take some extra time. Weigh out your options. Weigh out your needs. Weigh out the availability of your chosen build materials. Weigh out the build-ability in your environs Weigh out the livability of your decision and communicate, communicate, communicate. Silent friends are only good as pallbearers. You will need help. But do follow YOUR dream. You will need the cooperation of your friends and neighbors. Throw their input into the brain glue-pot. You will need the loving tolerance of your life partner as well. Include them in your decision making process. After all, they will have to live with your joy and frustration as much and as often as you. Most of all, enjoy the flirtation with the possibilities. The choosing is a joyous process filled with the possibilities and realities of working toward the fulfillment of pretty big dreams. Just imagine the joy of sitting in the cockpit in the driveway or on the water, proud as a newborns parent, your decision beneath your stroking hand. "I chose this. I BUILT THIS!" Cheers and happy hunting.