Vision Quest Builders Association

I think I have spent enough time, for the moment anyway, talking about the small boat I recently completed. Now what I want to talk about is this site. VQBA is here to provide a place to share stories and information about various projects in the building stages or completed.

If you have a project and would like to see photos and information posted on our main site under one of the categories, and or in this blog then email your information  to me at derrick ((AT)) transportresourcesolutions.com (substitute ((AT)) for @ to help minimize the spam.

Please put VQBA articles or photos in the title . Once I have reviewed your article I will email you when we post it.

A Few More Photos

Below are a few more  shots from our last trip. These were taken after we left the little protected cove and went out into the river.

     

 Not exactly raging seas, but in a little boat it makes for an interesting ride at times.

 

There were quite a few sail boats out, and I wish we had taken more photos of them too. Also looked like someone was putting a beautiful little cabin cruiser in the water, possibly for the first time. They floated her free from her trailer then over to the dock where they took photos and looked like they were doing a lot of inspecting, then as we were leaving later they had her back on her trailer.

 

Maybe I’ll see her again in the spring and if I do we will get some photos if the owner doesn’t mind.  

 

 

 

Even though we were out for a little over four hours or so, it seemed like just a few minutes.

 

Looking forward to exploring whats around that point which is  just out of this shot behind me.

 

 

 

 

Carougie made it back home safe and sound and was given a nice bath from stem to stern and inside out. She is resting comfortably on our back porch out of the elements until next spring.

 

Next time we go we will have another boat, Pirougie, which will be just a little smaller than Carougie, and a lot lighter. I figure for what we paid to rent that kayak for four hours we could have completely paid for all the wood I need to build Pirougie! But since I didn’t have the time, it was still well worth it. It was also nice to see how a plastic production boat did in comparison to Carougie, and Carougie did very well as far as I am concerned.

 

If you were in a side by side full out race, all things being equal, the kayak would probably have a little bit of a speed advantage. But if just leisurely paddling along they seemed to be a close match, and considering Carougie is relatively heavy and has two rather large storage compartments,  that’s pretty good.

 

I had a sweater and some other clothing in the front locker, which was still completely dry when I took it out. In the back locker I had some food and drinks and a hat, which also was perfectly dry too.

 

On the deck in front of my feet I did get a little water from the paddle, but the frame under my seat did double duty and kept all the water forward of it leaving the deck area aft of the frame to the base of the locker completely dry, which was nice since that’s where I put the camera. The kayak didn’t do so well on keeping things dry, everything in it was soaked.

 

I designed the boat with this area with the intention of it being able to hold a rather large tent and some other gear. I think it will work better than hoped. Carougie was designed not for speed, but for exploring around at a leisurely pace with the ability to easily carry a lot of stuff along for the trip, and I think she will work great for that. Camping, fishing, taking photos and anything else remotely similar and she will be quite at home. I think she will do particularly well fishing, and I am looking forward to testing that out next spring too.

 

 

Last Time In The Water Untill Spring

Last Saturday we took Carougie back to the river for the second time, and unfortunately the last time of the season until April of next year.  This time the conditions were a bit different from the near ideal weather we had the first time.

The water level was down quite a bit with the little floating dock  not quite floating anymore. It was sitting on the bottom in the mud.

That meant the water at the end of it was only a  few inches deep. Just barely enough to launch the boats without wading out into the muck a ways.

This time we decided to rent a boat so my son and I both could get plenty of time on the water, so we rented a kayak for him to use. Wanted to rent a pirogue, but they didn’t have any available, just kayaks and canoes.

We put his plastic rental boat in the water first, and he immediately realized it was a lot more tippy than Carougie is, since he almost went for an immediate swim ! It didn’t take him but a couple of minutes to get used to it though, and away he went. Now my turn, so I climbed aboard Carougie and eased away from the little dock heading for deeper water – when I heard and felt a thud against her bottom. Seems I had managed to find a large rock I hadn’t seen in the shallow murky water. I knew in the worst case scenario at most I may have nicked the paint a bit, but no real harm done. Still, it’s especially irritating to do that to a boat that’s only just going into the water for the second time in its life.

As I paddled out further into deeper water I soon all but forgot about the rock I had hit, and began to immediately enjoy being on the water again.

The photo to the right shows the size difference between Carougie and the rented kayak. 

This is really a nice launch site, even with a lower than last time water level.

As soon as we left the dock area we decided to paddle back up into the little cove area to the right just to see what we could see. Turned out that away from the dock muck the water was really clear and we could see the bottom in most places. Further out it gets a bit deep then as we headed back into the cove area it became relatively shallow again in most places, between 3 to 8 feet deep or so.

Outside the cove we could see it was somewhat windy and a little choppy, but back where we were at was pretty protected. So we enjoyed exploring awhile, then just floating and enjoying a day on the water.

My Son Just Relaxing

 Though it was a little chilly when we first got there it began to warm up quickly.

After exploring a while we decided to go out into the river and see what we could find around the point.

The begining of another  great day on the water.

 This was taken over the bow of Carougie, and I was still trying to figure out the zoom on the camera.

We left the little protected cove area and went out past the point. As soon as we did the wind was about five to eight knots, and gusting at times.

The water was choppy enough for the bow to come out of the water completely on a regular basis. Unfortunately we didnt get but a couple of photos there, and as soon as I find them I’ll post them in a later update. Would have taken more but we didnt want to lose the camera in the process.

My son asked if you could get sea sick in such a small boat, to which I assured him he could. He never did though, and that was the last I heard about it, although we were bouncing around quite well for two small boats. I did notice that we were the only people in the water on boats so small, and all the other boats were sail boats or power boats.

I’m sure the larger boats hardly noticed the chop or the slight wind, but we sure did, and it was a lot of fun. We paddled down the length of the park, checking out all the larger boats  full of people out having fun.

We kept going until we passed a long fishing pier, and then to another point that marked the entry of an adjacent  river, which seemed like a good fishing spot since there were boats and several people fishing from the bank already there.

Then it was time to head back in, reluctantly. When we got back to the little dock we found we had to get out and walk a few feet through the mud to get the boats out. 

Total time out on the water was about four hours give or take. Apparently when you paddle about three of those four hours you get some nice blisters on each thumb… or at least I did.

But it was still well worth it though, muddy feet, blisters and all. Another great day on the water.

First Time In The Water

Carougie is a great little boat that has performed better than expected in every way so far.  Our first trip out was really a beautiful day as far as we were concerned, even though it was a bit overcast at times we really could not have asked for better weather.

There are still some things left to be done, mostly a few accessories and cosmetic additions and I still need to finish painting inside the fore and aft compartments.

If you ever build your own Carougie, or any other boat with compartments for that matter, then do your self a big favor – paint them thoroughly before you put the top decks in place. I knew better, but I put the decks on anyway, which seemed like a good idea until I tried to paint the interior.

Since she felt pretty stable, I couldn’t resist the urge to see if I could stand up in her.  This was taken as I was in the process of standing up, but she passed the test with flying colors, very solid as far as I am concerned, for a narrow beamed small boat.

My wife and my son both seem to think this photo is funny. He thought I was taking a nap, and she thought I was praying that the boat wouldnt sink.

Actually I was just enjoying life, and thinking back over the building process and about how happy I was she turned out so well.

The next few hours were a lot of fun paddling Carougie and just being on the water. It’s a very relaxing way to unwind and just enjoy life. There is nothing like putting a boat you built in the water for the first time – and although it can be described to an extent, you just cant truly appreciate the feeling until you do it yourself – nothing else in this world like it.

Building Carougie

 The photo to the left shows a shot taken over the transom looking forward. You can see the back bulkhead/frame the center frame, the forward bulkhead/frame and the stem all the way forward. Carougie is built right side up and each of these is  epoxied in place  to the bottom of the boat.

Here you can see over the stem looking aft. This is what I call modified stitch and glue.

The bulkheads along with the frames, stem and transom are what gives the boat her shape and holds everything in place until the epoxy cures.

All structural attach points are filleted with thickened epoxy, and where the sides meet the bottom, the fillets are covered with fiberglass, then another coat of epoxy over that.

Since the sides are held tightly in place no stitches are required at all. Just epoxy, tape, more epoxy and let it cure. Then turn it over and do the outside seams. Ideally you could use epoxy there also, but to save money I used vinylester resin instead and fiberglass. I only taped the seems, and chose not to cover the entire boat in glass.

 Optionally a builder could cover the entire bottom and sides, which would certainly add more protection for the boat, but would also add some cost. Since I store the boat under cover, and keep it dry I don’t need the extra glass on it enough to justify the cost, but others may choose to glass the whole boat.

   Here is a look at her from the port bow looking aft at an angle. At this point her sides were already previously temporarily attached with fasteners only, and then removed.

Right after this we reinstalled her sides permanently, which was really quick and easy to do with a helper.  My son helping me sure made it a lot easier than it would have been otherwise, although one person could certainly do it alone if they had too.

Here she is with her sides in place. Still some work left to do, but now she is beginning to take shape.

Building Carougie was a lot of fun, but putting her in the water for the first time was even more fun. Its starting to get cold here in Virginia, and I’m already looking forward to next spring, but it’s not so cold yet as to keep us off the water.  Looking forward to another day on the water already.

Carougie In The Water

Building her was a lot of fun, but putting her in the water for the first time was even more fun. When you put a boat in the water for the very first time, rationally you know it will float, but emotionally there is a lot going through your mind. Will she really float or will she sink, and if she floats will she sit properly in the water as intended.

Carougie surpassed all of my expectations and my son and I had a wonderful time testing the little boat out. Since my son helped to build her I gave him the honor of being the first to use the boat, and he loved it. After a few minutes he brought her back to the dock.

Then I climbed aboard. It is a very stable boat for such a narrow beam, boarding was very easy, and the little seat we built was much more comfortable than I ever expected. I paddled out in the river a ways and then just sat there for a few minutes enjoying the view over the bow, and loving that I was afloat in a small boat I had built with my own hands from regular materials in just a few days of  actual work.

Looking forward to taking her back out again tomorrow and doing some exploring. Since she is the only completed boat I own at the moment we are going to rent a pirouge for my son to use for the day.

The next boat is already on the drawing board, and will be my version of a Pirouge. She will be based loosely on the lines of Carougie, but a little bit smaller and lighter. She will have a very small flat transom  and will not have any storage compartments or hatches.  Since she is a sister of Carougie I think we will call this design Pirougie.

If you are interested in building a Carougie plans will be available very soon – just as soon as I get my hand scribbled notes and sketches put into some format that is actually readable by others that is.

“Carougie” – My First Boat Design

One of life’s greatest pleasures is building something with your own hands, and seeing a pile of wood and materials take shape into what ever your vision may be. Personally I enjoy making many things, including crates, chairs, book cases, coffee tables, small buildings etc. But there is just something about building or working on a boat that is special.

Recently I decided it would be nice to build a relatively small boat that would be  able to be transported in a pickup truck, not require an engine, and could be built relatively quickly and inexpensively. I really liked elements of several different boats – Canoe, Pirogue and the Dory in particular. Not that I intended to incorporate the exact or specific design elements really, but more of an inspiration kind of thing.

So far the design has been worked out, pretty much anyway, and she is about 90% complete as of today. Carougie is designed to carry one person and to use a double paddle like a kayak or a single paddle like a canoe and she has ample space to carry fishing and or camping gear as well as two compartments to keep anything needing protection from the sun or other elements.

The Shenandoah river and access to the Chesapeake bay are not far from where I live and I intend to use her when she is finished to paddle and explore the river, and some of the creeks, rivers and shoreline of the bay.

Vision Quest Builders Association

Well its taken longer than planned, much as almost everything else, but FINALLY the VQBA blog is up and running!

If you have any events, gatherings etc. or have recently completed a project, please let us know about it.

Vision Quest Builders Association Blog

Welcome to Vision Quest Builders Association’s  blog. When we first started the site we wanted a  way to post news and general updates covering all topics and anything else of interest. Initially the updates were just posted right on a page of the site.

From now on we will use this blog to take care of that, and post some articles and maybe even a few interviews and who knows what else. As the adventure continues VQBA develops as needed.

We hope you enjoy the site, and please feel free to email us your comments , project updates and photos.