[mttgilbert]

I made the two person for my dog (55lb english lab) and I plus camping gear and I’ve really liked it. There’s plenty of space and weight capacity. I have a closed cell foam piece cut to fit the front of the boat for the dog (simple blue closed-cell sleeping pad, which doubles as the dogs bed in camp).

I was hesitant about the canoe style seats, but I’ve actually found them really versatile over time. I’ve gone back and forth with canoe/kayak style paddles but both seem to work pretty well.

[mttgilbert]

I printed a couple of these (no scaling) and they fit perfectly. I had to dial in the resolution for the threading, but even the rough prints threaded on (they bled just enough air to make it difficult to overcome the valve).

[mttgilbert]

This looks like a cool idea, I’m going to try and make one. Bruce, if you’re still around, do you have any feedback on the concept after use?

[mttgilbert]

I do some sewing as well and am interested in the process for the drysuit. Is your sewing experience more geared towards clothing? I’ve done a little bit, but mostly I’ve sewn gear (sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, etc)

Did you freelance the pattern or use something specific? Also, where did you source your material?

[mttgilbert]

I made a couple forms that are basically the point on your form pattern isolated into a little handheld piece. This ended up working really well for me and I managed to get the whole bow sealed without any wrinkles to speak of. Thanks for the encouragement and feedback!

Dimensions are in inches, but they’re just estimates, I took a block of wood to the sander and kept going until I thought it looked right.

I’m leaving this here in case someone else has a similar issue

 

[mttgilbert]

Matt, I watched that video over and over. I tried every bowl I had in my house and a couple I picked up from the thrift store. I’ve been really impressed with your instructions (honestly, this one too, I think this is more of a “me” problem), this time I just couldn’t get it right. I’m going to make some smaller forms and play around on some scraps and see what I come up with. If I find something that works for me I will post it up here.

 

Robert, Thanks for the words of encouragement!  I make a lot of my own gear and it seems like the first draft of every big project has *something* that I get stuck on. It’s always the same.. keep plugging away and eventually it works.

[mttgilbert]

That’s interesting, do you actually sit on the convergence of the two tubes in the stern or is that where you’re wedging the seat? Are you using a traditional kayak paddle or a canoe style paddle?

[mttgilbert]

That’s all good with me! I hope it helps

 

Thanks!

[mttgilbert]

Ah, clearly reading isn’t my strong suit, but yes. I didn’t want to change the shape of the bow, and while the nose of the form was about the right shape,  I just couldn’t get the fabric on there in a way that it didn’t want to wrinkle where the seam tape was already attached to the tube material.

I’m certain the way you describe works, I think there’s just a technique that my fat little fingers couldn’t figure out.

[Author]

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