Gathering on the Water

[Alpinbogen]

I set out with my qajaq yesterday intent on bringing home some bowmaking supplies. 


I typically travel light, but loaded up the foredeck with bow, arrows, and fishing gear since carp skins were on my list.

[Alpinbogen]

Earth pigments were on my list, too, so I made a couple of stops to gather some on my trip.  One particular sandbar holds alot of anthracite coal, which has washed down from upriver mining operations over the last 2 1/2 centuries.  I figured I could grind this down into a fine powder.


I brought a gunnysack and gathered a small stash that should last a lifetime.


I made another stop to gather some very soft Hamburg shale to grind down as well.  Most of this shale is greenish gray, but it varies from gray to maroon.


I also stopped along this embankment to gather some mottled clay.


Very firm, but sticky stuff.

[Pat B]

Very cool trip with lots of goodies.     Tell me about your boat. Looks like a Folbot

[Alpinbogen]

Pat, That's an 18' skin-on-frame West Greenland qajaq that I built this spring.  The frame is pine mostly, with steam bent ash ribs and coaming.  All tradtional construction, mortised/tenoned, and held together with pegs and lashing.  The skin is ballistic nylon, sealed with a urethane goop.  I typically do day trips of 2 to 9 miles (r/t, upriver and back), and this is excellent for shooting up through river currents.

[Alpinbogen]

One quarter mile stretch of river always has alot carp.  I tried for several hours to shoot one, but wasn't successful.  I had shot a huge one on that stretch last weekend, but it broke my arrow in half when it thrashed its way through a log jam and got free.  On my way back, I decided to take it easy and do some fishing.  The "river tarpon" were voracious, but not big enough for bow backings.

[Alpinbogen]

The clay is still drying, but I ground down some of the shale and coal on another piece of sandstone that I brought back.  I did some testing on a scrap piece of hackberry, trying dry rub, alcohol mix, and linseed oil mix applications.  The linseed oil seems to produce the richest hue, but it's not completely dry yet.  So far so good, and I'm excited to use it on one of my next bows or set of primitive arrows.

[Cameroo]

I love everything about this thread    That kayak you made is awesome.  What was the urethane goop you used to seal it?  I've been contemplating a project like that for a couple years now, just never really knew where to start with it.  How did you learn about the construction?  Mind if I ask what it cost you to make it?

[Josh]

that's just plain awesome.  I really like your boat and your k-bar too. 

[crooketarrow]

  Thats SWETTTTTTT bet it was harder to build than a bow.

[Pat B]

One of my favorite finishes for whitewood bows, especially hickory and ash, is finely ground charcoal and bear fat, hand rubbed in.  It cuts some of the brightness of a white bow and really gives the grain lines a kick.

[Alpinbogen]

Cameroo, I decided to build my own boat for combined reasons.  I wanted a true sea kayak, but didn't want spend the cash.  An early spring project like this is just what I needed to stay busy at the close of snowboarding season.  And, the primitive build falls lock-step with the sort of thing I'm into.  I had no prior build experience and bought Cristopher Cunningham's, "Building the Greenland Kayak" book.  I followed that book for most of the build, but skinned using the method on skinboats.org., which IMO is far better than the book's method.  I made various tweaks from other references as well.  I used first rate materials and laid out $400 and change for everything.  The "goop" is a 2-part, 100% solids urethane that the skinboatschool carries.  It is mixed in small batches and is squeegied on.  It's rumored to be some type of concrete sealant for normal use.  Very tough stuff.  I also used 12 oz. nylon due to the rocky nature of the rivers and streams I paddle, in lieu of the more common 8 oz. fabric.  Most of the build relies on  personal "fit" vs. measurements, not unlike a selfbow.  This one is 22" wide and is perfect for fishing and general use.  I'm planning, however, on building a skinnier, lower draft boat for faster paddling and nailing my rolling.

Josh, That K-bar has seem alot of "camp" use.  It's a tough knife.  My only complaint is that I wish it were the full sized version and I wish the leather handle didn't have those recessed rings.  If you're doing anything heavy duty with the knife over a prolonged time (like bowmaking), those little rings will reduce your hands to a blistery mess!

Pat, I like the sound of that.  Though I have a cabinet full of dyes, stains, and finishes, I have a distinct lack of bear fat.  After I ran a test on the scrap wood, it dawned on me that teak oil finish, the same stuff I used to seal the qajaq frame, might be the best bet.  It's thick to carry alot of pigment, but dries quickly...way faster than linseed oil.

[Alpinbogen]

Just another find, from the weekend before.  Something white caught my eye on a gravel bar, so I stopped to investigate.


Looks like a boar's skull...only there are no wild boars this far north.  So I guess some farmer's pig must have waded out and drowned.  (?) (?)


A little big, maybe, for a figurehead...

[Pat B]

I think any oil treatment would carry the natural pigments well.   I think the boar's skull looks good as a figurehead.    It will clear the way on your nautical journeys.

[Cameroo]

Thanks for the info.  I'll have to check that site out.  I figured it would cost twice that to build one.  I too would rather make something custom built than buy something off the store shelf.  Keeps me busy and is much more satisfying.

One more question, what does it weigh?

Thanks again.

[criveraville]

This is an educational and interesting thread. You should write an article for PA on a trip up and down river.