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New float for the Kayak lodge

Started by JVK, June 29, 2012, 12:39:49 AM

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JVK

Recently completed a 20' x 42' log float for the big kayak lodge in Barkley Sound. It is a fairly exposed site for the winter storms, so this construction method works well. Built with cull fir boomsticks with 8" x 8" beams on 4' centers steel drifted to the logs. 18 tons of coated foam floatation billets provide the lift as the solid log base adds weight and mass. Makes an affordable very solid float for rough water areas. Getting the logs out of the water also keeps the toredos at bay.

Cut most of the wood on the new LT50. The tie rails are 3 x 4 and 2 x 10 rub boards, all yellow cedar.

  

 

steamsawyer

Man, that's a nice looking barge. I can see a lot of hard work there.

Alan
J. A. Vance circular sawmill, 52" blade, powered by a 70 HP 9 1/2 x 10 James Leffel portable steam engine.

Inside this tired old mans body is just a little boy that wants to go out and play.

Great minds think alike.....  Does your butt itch too?

Alan Rudd
Steam Punk Extraordinaire.

redbeard

very nice! Iam a ways south of you no yellow cedar in my area but I have milled quite a bit out of some power poles it was tight grain and dense n heavy is that common? It cuts really nice wish it was a natiave tree in my area.
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

morgoon

Wow that's amazing!

Do you have anymore construction pics?
Homemade bandsaw, made by my mentor and dear friend Unto...who turned 85 this year

And I just made my first longbow...awesome

Lud

Good  stuff!   "coated foam floatation billets" is  something  I'll need to Google!  We don't have them out on the farm!
Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

Magicman

That was a tremendous job for sure.  Thanks for sharing your handiwork.
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westyswoods

More pics please if you have them, (coated foam flotation billets?) explanation.
Stay Safe and Be Healthy
Westy

sealark37

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on the great pics.  I am curious.  Assuming that you built this structure on dry land, how did you launch it?  Do you build other marine structures?  Do you have your own construction facility/yard?  Thanks again for the pics.  Regards, Clark

Ga Mtn Man

Very impressive!  What's its purpose?
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

JVK

This type of float is built on the water. Measure from the water, run some string lines to get the cross beams all the same and a chainsaw to cut the beam notches. Adze out the slots and roll the beam in. The floatation is a closed cell styrofoam. I coat it with heavy poly that comes 80" wide and 250 yards long. Use a heat gun and a roller to weld the seams. When I do work on Fisheries floats, they require a coating that is the Rhino coating that some have in their pickup beds, only without the grit. That adds a lot of extra cost. Coating the foam keeps marine animals from tearing up the foam and making a mess.

In the pics you can see two foam blocks that I use for small jobs or trimming a large float. This size 20" x 24" x 48" makes the best sawhorse you will ever use. I take them everywhere I go.

macpower

20x42 is a big float! I built a few floats and wharfs here in the NE in past years but nothing that big. We found that when we got much over 24ft in length they would break their back in winter storms. The logs make sense, to give it mass, a light float can get so lively you can't walk on it.
We built mostly with 3x8 pt syp over billets. Decked right over the 3x8, (with eastern cedar), it to keep windage low. A good easterly can kick up a 6-10ft sea in some of the coves, throw a couple inches of ice on a float and you can see why they would break when a sea would break over one end while the other was still buried under another. We don't have a big worm problem here, except on pilings just above the mud line. We do have nice cold water and ice sheathing is a must with foam billets. For piling, traditionally we used red oak logs, pt oak and syp has taken over.
This is something I built in 1993, outboard piles are red oak, a few of the inboard ones have recently been replaced with pt syp. This is 215 long with a single 16x24 at the end on a 32x4 wood ramp. Mean tide range here is about 9ft. I used 1 1/4 cold rolled bar stock wedged to ledge and threaded on top for hold downs. The last 4 pilings and 2 outboard soldiers are driven to ledge in mud. 2 2500# granite sinkers on a 120 ft, 7/16 black iron chain bridal hold the outboard end of the float. It sits in 14ft of water at mean low. I have seen green water breaking over 2/3 of its length and it has never moved! It is getting near its "design life' now.

 
Sorry, I didn't intend to hi-jack your post...
Purveyor of Stihl chain saws.
Thomas 6013 Band Mill, Kubota L3400DT, Fransgard V3004, 2 lazy horses and a red heeler

JVK

I am building a 30' x 70' float with a 3 to 4' diameter cedar log base and 12 x 12 x 30' cedar cross timbers on 4' centers. At the foam stage now. I'll post a progress photo when it happens. Our tides are 13'. I built a grid on the beach that gives us 4 to 5' of room to tie the foam blocks to the bottom side of the logs. Real easy.

Nice looking approach there macpower. You can see in the pic which way the wind blows. The way those trees are leaning. So many waterfront jetties are made of aluminum now. I think a wood walkway is so much nicer to look at.

Yellow cedar is my favorite wood to saw and build things with. It's strong, holds fastenings well, machines nice and if some thought goes into the construction technique it will not rot. Yellow cedar is not super abundant here so most folks don't know much about it. When I make timbers, I have a hard time selling the side lumber. It goes into my projects but sits around a while sometimes.

thecfarm

Very interesting JVK.
macpower,and a nice job for you too. Another side job you do.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

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