Mike, it looks great from here and I bet the Teton's /Yellowstone would be a great place to go paddle.

You might find somewhere closer 1st to get a little used to it. I don't know where in UT you are but maybe UT Lake, Willard's Bay, or the marshlands of Logan River west of Logan. I drive to Logan several times a year because I have two kids at USU and think of Kayaking there, afraid I might get lost.

Enjoy, Ralph

While you got the time work on the life lines, straps, handles and the most important seat.    Kayaking does have some draw backs. Long hours in a seat that does not fit, too low, too skinny can be painful. Don't scrimp on comfort.

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 You have time to get other things in order and test out. For example you need a skirt if you're going to kayak in Lake Jackson or Yellowstone lake.  The wind starts around noon and the waves get large fast.  The Cheasapeake has good bow boyancy, but sometimes plows into waves that come back to the cockpit. A following or beam sea will splash your cockpit when you least expect it. Remember skirt frist, then paddle jacket, then PFD, otherwise those wave slaps of cold water will go right down your back.......   Self rescues......you need to paddle with a buddy otherwise you'll have to self rescue. Do you have a paddle float? Can you do a "cowboy entry"?  Being from Utah you might be used to cold water. When I was at Yellowstone lake water temp was 55 degrees and the locals were amazed it was so "hot".  Look up emersion prepardness and hypothermia.  This Florida boy had his paddle jacket, booties and wet suit ready.

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Getting a little seat time before the big trip is a good thing.  Although I'd been paddling for years I often capsized at the bulkhead if the water was a little high during launches and recoveries. Now I'm used to the boat and have better balance.

Great Job, it looks awesome.  Don't let your wife paddle it, or you will have to build another.  Ask me how I know that!   

Ralph, Thanks, I live in N Salt Lake, my favorite paddle area is Causey Reservoir (east of Ogden). I may try Willard and the area west of Logan sounds interesting. We drive through Logan on our way to Grand Teton, I love the drive through Logan Canyon.

Grumpy, all good advice, thanks. My time in the military gave me a little cold water experience. I have more than enough time in a dry suit.  I do not have much experience paddling in rough water so I do appreciate your information and I will spend time working on the seat. I have to stop working on the kayak for a few months which is why I posted the picture now. I wanted to say thanks to everyone on this forum. I was slow, CLC advertises around 80 hours, I have about 300 in my Chesapeake. Because of my inexperience I took 'measure twice, cut once' to a higher level and I still made mistakes. But I enjoyed the process and I like my boat.

Mark, I said it before, your fleet was inspriational. You said your wife likes the 'motor in back', my wife requires one. She loves kayaking but will never paddle in anything but a tandem.

I am looking forward to time on the water, my Chesapeake will get a few scratches next year.

Mike

  Mike,

Great looking boat! Love the paint scheme, as a Chesapeake builder I really enjoyed building it, but not as much as I enjoy paddling it.

Great work, have fun and don't be too surprised if it happens to make it's way to the water before the "maiden voyage".

Dave

   Thanks Dave, the hull is sapphire blue from the CLC recommended Brightsides line of paint. The deck is two clear glossy coats of Polythane CP-500 from http://preservo.com/ It is a two part finish that you mix in equal parts and then let it sit for one half hour. It has a 20 hour pot life. The fumes require a respirator. The finish wears well, repels sulphuric acid and you can paint it on metal, bend the metal around a nail and it will not crack. A friend discovered it while vacationing in the South Pacific. He noticed the sand covered beachside resort deck he was walking on was not showing signs of wear, even with heavy tourist traffic. He asked the owner what it was. It is not easy to apply, you must watch behind every stroke or you will leave bare spots and it tacks up quickly (which surprised me given the long pot life). My second coat looked much better than my first. If you want 'museum quality' I think multiple coats of varnish would be a better way to go. If you want a beautiful, relatively maintenance free finish, this is not a bad choice. I think that if you put it on a hull you would lose the maintenance free advantage, hitting rocks would scratch the finish and, like I said, it is not easy to apply.. I did use it on the floor of my kayak to make it more durable. The smallest quantity you can purchase is one half gallon (two one quart bottles). With shipping I paid 83 bucks. Tech specs are here http://preservo.com/admin/xDocs/18CP500.PDF My friend put it on his cedar strip canoe 8 years ago, the canoe is very lightly used but the finish, excepting a few scratches from rocks,  looks like it did the day he put it on. If you want to talk to someone about it, Pam Clark at Preservo is very familiar with the product. If you are interested, I can give you an end of season opinion next fall. My kayak will probably get more use next summer than my friend's canoe has seen in the last 8 years. I will find out if I made the right choice.

Mike

Hi Mike, 

congratulations on your build!.  looks very nice.  i really like that color.

just a bit of rigging work and you are ready to rock!

h

   I'm impressed, Mike. That's a lovely boat. I hope you give it lots of use during lots of years! . . . Yesterday I met a fellow as I was finishing my sail in my dory. He told me that he had made a 17' CLC Chesapeake something like 16 years ago and that it was still his favorite kayak. I hope you have the same great experience. (And just a note to Mark N: the man's wife said she was never allowed to paddle his kayak because she loves to skirt the rocks right along the shore in the Adirondacks!)

Jeff

Thanks hspira, it will be ready by spring, I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas. My guess is I will have to get it on a local lake before we go to Grand Teton.

Jeff, I appreciate the compliment. Next summer I have an overnight trip planned with two friends who own 17 year old Chesapeakes, both beautiful boats. They gave me the idea and I cannot wait to get on the water with them.

Mike

Now comes the fun part, scratching her all up. I thought that I had made a huge mistake building a tippy kayak. Now, as my skills and confidence have grown, my 17LT is a tough boat. Handle rough conditions alot better than I anticipated. Great job. Looks good. JRC.   

   JRC, Thanks, I am looking forward to getting scratches on it, I knew it would happen before I started the build. I will stay in shallow water until I get a feel for the boat but it is the same width as my plastic boat. I have a week in Grand Teton planned when the weather warms up.

Mike