: Well done Leo, she is really beautiful. Any chance we could get some closeups
: of that rudder?
Thanks for the compliments on the boat, I couldn't wait to get it posted here. I was hoping to have it done for the Newfound Rendevous, but no such luck... next year I guess. For those that asked, she's on the heavy side, She weighs around 54lb fully outfitted. That was one of the downfalls of being a new builder I suppose, I just wasn't very good on getting all the extra epoxy out of the glass, primarily on the hull both inside and outside. I really screwed up with the epoxy cooking off during the heat of summer and had to patch in a couple of spots on the outside and feather in everything. As you guys have said though, just do it and you'll learn. Next time I'll be much better with that. I think most of us newbies want to build a work of art and get so caught up in that end of it. It's hard to hear folks saying don't worry, it's your first boat and no matter what you hear, you can't help comparing your efforts to that of the masters on a national and international scale.

I'll try to get some closeups of the rudder and footpegs over the weekend. I'm not sure how the footpegs will compare with other designs out there. I kinda make it up as I went along. I mounted studs on inner walls of the kayak and then took a piece of 1/8 birch marine plywood covered it with carbon fiber and mounted the footpeg unit to that. I mounted that unit to the studs. The only other option seemed to be drilling through the side of the boat and that wasn't acceptable to me.

It looks like I'll have plent of room with my big ol' size 14's but that will be proved or not tommorrw. Supposed to be in the mid 60's here in Western MA, so out onto the Swift River for a test paddle. Contrary to it's name, it's the prettiest little stretch of quiet water running through a forest you could hope for. A nice test for such a rank amateur. People are amazed that I would spend a year building a boat that I have practically no experience paddling. Most of my time has been spent in canoes. The problem was that if I built a canoe, I'd have to build it big enough for the family and I didn't think it would be particularly fun to paddle alone. The kayak on the other hand would be a blast to paddle alone which will be probably 95% of the time. The canoe will be next once I get some other woodworking duties behind me. It's amazing how much other work suddenly needs to be done when the wife finds that there is an previously unknown talent.