Retrieval on DeSoto Ramblings

In terms of performance I thought my kayak did real well today. It's the first time I've paddled it for more than thirty minutes on a lake. There was a stiff wind from the South that created some 1 to 1.5 foot waves. It wasn't that rough but the roughest water I've been on so far. If I turned the kayak so the waves were hitting the side, the kayak felt stable. Orienting head on into the waves caused the bow to spear into the larger of them and water cascaded across the deck. I can see that more buoyancy at the bow would be a good thing for rough water conditions. I purchased a waterproof, closed cell foam, camping mat and used that for a seat pad. One layer wasn't enough so I doubled it. On the way back it scooched out of position and it didn't do its job very well. It was a definite improvement though over the last pad I tried. I think I'll try to make a seat with some minicell foam at some point.

Pylons

Pylons on DeSoto.

Kayaks

Tom making some adjustments and the kayaks at Middle Boat Ramp.

The MRVP Gang

Meri and Curt probably thinking, "This new guy is messy." Sorry about that :)




Meri in her Old Town kayak.




Tom kicking back in his unique craft.

MRVP on DeSoto

Today I joined the Missouri River Valley Paddlers on DeSoto. The picture above is showing American Lotus going dormant for the winter.

We got real close to pelicans a few times. They're beautiful large birds. We also saw: osprey, king fishers, cormorants, great blue heron and a bald eagle. I think it was the first time I'd seen an osprey. I wasn't sure they were osprey at the time but after looking at a few pictures and seeing they're listed on the DeSoto bird checklist, I'm positive. We saw a few with fish hanging off their talons.

Profile

Here's a picture showing the relationship of the size of the skeg to the rest of the kayak. Note the sagging skin. Moisture gets inside the kayak from my feet when I get in. The water condenses on the inside and the ballistic nylon gets moist enough to wrinkle a bit. It doesn't make a noticeable difference while paddling. Cooler temperatures also make the skin loosen some. It will tighten back up as it dries.

Mounted Skeg

I more permanently mounted the test skeg I made the other day. I spread a little goop between the keelson and the skeg where the screw holes were, and tightened it down. It didn't seem to leak during our four hour paddle on DeSoto today. I scraped it on the boat ramp as I was pushing off as you can see in the picture. It's made of pine and not very strong. I'll reshape, sand and maybe coat it with marine epoxy. You can see how crudely the skeg is made and I'm sure it violates many hydrodynamic rules, but it does the job. The craft tracked real well during the paddle and still remained very responsive to turns.

Bracing

I picked up a book yesterday, "The Sea Kayaker's Handbook" by Shelley Johnson. I read about bracing and decided to give the low brace a try along shore tonight. It's amazing how much more stable my kayak seems now :) I need a lot more practice but it's nice to get an inkling at where skills might take me.

Skeg

I carved a test skeg to see if it would help with the terrible yaw of the Retrieval. The blade dimensions are 7" long and 3" at it's deepest point. I duct taped it on and took it for a spin tonight. I was a little leery it wouldn't work but it was amazing how much it helped. For the first time I got into a rhythm paddling because every stroke didn't have to be a correction stroke.

The Bank

Shots of the Middle Loup Bank.

Stranded Log

Old tree trunk returning to the sand.

River Shots

Here's a couple pictures of the Middle Loup I took during one of our breaks.

Sandhill Lobster

Here's a picture of a river resident that dropped by during one of our breaks. During a previous break we had a bull snake swim across the river in front of us. Unfortunately I had already packed the camera back in the dry bag.

Sand Hills

The Middle Loup river is nestled in North Central Nebraska in the Sandhills. Here's a couple pictures showing the sand the native prairie resides on.

Glidden Canoe Rental

Three of us made the trip my wife Melissa and friend Mary. We rented two kayaks from Glidden out of Mullen Nebraska.

Design Changes

I took the kayak out for it's first real test. We kayaked down the Middle Loup River for 5.5 hours. The first couple hours were spent getting used to the craft on the river. Then the kayak started feeling cramped and I started trying to adjust the exercise mat I was using as a seat pad. The last hour was pretty painful for my hind end and legs. Not too mention I was exhausted from paddling. I learned a lot about my kayak though and have some changes in mind.

There's too much rocker. Being able to maneuver is critical but just about every stroke with this kayak is a correction stroke. By the end of the day I was worn out mostly from just keeping the craft going strait. I'm going to try adding a skeg to see if that helps. The cockpit is way too cramped. I'm going to rip out the masik and put in a thinner laminated one to give more leg clearance. Also I think the foot beam needs moved farther toward the bow. I think those few changes should make the kayak more serviceable and enjoyable to use. Oh I need to add some type of thin seat pad that won't compress like the exercise mat. In general the next kayak I make for rivers will have more volume on both ends. The rivers in Nebraska are shallow and I'd like the kayak to ride a little higher in the water to get over the shallow sand bars.

Inside Bow View

In lieu of floor boards I used a bamboo mat from World Market, cut to fit and coated with urethane.

Inside Stern View

Deck Lines

These are the stern deck lines to keep needed items topside. As you slide the toggles toward the sides of the deck the lines tighten.

Combing

The combing is made of steam bent red oak. The dimensions are 21.5"x17."

Stern View

Bow View

Side View

Not the most flattering side of the craft :)

Two Action Shots

It's going to take quite a while before I start feeling I'm in total control of this kayak. It yaws like crazy as I paddle. It should work great on rivers around the state.

First Float

Here's what the kayak looks like with me sitting in it. It sure has plenty of rocker.

Resting

Here's a picture of the kayak resting on the surface. You can see the frame through the translucent skin. The skin is 8oz ballistic nylon coated with a two part urethane.

Finally Finished

I finished building my Retrieval kayak Saturday morning, with the installation of the deck lines. I took it for a short spin on the lake today. Here's a picture resting on shore.

More of the underside

Here is one more picture taken at a different angle.

Closer Look

Here's a closer look at the bottom of the kayak.

Bow

A picture of the bow.

Stringers are on

Here are a couple pictures of the frame with the stringers attached. Other than a few small tweaks the frame is ready for skinning. I've got to make the combing and paddle as well.

Back on Land

I discovered a home made kayak attracts attention. I had just gotten rid of my sea legs and this couple showed up. You can see the black strap from the life preserver peaking out of the cockpit. I stuffed that in the stern so the kayak would float if I swamped the boat. The picnic table was a nice handhold for the launch.

Now I just have to make the combing for the cockpit and skin the frame and I'll be done :)

Action Shots

Well as you can see I finally got the kayak moving. Since it was my second time in a kayak I was a little tentative. Once I get the cockpit in place and a couple hours worth of practice under my belt, I'll feel a lot more comfortable.

What?

Here I'm about ready to get started, I just need to figure out which end of the paddle goes in first :) The paddle was made by my friend Phyllis' husband Norm, on loan for the testing. I'll make a Greenland style paddle later.

Seated

And this is what the kayak looks like after 175 pounds sits down in it :) I'm just relieved it floats with me in it.

Pre Launch

I'm just about ready to get into my kayak for the shrink wrap test at Standing Bear lake in Omaha. I'm not pressing down on the kayak at all, just keeping it from floating away in the stiff wind. The hull was covered with 4 mil. plastic and the whole thing wrapped with saran wrap, held on with duct tape.

Retrieval Frame

Here's a picture of the frame almost completed. The ribs and floor boards are in but no stringers yet.

ribs

This picture is taken of the stern end showing the ribs and keelson stringer installed. Not perfection but I hope it will do the job. The ribs were ripped from a kiln dried red oak 2"x4" purchased at Menards. I soaked the ripped strips for two weeks and then used hot water to make them more pliable for bending.

Underside

Here's the underside of the bow. You can see the mortises for the ribs. The kayak is 10'-10" in length, with a 23.25" beam.

Aft

Here's the deck from the aft end. Frame is of peg and lash construction. The gunwales are glued and pegged to the bow and stern end blocks.

Deck

Here's a picture of the top deck with bow toward the front. All wood is pine except for the four curved beams which are green red cedar.

Started

A lot has changed since I posted last. I bought some lumber from a local lumber mill, cyprus for the gunwales and ash for ribs. I couldn't get the cyprus gunwales to bend the same, even after planning. So I purchased a 1"x4" pine board from Menards and ripped it in half. After shaving one of the gunnels down I could get them both to match around the forms. At this point I have the top deck built. I've got a few pictures I will post later.

Book Arrived

The Morris book arrived yesterday. I really didn't have much time to read it since we had company but I did discover there's a difference between the "Alaskan Retrieval" kayak and the "Alaskan Recovery" kayak. It turns out the Retrieval kayak came into being with the use of the firearm. Game would be shot from the bank and then drug back using a Retrieval kayak. The Recovery kayak is a Morris modification of the Retrieval, turning it into a recreational kayak. Now I just need to decide which one of the two I'm going to build. Time for a little more research. The materials from Tandy also arrived yesterday.

Purchase of Latigo and Sinew

The latigo is for deck lines and the sinew to bind the frame.

Purchased from Tandy.

Latigo 5/32"X50' for $19.99
Artificial Sinew 8oz (about 300 yards) $16.69
Shipping $8.00
Tax $2.57

Total: $47.25

In retrospect I should have visited my local store. The sinew was $8.00 off so I might have come out OK if the local store sells the sinew at regular price. I should have plenty of material left over after building one kayak.

Skin on Frame Project

I've been interested in Skin on Frame Kayaks for several years now. I'm finally getting around to building one for myself. I've ordered Building Skin on Frame Boats, by Robert Morris and will be building his Alaskan Recovery Kayak. I should receive the book within the next couple of weeks. Until then I'm going to be busy preparing my work area and assembling some of the tools and supplies I know I'll need.