Gaffer

I like that little tool. Where can I get one? Yes, that is what they call a safety razor. I have been wet shaving with that style of blade for a few years now and will never go back to cartridge style razors. The blades are not that easy to find locally any more, unless you order from a specialty place. One of my stops in Vegas in a couple of weeks will be the Art of Shaving store to shop for some blades. There is also this guy in Calgary who I just found. http://www.rasagepoulin.com/blades/ Andrew

Would be interested to see. I dont know what to look for so I would not be much help. They had several different sizes from 1" to about 3" Andrew

Can you order them off the web site & use your cards? A

Yes, the Mckenzie & Rogue styles are more for white water & the skiff is for cruising slower rivers, but will handle some white water. There are some nutty pictures out there of guys running the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon at run off. Not for fishing, just for thrills. For sure I will hit you up for those clamps when I get to the point when I need them. Yes, my boat is pointless. Andrew

Good to know. Andrew

Jason at Montana Boat Builders does beautiful work. MBB His Freestone Skiff was part og the inspiration for my build. Andrew

I was in the Windsor Plywood store across from COP and noticed they had a rather large selection of tonkin cane. Not sure if it would be suitable for rod buiding though. I just thought it was interesting considering I have never seen it locally. You can also order cane through http://www.tonkincane.com/. They seem to ship smaller quantities for less money. Andrew

No worries.

Dan, I was looking for some help with turning my plans into CAD drawings. I have a couple of people who volunteered thier expertise, but if that falls throughI will look you up. Your the guy I should be talking to about SS hardware. Andrew

So, following up to the AutoCAD request I had in another section I thought it was time to start a build thread for the skiff I am building. I am just in the design phase and tweaking some idea that I have. If you ever plan on building a boat, or just want a good read about the history of McKenzie River drift boats you have to read Drift Boats and River Dories: Their History, Design, Construction and Use by Roger Fletcher. He is a great guy, and along with Dave Z. from The Happy Trout Chronicles we have been finalizing my designs. So far, this is what the boat will entail. I am sure there will be planty of changes along the way. Basically it is a flat bottom skiff, roughly 16' x 7' at the oarlocks. The UPS man also brought me a present today. Oars before the boat, cart before the horse, but I got a deal from the guys at Hyde I could not pass up. I will have to wait until I get back from Vegas before I make some sawdust. Stay tuned. Andrew

Nice for on the boat to so you can be out past the oars. Andrew

Too many people in gold & the price has not as much potenital for growth as silver IMHO> Any time I have had some extra cash I have been buying Maple Leafs (1 troy oz. of silver). Not too many people can walk into a coin shop & buy and oz. of gold, but most people can with silver. Take a look at the one year return on silver bullion. Andrew

It is very tought to say, plus it depends on what the market is doing for those particular items. Basebal cards & comics have taken a dump, I am not sure about stamps & coins. You best bet would be to have the collection appraised. In terms of an investment, I would say that there are a lot better investments if that is what you are hoping for. If you like the collection then enjoy it. Andrew

Do you have a link to the place that you are ordering from? I may be interested. Andrew

If I every get an electric car I was just planning on pluggin it in at work, but I would buy diesel before anything else. The technology is proven and better suited for Canada where we tend to driver greater distances and the infrastructure for fueling is already in place. Of course this changes my mind. Andrew

Yup, that's the one. A

You can also have it sent to Sweetgrass Montana, just south of Lethbridge and pick it up. There is a warehouse there that will hold it for you. I have the details if you need it, just dont have them handy. I have done this with things like tires & large carparts that are not practical to ship to Canada. In terms of what to expect at the border, you will get nailed for GST & possibly duties if it was not made in USA or Mexico (NAFTA). Andrew

Right now the time lapse is pretty boring. Primarily me sitting in from of a computer trying to figure out where to get supplies in Calgary, whether or not I want to build S&G or with frames, drooling over wood boats and trying to explain to my wife how this is a good idea. Some things are easier than others. For sure when the time comes for me to make some sawdust I will document it. Andrew

Thanks Brunsie. The bottom will be fiberglassed & epoxied at least and the sides will be finished in a combination of paint & marine epoxy. I am not sold on the idea of floor boards so I had planned on making solid removable casting decks for the front and rear. As for sanding, my son will be the perfect age for sanding in a few years. Andrew

Jason at MBB makes what I consider to be the most beautiful drift boats in out there. They are works of art. $7500 for one of thier boats is a steal, depending on how it is kitted out that is half price. The recurve is one of my favorites, but I am drawn to the Freestone skiff. I keep waffling back & forth between building a S&G or boat on frames but I am really not a fan of laying fiberglass. I'm never one to do things the easy way. Andrew

The Montana boat buildes Freestone skiff is close to what my plans are based on, but with some different dimesions, and I would build it with frames rather than stitch & glue. I dont want to lay all the fiberglass involved with stitch & glue boats. This is the closest thing I have found to what I want to build, but there would be several changes. Andrew

I have looked high and low & there are no plans available. I've even been as far as to be intouch with Roger Fletcher the author of Drift Boats and River Dories. I want to build a river skiff or drift pram, roughly 15'6" by 48"-60" bottom dimensions. The materials tentatively are 12mm Meranti for bottom & casting decks, 6mm Meranti for the sides & internal storage, white oak chine & gunnels, and western red cedar ribs. Boat will be joined with epoxy and either graphite epoxy bottom or UHMW shoe. I am leaning away from the UHMW shoe as it has a tendancy to shrink & expand at a different rate workingthe screws out. I will send out some PMs. Andrew

I am hoping to build a drift boat, but there are not really any plans readily available for what I am looking to build so I am going to have to do it from scratch. I have the details of what I am looking to build. What I am hoping to find is someone that can draw it up for me in AutoCAD and help with figuring out some of the dimensions and angles. Thanks, Andrew

If I were to have one rod it would be 9' 6wt, but where is the fun in having just one rod. Andrew

S-Lon is the Superfly version, I dont know if it is exactly the same as Z-lon. I think that Z-lon is more kinky than S-lon, antron etc. and has diffrerent characteristics when wet. Z-lon was manufactured by Dupont(?). When the stopped making it one company (blue ribbon flies?) bought it all and has been selling it off. The reason why it is so expensive is that there is a limited supply and it is getting more scarce. Z-lon is great for spinner wings as it repels water, where antron does not repel water making it sink. Andrew