At its headwaters, the narrow stream of the Mississippi twists and turns through a maze of wetlands and bogs. Checking the current's effect on underwater plants helped Barb and Gene stay with the main channel, avoiding costly wrong turns.
Harold “Hal” Hoops of Green Bay, Wisconsin, loved boats and dreamed that he’d one day build one. Then a stroke confined him to a wheelchair. His daughter, Barb, a divorced mother of a young son at the time, often drove the 140 miles from her home in Waukesha to visit her dad and mom. During one visit she noticed Hal browsing the ads in the back of the latest issue of WoodenBoat. He paused at the Pygmy Boats ad and said, “I always wanted to build one of these, but there’s not much point anymore.”Fortunately, where Hal saw regret, Barb saw opportunity. She envisioned a family project that she, her father, and her son, Eric, could enjoy. They placed an order for an Osprey Double kayak kit and began the project on a work table built for the height of Hal’s wheelchair, finding what time they could together in Hal’s basement. The project went slowly and while the kayak was still in the works, Barb remarried and her husband Gene joined the project. The extra pair of hands made the work go faster, but there was still much to be done when Hal fell ill and passed away in April, 2010 at the age of 80.
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Thank you, Chris, for this beautiful tribute to my father. He enjoyed reading boating magazines in his spare time, and would have loved to know that the story of a boat he helped build was in Small Boats Monthly. I am very grateful.
I am quite familiar with Pygmy kayak kits, having built a Goldeneye and two Cohos (all were singles), as well as mentoring several friends in the building of theirs. They are good boats, well designed and very seaworthy even on the open ocean. But i’ve never built a double. Unfortunately it’s too late for that, as John Lockwood oversaw the demise of the Pygmy company a year or two ago.
The building of the kayaks convinced me of the viability of stitch-and-glue construction, also that the wires used in the stitching should be removed after the epoxy has cured (please, epoxy doesn’t “dry,” it undergoes a chemical cure). I mention this because Chesapeake Light Craft calls for copper wire, which is left in place to be glassed over (but I don’t know whether they still do this). I think Pygmy’s system is superior.
I should also mention a technique for glassing over convex curves such as found at bow and stem stems. This calls for cutting bias-weave strips from glass cloth. I use a 4′ ruler laid across the cloth diagonally. Then I use a razor knife to cut a strip about 4″ wide. Parallel strips can be cut as well if you have a use for shorter ones. With bias cut “tape” you can easily glass these curves without any puckering or need to cut gores in the tape.
A curious thing about bias cut tape is that pulling on it endwise lengthens it and makes it narrower, but stretching it laterally (side to side) widens and shortens the tape. It’s really very flexible and leaves a much nicer, smoother layup. This, of course, could be of use in any fiberglass work on any kind of stitch and glue boat. Bias tape can also be used in concave curves, but that is a messier process, obviously (at the extreme ends of the boat, I mean). I have used it on the inner surface of chine joints, where it works very well.
Photographs courtesy of Barb and Gene Geiger
Inspiring story
What an awesome story. It makes me want Spring to finally come so I can get back on the water and go exploring the waters of Maine.
A wonderful use for a beautiful craft. Well done.
Thank you, Chris, for this beautiful tribute to my father. He enjoyed reading boating magazines in his spare time, and would have loved to know that the story of a boat he helped build was in Small Boats Monthly. I am very grateful.
I am quite familiar with Pygmy kayak kits, having built a Goldeneye and two Cohos (all were singles), as well as mentoring several friends in the building of theirs. They are good boats, well designed and very seaworthy even on the open ocean. But i’ve never built a double. Unfortunately it’s too late for that, as John Lockwood oversaw the demise of the Pygmy company a year or two ago.
The building of the kayaks convinced me of the viability of stitch-and-glue construction, also that the wires used in the stitching should be removed after the epoxy has cured (please, epoxy doesn’t “dry,” it undergoes a chemical cure). I mention this because Chesapeake Light Craft calls for copper wire, which is left in place to be glassed over (but I don’t know whether they still do this). I think Pygmy’s system is superior.
I should also mention a technique for glassing over convex curves such as found at bow and stem stems. This calls for cutting bias-weave strips from glass cloth. I use a 4′ ruler laid across the cloth diagonally. Then I use a razor knife to cut a strip about 4″ wide. Parallel strips can be cut as well if you have a use for shorter ones. With bias cut “tape” you can easily glass these curves without any puckering or need to cut gores in the tape.
A curious thing about bias cut tape is that pulling on it endwise lengthens it and makes it narrower, but stretching it laterally (side to side) widens and shortens the tape. It’s really very flexible and leaves a much nicer, smoother layup. This, of course, could be of use in any fiberglass work on any kind of stitch and glue boat. Bias tape can also be used in concave curves, but that is a messier process, obviously (at the extreme ends of the boat, I mean). I have used it on the inner surface of chine joints, where it works very well.