Boatsie, I built the first Vember using Pawlonia, as did Plymouth Damo for his Vember Expedition. The free Build Manual, included in the plans download as a PDF, shows this in photos. I now just use strips without the cove and bead, as described in the Manual. Making one's own cove and bead without ...

Boatsie, have you also considered our strip-built Vember? Both Shrike and Vember can be scaled for length and beam in the paper print-out of the free plans PDFs, but with Vember one can also vary the beam and the length independently of each other: http://cnckayaks.com/vember/ You may have already r...

Beryl, you've brightened up my day/week/year. Our project is based on love of life, and love of paddling and sailing on our wonderful waterways. Our only reward is the knowledge that we've helped spread this love around the world, so we're always very happy and grateful to receive messages of suppor...

...and Happy New Year to you all.

Neall in Devon, U.K is making good progress:

Peter M. snatched a paddle on Monday near Polkerris just before the heavy gales arrived:

What's the best sea kayaking photo you've taken? Here's mine, which I took of my pal Tony at Bantham, Devon. I used a Sony DSC U-60, purchased on the advice of Douglas W.

Learning to muddle my way down middle-grade white water was the best move I ever made to improve my rock-hopping and tidal race skills in a sea kayak. Indeed, one rocky tidal race I used on the biggest tide of the year was "grade 4 white water overlain with a channel swell every few seconds" accordi...

Selkie Kayaks from Newhaven, Sussex, UK, is producing Shrikes with some fine workmanship: https://selkiekayaks.co.uk/

She is Zeka's second Shrike:

Ariel in Spain has just completed his very pretty Shrike. He has installed the optional three-part foredeck, rather than using our standard single sheet of 3 mm plywood. Sometimes builders do this because they are only able to source thicker plywood that is unable to bend to the complex shape requir...

Photo received this week from Jeff in the USA.

Today I received this photo from Ben in Australia with his elegant new Shrike:

Peter M. enjoys lunch and the view of Daymer Bay.

https://media.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/uploads/4998/1531043920342-5339.png Paul F. from near Plymouth has just sent me details of the Shrike LV he has recently completed: " This is a 90% scale LV Shrike. I've previously built a full size 100% Shrike. The LV is easy to roll, at the expense of some st...

Paolo from Italy has nearly finished his Shrike, but couldn't resist putting her in the water and trying out a few strokes. His message this morning: Overall it’s a wonderful kayak, I love it! Stable, easy to turn, easy to roll.. you have all my greetings and gratefulness. I will use the Shrike when...

Mowgli, great job! Paddling a kayak that you have built is very special. You'll find that she rolls nicely, especially with a Greenland stick. The Standard Greenland Roll onto the back deck then becomes effortless. With your permission I'll put that photo in the Gallery on our website, along with ov...

Mike from Pembrokeshire is building this Vember for his wife, Mer, who is seen deciding on the cockpit and fitting-out details. The kayak's beam is reduced from the standard size as Mer is accustomed to paddling narrow kayaks. This again shows the flexibility of the design, enabling personal prefere...

Mowgli, that's very fast work. I confess I don't apply any varnish, and rely on our lack of sunshine to preserve the two coats of epoxy resin. I look forward to seeing a photo of you afloat in her. Well done.
Nick.

I have a 12ft kayak... The kayak weighs 32kg. Can you confirm that weight? 32 kg = 70.5 pounds. That is more than double what I would expect from a 12 foot long kayak. It would also, if accurate, be a weight that is liable to cause injury to you when lifting the kayak onto a roof rack. I see that s...

Ringleader is a beauty:

For years I've fitted a Gore Vent Plug to each bulkhead. They equalize air pressure and they don't leak.
http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... -plug.html

Lat week Peter M. and his Shrike found this beautiful beach near Fowey, Cornwall, UK :

Mowgli, that is beautiful work! Is that a Nick Schade design? I'm always concerned that flush wooden hatches will leak, bearing in mind my predilection for being frequently upside down, usually, but not always, voluntarily. I'd be grateful for details of your eventual solution. One strength of the p...

Mowgli, for a detailed description of how PlymouthDamo (Damian on this forum) constructed a watertight foredeck hatch you need to read the latest version of the Shrike Build Manual, dated 1st March 2018. ("The Builders' Tips", Appendix A, at pages 41 and 42) If you don't have this version just downl...