| Review by
David Routh
"The Zen of Wooden Kayak Building" --
Chesapeake Light Craft has made a
new video that not only shows you how to make a stitch and glue
Chesapeake 16 sea kayak, but is also very entertaining.
They start out with one of their kayak kits and follow the construction
all the way thru it's completion showing tips and tricks along the way.
This video is aimed at the novice, so everything is very well explained
and they have lots of zoom-in filming of the details being discussed.
Most of the construction is done in a very nice studio with good lighting
and the host John Harris wearing very nice clothes. I kept thinking "watch
out for that glob of epoxy, you are going to ruin your shirt!!!!".
During the construction they take lots of breaks to view a burning kayak
that didn't come out right warning that if you don't do it right, your
boat might end up in a Viking funeral like this one. As the video (and the
comical breaks) progress, a gorilla is revealed to help and they change
John's attire to more of a Viking costume. Now I personally would never
burn a boat that floats, but some others would. If you want to see a boat
born from an apartment, and burned on the beach, see the Bolger Light
Schooner "Allison Might"
https://cowlove.com/allison/
The only bad thing I could say about the video is that they don't show you
how to layout parts and cut them from lumber yard materials, and they
don't show you how to do a scarf joint which is required. In their
defense, the video is aimed at people building from one of their kits with
all the parts completely cut out and scarfed.
Completing the video, they demonstrate how to do a bright finish that
shows the beauty of the wood underneath, and even have great out takes
during the credits.
I give this video two thumbs up, and highly recommend it even if you are
building another manufacturer's kit, just from plans, or even building a
completely different type of stitch and glue boat. |
