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Archive for February, 2009

Building Your Kayaking Boat

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Kayak boats are designed mainly for pleasure and fishing. Therefore kayak plans must be made to build light weight and durable boats. The light weight of the boat should not compromise the length. The normal kayak boats will be 12 to 20 feet long. For getting light weight you can select thick hard wood strips. The boat will then weight as light as possible. You can design either double paddle or oars to propel the boat.

You can plan to build your kayak boat with wood since wood is a cheap material that is affordable to any one. Again wood is an easily available material. Apart from this wood is strong, light weight and does not fatigue. Wood is stronger than fiber glass and steel. Wood can become soft at the bottom side and so you can use fiber glass at the down side of your boat. This will help to prevent moisture and abrasion. Moreover you can build your wooden kayak with minimum tools and in less time. You can plan your kayak by strip building method. You should understand the art of bending small thin strips of woo to design the boat shape. You should also know to use the correct mixture of fiber glass with wood in order to produce a tough boat.

You can plan the recreational kayaks according to your need. For instance Nymph is kayak model boat which will be useful for light paddlers. 10 feet little auk is a recreational kayak suitable for digging around the protected water. 11 feet little auk is light weight kayak which can be used in ponds for large paddlers. 14 feet great auk is a kayak ideal for lakes and harbors. Sea Island sport is suitable for touring and fishing. The success of the kayak design depends on the proper blend of art and science. There is no separate computer aided design package for designing boats. Yet you can use the shapes in CAD and can twist and reanalyze them until you get the suitable boat shape. With the design you can start planning to build your own kayak.

You should plan the kayak boats that suit any different conditions. If you are a beginner then you can start with the simple design. You can build kayaks by using pre cut plywood that are then stitched together in the joints and glued The shape of the kayak is decided by the panel. The 2 dimensional panels are bent at curved edges. The stitch and glue kayak boats can be designed without forms also. Using stitch and glue method by using small strips of plywood will help in building strong and light weight boat within shorter period of time. The shape of the boat is determined by the shape of the plywood panels. You can get more stitch and glue plans from internet also.

Why You Should Get Into Sailing

Friday, February 6th, 2009

It’s relaxing. You know that song by Christopher Cross called ‘Sailing’? If that song alone was not able to convey how relaxing sailing can be for you, I don’t know what will! Seriously though, sailing is really an extremely relaxing thing to do. There really is something to be said about ‘being in touch with nature’ and how it calms you inside and out. Sure, taking a walk in the woods can do that too but somehow sailing brings it up a notch higher doesn’t it? So give it a go and soothe your nerves!

Many people think that sailing is a pretty expensive activity. Well, it is if you want it to be. However, do note that there ARE ways to indulge in boating without it costing an arm and a leg. For instance, did you know that you can finance your own boat for as little as $200-$300 a month? Also, most marine lenders are boat men too so it’s kind of easy to work out a deal with them. Try it out before you shoot the idea down. You might find that you’re spending more on other activities you’d rather not do. It’s more cost-effective than you think.

Sailing is good exercise too you know. Even if you go sailing purely for recreational purposes, the preparation and actual sailing will provide good activities for you. Now, if you want to make a sport out of boating, then all the more calories you get to burn. It makes for good exercise.

It’s a great way to bond with family and/or friends. With no TV, game console, pool table, and mobile phone to occupy people’s times, sailing is an excellent way to simply bond with family and friends. It’s great way to catch up on what everybody else is doing… and all that with such a great backdrop too!

Of course, sailing can provide some serious alone time too which all of us needs every now and then. If you need to think clearly without fear of being bothered every now and then, sailing is the perfect way to go.

Sometimes, the only thing that prevents us from doing what we want to do is… traffic or the little obstacles we need to overcome to do what we want to do. With boating, the sheer space and sense of freedom you get makes these ‘obstacles’ seem very trivial.

Sailing is simply a very FUN thing to do because there are so many avenues to take once you’re in the water. You can go fishing, diving, waterskiing, or simply cruise along.