Just glueing it back together with thickened epoxy won't give it much strength at all - no matter what you've used to thicken it.. You'd be better off getting some 50mm wide fibreglass tape (from eBay) and running it all the way up the central spine of the blade (on both sides) using epoxy resin. It...

I'd seen a recent post on here praising Karitek but chose not to add my experience as it was the opposite of what had been posted so I'd assumed things had changed. My experience of Karitek has always been that they're incredibly difficult to get hold of and I've given up on getting my particular pr...

Where would be the first feasible put in to then kayak to Plymouth Sound? The furthest I've gone down the Tamar into Plymouth is from Calstock - a few times. Those have been there-and-back trips with the tide, and were reasonably easy (in a sea kayak). So if you're doing it one-way, going from Cals...

It looks like I've got it wrong about any prohibition on giving out the deceased's name. The VHF course I did was with my diving club and the need to avoid naming a casualty was emphasised strongly on the basis that anybody with a VHF radio can hear you so there's a risk that the next-of-kin get not...

If you are planning a trip before you're able to do a course, then yes - just buy a VHF and take it with you. You'll need to find a basic guide to the protocols on using marine VHF in the UK, but I'm sure Google will come up with the goods. I don't believe that there is any proactive enforcement on ...

and doesn't harm the paddles. I doubt anyone's going to believe that - your paddle is wood, not diamond - but yes, the point of my post was that wood (probably) beats carbon in terms of staying presentable throughout years of abuse. I've found that, for the blade tips, thickened epoxy copes well wi...

I wonder if the problems some people have had with getting in or out of an ocean cockpit might be to do with the angle it's been set at? Have a look at the first boat on this page and you'll see an extreme example of how you can make it easy on yourself by having the cockpit angling up towards the f...

I've built one boat with an ocean cockpit but knowing what I do now, I'd have built all 3 of my boats with them. The advantages, in order or importance, are: 1. You have really good contact between you and your boat. This also depends on your deck being wrapped around your legs, but if you're buildi...

I am looking to build a cedar strip boat. Does anyone know of a good supplier for the wood? Thanks Dave When I built my strip boat, I took Nick Crowhurst's advice and made it from Paulownia, which is strong, but noticeably lighter than cedar. It was a good choice - I much prefer the lighter colour ...

However, the idea of a two-piece is also very appealing and I haven't see a wooden split yet. An alternative to a 2-piece would be a storm paddle - i.e. a Greenland paddle with little or no 'loom' in the middle, knocking over a foot off the overall length. The advantage to them is you can easily st...

Try dive suppliers, I seem to recall they go for the hard soled neoprene approach more than kayak/canoe suppliers (Lomo was started by divers). Wearing outer shoes over fabric/neoprene/latex socks is a bit of a niche within the diving world - most use suits with in-built rubber boots. The most popu...

Do all drysuits go in the feet this quick or have i just been unlucky. Earlier this year, I fitted fabric socks to a new drysuit I'd just bought (a military suit which doesn't come fitted with any socks at all) and got very wet feet. I investigated, like you, by filling the legs with water and seei...

Mike Did you have your Phantom Waveski custom made from Aus or did you buy it 2nd hand? Just curious as I had the first Phantom D Cell to be imported into the UK in 1999 but sold it. Im based in the North East of England. Always wondered where it ended up. It was a white ski fading into silver with...

The keel and chine seams don't need redoing, but the main side seams and deck centreline joins need reglassing... If you're replacing the glass on the deck centreline, I'd have a think about replacing the front deck entirely with a curvier version. You could do this following the instructions in Ni...

It's too complicated a thing to diagnose/advise on the basis of written descriptions - you need the right person stood by you watching. It could be a physical thing, e.g. insufficient flexibility, or it could just be more practice required. A bit of general advice though: if I had to start learning ...

I reckon you're better off doing what you did previously - i.e. feeling where the blade is before starting the roll. It takes a bit longer, but will work on any paddle you happen to be using, and it's good to learn to feel what your blade is up to. I would definitely be caught out if my blade dived ...

I've got a Standard Horizon HX280e and an Icom M33. They both do the same, which once resulted in my radio dying on me whilst trying to tell the coastguard that the trouble we were dealing with didn't require a lifeboat... I now ignore the battery indicator and just charge it before any trip where i...

Has anyone had a polyethylene kayak welded to repair damage? If so are you able to recomend someone that can do the job? Thanks Ken I have - at a car body repair shop. They use plastic welders to repair bumpers. Phone round and let them know it's cash-in-hand and off-the-books, so they don't get pa...

I'm away until tomorrow evening, but will find out what size Lomo deck I've got and the dimensions of my cockpit. The other option you've got is a Reed deck, however I've borrowed Nick's and I found it much more difficult to get on and off.

I bought Lomo's standard ocean cockpit spraydeck. It's in thick neoprene and seems as tough as old boots. However on a previous keyhole deck from them, a run of stitching unraveled, which ultimately led to a seam coming apart, although the external cloth was still intact so you couldn't see it. This...

I don't think they're the right tool for whitewater. They let water in through the seals, and two of my sea kayaking buddies have found their nearly-new suits were leaking like sieves through the arms and feet because of loads of pin-prick holes in the fabric. Some sea-kayakers swear by them, claimi...

If, as Mike says, you're in a 'buy another boat' situation, then you've got nothing to lose trying a home repair. I'd get some sail repair thread and stitch along those two seams that run the full length of the floor. I'd probably do it by hand, but you might even be able to get it through a sewing ...

I don't have any photos, but I know that, for the Shrike, Nick used the dimensions from the same historical boat that was the basis for the Anas Acuta. Nick's got a very early Anas Acuta which I've paddled and it felt very similar to a standard Shrike, but with an ocean cockpit. Nick's been poorly f...

Plymouthdamo I like what you have done there, Skeg slider further back in the rear section but still in reach, and hatch sunk into the front deck...nice. My next boat is gonna be a shrike Thanks - moving the slider back so the entire mechanism was contained in the rear compartment was the only non-...

A full-sized Shrike is the same length as any standard sea kayak, and you can then make it high or low volume by setting the deck height. I now much prefer very low volume boats, for rolling etc., but my 3-piece is a standard high volume one - exactly the same dimensions Nick quotes for his prototyp...

My route into sea kayaking was similar to yours. I started out with an old knackered plastic Perception Dancer before moving on to a surf/white water boat and using that extensively, for medium-distance sea kayak trips. (I also have an inflatable, but was only using that for paddles up rivers or can...

Silentjay - you strike me as the kind of guy who'd appreciate a good game of 'spot the 17.5 foot, skegged Shrike'...

Help please. I have inadvertently cut my 3mm plywood panels (all 10 ) at 214 mm as opposed to the correct measurement of 244 mm. After realising this I cut a 60 mm strip thinking I could insert this between the 214 mm panels. 1. Is it feasible to insert a 60mm panel at the bottom of the hull and wh...

I appreciate Greenland sticks are a bit 'marmite,' but surely we should respect individual preference and certainly shouldn't be beheading someone just for going against the prevailing view. Very impressive by the way. Going from nothing to a self-built Greenland boat in a week must feel like such a...

I've got the latest version of The Twist and can confirm it's bomb-proof, despite the material being much lighter than the heavy rubbery stuff used in the previous incarnation. The only problem I had was that the inflatable back and foot rests are a bit Mickey Mouse, so I replaced them with a commer...