The Stand-up Paddleboard

This guy named Dave is crazy!   Not only does he hope to send us all toddling for 68 miles down an overflowing river, but he has a vision of doing it in a vessel made from our own hands! And, mind you, none of us (other than him) have any experience taking on such a task. As for myself, I have never floated down a river in my life. And for the rest, most of them are just young pups, no older than sixteen.

The stand-up paddleboard is Dave's dream idea. This small craft is similar in shape to a surf board, but larger. It is designed to stand upon and to use a long paddle as an oar. Of course, Dave wouldn't take on such a venture if he didn't make the perfect product. In his mind's eye it would be made of wood, smoothed and varnished to perfection. He is no stranger to this kind of craftsmanship. In his garage hang two wooden canoes—one made by his father, and the second made with his father. The two of them took their canoes to Minnesota once where they spent several days exploring the Boundary Waters. When his father died, Dave spent countless hours building another wooden canoe, one that he would saw in half and create a top for, so as to enclose it. This would be his father's casket.

On the same stretch of river which we hope to travel, he once took his young family of four children, ages 2 to 12. The water, just as it is now, was at peak flow from spring run-off. He tells the story of getting his two-year old son and wife situated in a canoe, then turning away to do something else. A sudden gust of wind picked up and took them down river, and in a scary several minutes they thought they were doomed to separation, or worse. Miraculously, he was able to catch up and bring them back.

So, Dave is no stranger to the world of canoeing. Our trip would consist of a small fleet of canoes and kayaks, as well as the stand-up paddleboard which we had yet to make. The idea was that as a group, which included boys from our church, we would spend one night a week working on the paddleboard.

Our work began on the kitchen floor, tapping holes into a piece of paper.

We began late in November when snow still covered the ground and nights were long. We had six months to complete the task, which we felt was ample time. Dave had purchased paddleboard plans from the Chesapeake Light Craft company, deciding on the “Kaholo” model. Had we known how close we would cut it in the end, we would have picked up our pace in the beginning.

We began our work on a Wednesday evening in the kitchen of our church where we laid down a quarter-inch thick piece of plywood and tacked on a large sheet of paper with patterns of random pieces. Although the shapes didn't make sense to me at the time, they were the outlines of the bulkheads, side panels, deck strings, and tail block. We used a hammer and anything with a sharp point, such as a screw, to tap holes through the pattern and into the plywood. Then we removed the sheet and used a pencil to connect the dots. Magically, the patterns were now drawn onto the plywood. On another night we would use a jig-saw to cut them out.

Then, on a cold February night in Dave's garage, we used zip-ties to fasten the pieces together, beginning at the bow, and working toward the stern, connecting the side panels to the bulkheads. The plywood bent to conform to the shape of the bulkheads. For the first time, the stand-up paddleboard, or SUP, began to take shape. Then we inserted the deck stringers into slots over the bulkheads that formed a grid appearance and created a sturdy foundation to support the paddleboard.

Fastening the frame together with zip-ties.

As we plugged along at our project, the craziness of life kept getting in the way. Usually, Wednesday evening was our time set aside to work on the SUP, but it was often trumped by other activities in which we were obliged to participate. As a result, we fell behind in our plan of action.

Using a straight-edge saw to cut strips of cedar.

Christian and Jayden help out at the cabinet shop.

In March we went to a cabinet shop with eight sheets of cedar wood. With the help of one of the workers we started by putting each sheet through a plainer, which took off the surface and made them smoother. Then we ran the sheets through a straight-edge saw, which sliced them into quarter-inch strips. This became a tedious chore as it could only cut one strip at a time, but it sure beat doing it by hand. By the end of the evening we had several strips of cedar wood, each one-inch wide. I will admit that in my limited mind, I wasn't even sure how we would use these, or how they would work into the paddleboards.

Knowing that we were running behind-schedule, Dave spent many hours on his own building the vessels. Where we had used the zip-ties to hold the pieces together, he now used an epoxy made of resin, hardener, and wood flour to truly fasten them. Once glued together, we clipped off the zip-ties.

I was surprised to see how Dave built the deck that would cover the top of the paddleboard. Instead of simply cutting out one piece of plywood and using that as the deck, Dave took several one-inch strips of cedar, intermingled with walnut, placed them side by side, and them glued them together. After cutting it out in the shape of the deck, he reinforced it with a sheet of fiber glass. So, I learned, that the preference to use strips of wood was more for appearance than for practical purpose.

Finally looking like a SUP!

Although Dave was always the mastermind behind the project and did most of the work, the boys were very beneficial in the construction. They cut out pieces, sanded, glued, lifted, and even gave advice. The work went much quicker when they showed up and were able to help.

With only one week left until we embarked on the Green River, our efforts with the paddle board were now doubled. Dave glued the deck, fiber-glass side down, into place on the paddleboard. Working in his backyard with the SUP placed on a picnic table, we used a router to trim the edges, and we sanded the sides and deck. Any blemish, rough spot, or imperfect edge would catch Dave's eye and he would go over it again and again until it was smooth. The one thing I learned about Dave is that he's a perfectionist.

We glued cedar strips to the sides and used finishing nails to hold them in place while they dried. We then covered the entire surface (in stages) with fiber glass, which we brushed with three coats of thin epoxy-resin. Each coat required several hours to dry.

Dave uses a router to trim the edges.

Our original plan was to finish the paddleboard with plenty of time to take them on the lake to make sure they could float. We were beginning to see that we may not have that luxury. Calculating things out in his mind, Dave discovered that the SUP weighed 18 lbs. more than it was supposed to weigh. Instead of being 40 lbs., it weighed 58 lbs. He worried about this, hoping it wouldn't sink in the Green River!

We watched curiously at the CFS of the Green River, which was much higher than normal. A couple of weeks ago the discharge had been as high as 20,000 cubic feet per second, but now fluctuated between 15,000 and 16,000 CFS. A strong current would be good to carry us down the river, but it may not be so good if we were to capsize. It would also flood out many of the good camping spots along the way.

With only two days to go, we were all busy in Dave's backyard. Some of the boys used a jigsaw to cut out paddles from quarter-inch plywood. We would then cover them in fiberglass and screw them onto the end of a PVC pipe and use them as paddles. (Although this was an ingenious idea, the paddles turned out to be too flimsy and we had to scrap the idea.)

Jayden and Tason work on the ill-fated paddles.

We glued together more cedar strips, and then cut them out into the shape of a fin. The fin, after being reinforced with fiberglass, would go on the bottom of the paddleboard.

During this final week, Dave would often wake up at three in the morning to continue work on the SUP. It was to apply another coat of epoxy, or attach the deck, or any of the other works of a craftsman. In the few hours he did sleep, he would dream of the paddleboard, and dream of floating down the river. Good or bad, our river trip consumed his attention.

On our final night before launching, we remained as busy as ants. Now it was loading up food, sleeping bags, life jackets, packs, paddles, chairs, and anything else we might need for the trip. It was now or never, and do-without for four days if we forgot anything.

We borrowed a trailer and T-rack to carry the canoes, kayak and paddleboard. We spent time tying them down and throwing all our bags into the back of Dave's truck.

Inspecting the paddleboard for any imperfection.

Just to make things interesting, one of the boys, Jayden, decided to take a joyride on Dave's backyard zip-line. Without noticing the vehicle that was parked at the end of the run, Jayden slammed into the truck and put an ugly gash into the crown of his head. At first, we thought he had a concussion because he was staggering around like a drunk. We settled him down and looked with horror at the bloody hole in the back of his head. We worried he wouldn't be able to go on the trip with us. His dad came and got him and that night he had three staples placed in the crown of his head. And they gave him the green light to go!

As for the stand-up paddleboard, Dave had glued on the fin, but decided not to varnish it because it would take a couple days to cure. He did a little touch-up work on the nose, but was dismayed when it touched the lawn and blades of Kentucky bluegrass stuck to the wood. No big deal, he said. He would sand it down in the morning. Our plan was to leave at 6 am!  Does he remember that he needs to get some sleep??!!!

Using epoxy-resin to attach fiber glass to the deck.

We met at Dave's house bright and early Wednesday morning. The sun hadn't quite crept over the mountains yet. A pink hue filled the sky, and soon, a golden wave of light poured over the alfalfa fields that surround his house.

All the boys showed up on time and anxious to go. Just 230 miles to drive until we could set our eyes on the Green River.

Dave had been up early working on the stand-up paddleboard, sanding down the nose and drilling a three-quarter inch hole for the plug. It was now ready to sail. The vessel was a piece of art with the cedar and walnut strips, glossy exterior, and the wood bent with the curve of the bow that seemed as perfect as Roman sculpture. Now was time to put it to the test. ♠

Green River Trip, Day 1
Green River Trip, Day 2
Green River Trip, Day 3
Green River Trip, Day 4