REVIEWED BY JAY BABINA
From the trip to the lumber company to the great country-style
guitar and pedal steel music, this video comes from the heart. As you
watch Judv. Jen and Edgar slowly applying varnish to their beautiful
strip kayak, there's a body language that reflects their infatuation
with what they're doing. They're totally enjoying the process. And it
shows. They took first place at the MidAtlantic Small Craft Festival
with their very first kayak. They have built three ...one for each (why
not'?).
The video Homegrown Boats is a two video set with a running
time of approximately three hours and 45 minutes that covers the entire
building process from wood selection to final outfitting. As they
introduce themselves to you in the beginning they state their
intention: we wanted to make the kind of
video we wish w e had when we started to build our first kayak. As a
builder of strip kayaks, I can highly relate to that sentiment.
There's always a lot of questions and nothing beats watching it being
done. After all, you don't venture into one of these projects without
the desire for perfection.
The video shows the building of a Panache designed by Rob
Macks (Laughing Loon Kayaks). It s a West Greenland style kayak, 18' x
21 '. Having built a Panache, I noted a lot of the methodology is based
on Rob's instruction manual. However, they add a lot of ingenious
tricks and artistic changes that they have adapted clever ways to
execute.
The video is as thorough as it gets. After discussing various types
of wood, we move into setting up the saw to cut strips. This is the
second-most feared chore for stripbuilders. It seems like it's going to
be more work than it really is. They do an excellent job of clarifying
and demonstrating the process and shortly move right along to setting
up the strongback and forms. This is the skeleton into which the strips
are stapled.
With intervals of narration broken by music and building, you find
yourself moving right along to the installation of the final strips.
Then comes the number one, most feared task. Glassing' They throw in a
bit of a humorous warning. There s no taking a nap, having a snack,
taking a break, walking the dog, etc. After explaining ail the basics
about epoxy, they cover the kayak with glass cloth and begin applying
the resin. This is a point of no return, and for the builder working
alone for the first time. it creates a bit of anxiety. To see this
whole process done on both the outside and inside of the kayak is worth
the price of the video. They do a good job of it and leave nothing to
the imagination. Once again, the process has some great musical
accompaniment.
As I watched this video. I could see all the work that went in to
it. Although the video is not real slick with wild camera angles and
video graphics, the narration is very precise and extremely well
thought out. It's also refreshing to hear a lot of the talking done by
the women since boatbuilding activity seems to be highly
male-dominated. They're also right in there with the tools and epoxy as
well. Everything is nicely shot and is very clear as well as
thorough.
They show a very unique and interesting way to make a wavy wood
pattern with the strips, as well as putting on logos and various
fittings. They build the hatch covers, seat, coaming , bulkheads and
demonstrate every detail. There's also a lot of personal building
experiences from the three builders in the form of practical
advice.
Stripbuilding has a lot of variations on many of the tasks. Many
builders use an inner and outer stem when it comes to building the bow
and stern. This is a piece of wood that runs from the tip of the bow
down to the keel epoxied on the inside and outside of the boat. This
can make your work a little easier and can add strength. Although none
of these methods are absolute, I would have liked them to mention this
one variation as a possibility. The method they use is fine and is well
demonstrated, but it is not the only one.
It's made clear that there are no plans with this video and the
intent is totally to demonstrate the process and that it is adaptable
to whatever boat you decide to build. Something like this has been long
overdue for those wishing to venture into stripbuilding a kayak.
When they get to the final varnishing stage, you can fully enjoy the beautiful craft they built. It's like magic - from this pile of wood strips into this piece of functional artwork...and what a great job they did. We end up viewing three beautiful kayaks quietly resting on the shore. then a final paddle off.
I wish I had this video when I built my first boat.
HomeGrown Boats. PO Box 488, Woods Hole, MA 02543
Two-Video Set Price: $80 Plus S5 Shipping (US). Available in VHS or Super VHS ,
Foreign shipping prices and video formats.
Jay Babina is designer and builder of Outer Island strip-built kayaks in Connecticut
