Greenland Paddle Finished

Finished off the Greenland style paddle yesterday with a couple of coats of Scandinavian Oil (didn't have any other oil around so thought I'd give it a go). Came out quite well, just need to see how it paddles now :)

Greenland Paddle - Planed to Thickness

Used the electric planer to shape the blades to their required thickness. Starting to look a bit like a paddle now. Also marked out the paddle shape, which needs to be cut out next. Still need to connect the end pieces and maybe add some contrasting timber to the blade edges.

Greenland Style Paddle

For my second paddle, I thought I'd have a go at making a Greenland style paddle. I found some instructions online and selected a nice looking piece of Oregon (Douglas Fir) and started marking out. I marked it all out and then cut roughly to size only to then realise how heavy the piece of Oregon actually was! Doh! Not impressed with wasting my time, especially as it was 40 deg C yesterday and VERY hot in the shed!

So plan B then - I have some nice lightweight pieces, but they weren't wide enough. So I laminated some pieces to the ends to make the required thickness.

The nice but heavy piece or oregon.

 All marked out ready for cutting.

Cutting to size...  

 Plan B - Laminating pieces of lighter Oregon together.

Glued and clamped together with thickened epoxy. 

The end pieces with some contrasting timber laminated in the middle.

Nice sunset.

Trial Roof Rack Fitting

Popped the kayak up on the roof racks yesterday to see how well it will ride. It was surprising secure with just the two straps over the racks, but I also tied bow and stern lines.Felt like it was quite secure and wouldn't move about at all. I also weighed the kayak and it was about 29kg with the seats.

Ready for Water!

Finished installing the seat straps last night and put on the rope handles with double fisherman knots. Its now ready for the water! Still haven't sorted out the foot rests, but that can wait. If the weather is good it may get its first splash :)

In order to cut the webbing neatly I heated up a thin piece of wire using the BBQ burner and then melted through it, sealing the ends. Also used the same trick for cutting the rope handles.

Ports Glued In

Glued in the front and rear ports and gave the seat cleats a couple of coats of epoxy.

Seat Cleats

Grabbed some more Tas Oak from Bunnings and marked out the cleat positions after much measuring and alignment. I decided to drill several holes in the cleats to allow some adjustment in the position of the seat. This will allow the seat to go back a couple of inches and forward 4 inches from its normal position. The normal position is ok for me, but the adjustments will cater for different passengers. I also made the front cleat longer so that I can attach a removable box to keep tackle and a waterproof container within. Attaching it to the cleat means that it will be attached to the kayak in case of an overturn, but also is not a permanent fixture. In order to ensure the cleats were in the correct position I glued them in while attached to the seat, with some glad wrap in between the cleat and seat to ensure the seat didn't get stuck down. Worked well.