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.