Looking back
10/09/14 05:06
The first boat that we owned was a canoe that I built from scratch. I had a set of plans and lofted the stations from a table of offsets. I made the stations out of particle board because it was the least expensive material I could find. I didn’t own a router or a planner in those days, so I used a table saw to cut the strips from cedar that I bought at the lumberyard, faired the strips with a small block plane and tacked them to the frames. The old table saw wasn’t too accurate and there was quite a bit of variation in the thickness of the strips. I sanded and sanded and sanded before I had a canoe shape. I started with sandpaper tacked to various sizes of blocks, but I ended up purchasing a small power sander before I got done. Then I did all of the finish sanding by hand. The outside of the hull was a chore, but the inside of the hull was nearly impossible. I just didn’t have anything that fit into the curves. All in all the boat is not bad. Initial stability isn’t great, but if you keel over just a bit, it becomes very stable for solo paddling. With two in the boat the weight makes it sink into the water a bit deeper and become more stable. I’ve only swamped the canoe a few times, mostly messing around to discover its stability, but once inadvertently in the Yellowstone River in Montana where I was paddling stern and missed a brace in a roller. I dumped my wife and daughter into the river that time and it took a bit of doing to complete our trip. Fortunately it was a warm day and we had good life jackets and all we got was wet.
Since that time, I have made several canoes and restored a couple of others. A dozen years ago I got the measurements of a Chestnut Prospector and built a 16’ canoe to that shape. By then I had a router to cove and bead the strips. I had bought the cedar on the west coast and was able to have some strips that were as long as the boat. I borrowed a planer and got the strips even before I started glueing. I had invested in a lot of clamps by then and was able to be more accurate in getting the shape just right. The boat paddles like a dream. It is symmetrical, which means that I face and paddle the opposite direction when I paddle solo than when we paddle tandem. That way I can sit on the bow seat (which is in the stern when I paddle backwards). Mostly I like to kneel when I paddle solo and I have a stuff sack filled with foam that I use for a saddle to take the weight off of my ankles and knees. I guess that if I could own only one boat, the prospector would be my choice.
But then having only one boat isn’t something that has happened to me for a long time. I have a Wee Lassie solo canoe that displaces very little water and paddles very easily. I put a seat in the center of that boat and paddle with a double paddle, like a kayak. It is very light. I can pick it up with one hand and carry it down to whatever puddle of water I find. One of my mottos is, “If your lake is too small, get a smaller boat.” Paddling with the double paddle is addictive. I took my brother out in that little boat off of Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound. The sound was fairly calm, but we still shipped quite a bit of water in that overloaded boat. I decided to make a kayak.
A kayak is a good boat for general paddling. I use that kayak a lot in the spring and in the fall when it starts to get chilly. Once you fit a spray skirt, the boat becomes a lot warmer than a canoe. Of course one boat creates the desire for another, so I ended up building an expedition kayak for bigger water after making the smaller one. I’ve got dreams of starting a new kayak one of these days as well.
Then I became a grandfather and wanted a stable boat for kids. A rowboat seemed like the perfect solution and I purchased a kit for a Chester Yawl. The boat turned out great and rows like a dream, which is what I have been thinking about lately because I’ve been rowing whenever I can the past couple of weeks. It is great exercise.
Unlike the canoe or kayak, which are great boats for exploring and watching the critters, rowing has its roots in simple work boats. These days, there is competitive rowing in colleges and there are recreational rowers who engage in the sport of exercise and competition. Rowing is an olympic sport. But the roots are in getting the job done. Rowing was a way to transport people and goods from one place to another. In order to make the work efficient, rowers face the back of the boat and our view is of where we have been. We have to crane our necks and look over our shoulders when approaching the dock to see where we are going and how close we are. Most of the time we row in a fairly straight line gauging our direction from a landmark on the shore. There are techniques for steering a raft or drift boat while facing forward on a river and a few devices have been built for forward-facing rowing, but to be really efficient and graceful, facing the rear of the boat works best.
Seeing where we have come from is a good posture for a grandpa. I’ve lived enough and traveled enough and had enough experiences to make the view pretty good from where I sit. It isn’t that I don’t want to go forward. I’m a pretty good rower and I get the boat where it is headed in a smooth fashion. But I can tell a lot about the direction we are going from looking at where we have been. With a grandson in the bow looking ahead at distant shores, it is good to have a grandpa in the back who keeps track of where we have been. Together we make a good team.
Life is much about perspective. I think I shall keep rowing for many years to come. The perspective is valuable in a world that places little value on experience and history.
Since that time, I have made several canoes and restored a couple of others. A dozen years ago I got the measurements of a Chestnut Prospector and built a 16’ canoe to that shape. By then I had a router to cove and bead the strips. I had bought the cedar on the west coast and was able to have some strips that were as long as the boat. I borrowed a planer and got the strips even before I started glueing. I had invested in a lot of clamps by then and was able to be more accurate in getting the shape just right. The boat paddles like a dream. It is symmetrical, which means that I face and paddle the opposite direction when I paddle solo than when we paddle tandem. That way I can sit on the bow seat (which is in the stern when I paddle backwards). Mostly I like to kneel when I paddle solo and I have a stuff sack filled with foam that I use for a saddle to take the weight off of my ankles and knees. I guess that if I could own only one boat, the prospector would be my choice.
But then having only one boat isn’t something that has happened to me for a long time. I have a Wee Lassie solo canoe that displaces very little water and paddles very easily. I put a seat in the center of that boat and paddle with a double paddle, like a kayak. It is very light. I can pick it up with one hand and carry it down to whatever puddle of water I find. One of my mottos is, “If your lake is too small, get a smaller boat.” Paddling with the double paddle is addictive. I took my brother out in that little boat off of Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound. The sound was fairly calm, but we still shipped quite a bit of water in that overloaded boat. I decided to make a kayak.
A kayak is a good boat for general paddling. I use that kayak a lot in the spring and in the fall when it starts to get chilly. Once you fit a spray skirt, the boat becomes a lot warmer than a canoe. Of course one boat creates the desire for another, so I ended up building an expedition kayak for bigger water after making the smaller one. I’ve got dreams of starting a new kayak one of these days as well.
Then I became a grandfather and wanted a stable boat for kids. A rowboat seemed like the perfect solution and I purchased a kit for a Chester Yawl. The boat turned out great and rows like a dream, which is what I have been thinking about lately because I’ve been rowing whenever I can the past couple of weeks. It is great exercise.
Unlike the canoe or kayak, which are great boats for exploring and watching the critters, rowing has its roots in simple work boats. These days, there is competitive rowing in colleges and there are recreational rowers who engage in the sport of exercise and competition. Rowing is an olympic sport. But the roots are in getting the job done. Rowing was a way to transport people and goods from one place to another. In order to make the work efficient, rowers face the back of the boat and our view is of where we have been. We have to crane our necks and look over our shoulders when approaching the dock to see where we are going and how close we are. Most of the time we row in a fairly straight line gauging our direction from a landmark on the shore. There are techniques for steering a raft or drift boat while facing forward on a river and a few devices have been built for forward-facing rowing, but to be really efficient and graceful, facing the rear of the boat works best.
Seeing where we have come from is a good posture for a grandpa. I’ve lived enough and traveled enough and had enough experiences to make the view pretty good from where I sit. It isn’t that I don’t want to go forward. I’m a pretty good rower and I get the boat where it is headed in a smooth fashion. But I can tell a lot about the direction we are going from looking at where we have been. With a grandson in the bow looking ahead at distant shores, it is good to have a grandpa in the back who keeps track of where we have been. Together we make a good team.
Life is much about perspective. I think I shall keep rowing for many years to come. The perspective is valuable in a world that places little value on experience and history.