From Kayak to Qajaq: Saturday

Wow! We are really turning strips of wood into kayaks!

Today, 6 of us began building our kayaks. We began with putting pieces of wood on gunwales (edges of the kayak) at the bow and stern to hold them together. Then we places spacers between the gunwales to spread them apart - making a boat shape.

The bow and stern: We drilled, lashed, sawed, drilled more, and pounded pegs until we had the ends put together.

Deck: The front deck uses pieces the Brian shipped from Oregon. The take a long time to make. They are laminated woods that have been bent like a rainbow. The rear deck pieces are straight. These need to be measure and tenons need to be cut to fit into the pre-routed mortises. We measured, sawed, chiseled, until each piece fit in perfectly. We placed an 1/8 " dowel through each of the mortise/tenons. Then we drilled at an angle to use 1/4" dowels through the deck to the gunwale.

Ribs: The kayak was flipped over to measure, saw and fit each rib (20 - all different lengths). They are standing up in their routed space on one of the gunwales waiting to be steamed and fitted tomorrow!

I have 2 roommates. They are both from Canada. Michael is from Nova Scotia and Greg is from Quebec. I'm having great fun learning and quizzing them about the life of a Canadian! We've poured over maps showing each other where we live etc. It's so much fun!

The three of us went to Rehoboth to find groceries so we could eat dinner. We had a great dinner of rotisserie chicken ala Safeway, green beans, potatoes, and salad! It was wonderful!

I brought breakfast and lunch made up in individual bags. Every day is the same thing! I have a hard boiled egg, cheese slices and apple sauce for breakfast. Lunch is huge! I couldn't finish it today. I have peanut butter and crackers, grapes, orange, carrots and celery sticks. I have chocolate for dessert and I haven't even touched it yet!

The water tastes horrible here. I brought 2 gallons and I'm glad I did! So far, that's the only complaint! :-)