My Projects

On a recent family vacation to the South Shore of Lake Bastrop, we spent most of our time kayaking around the near by coves. Here is a small collection of video.

On a recent family vacation to the South Shore of Lake Bastrop, we spent most of our time kayaking around the near by coves. Here is a small video of my son and I launching my homemade pirogue

During our last family vacation, my son and I did a little perch fishing from my homemade pirogue.

We had a blast on our over night kayak fishing trip down the Colorado River. Launching from Little Webberville Park at 8:30 am on April 2, 2010 we paddled about 20 miles to FM 969 on April 3rd, stopping about midway to camp. Originally we were going to camp on “Horse” Island, but a llama would have no part in it. With his aggressive posturing and advances we were forced off the island and had to retreat to a smaller more vulnerable island just up stream. We realized just about dusk, that the water was rising. about and inch every 30 minutes. This caused us to be concerned as the island we were on wasn’t that tall. We slept in shifts to monitor the rising water. In all, it wasn’t that bad. The water rose 2 vertical feet from 7 pm to 9 am and in some areas of the island 30 to 60 bank feet. Almost all the fish caught on friday were tight to the shore and were very slow.

The second day was very different from the first, due to all the new murky water in the river. It looked like chocolate milk and was flowing much faster. We did some fishing on saturday with no luck and had a hard time anchoring in the current. So rather then fight the current, we drifted and hung out while enjoying the scenery. We reached 969 around 2 pm, 2 hours ahead of schedule. The last 3 to 4 miles were covered in about 45 minutes. We all had a great time and can’t wait to do it again.

Photos
My Facebook Gallery. Colorado River Kayaking Trip 2010 Facebook Gallery

Austin to Bastrop Map
Colorado River Map from Austin to Bastrop

Google’s Map of our 2 day Colorado River Kayak Trip

Video from YouTube:

April 6th, 2010: Video transitions have been fixed.

Image gallery:

My Uncle John’s Pirogue’s Maiden Voyage on Lady Bird Lake, Austin, TX.

April 7, 2010: Corrected the Facebook login screen problem.

Pablo Gibson – Videographer.

Dan McCoy “Whatcha think.”
Pablo “I think it will be alright.”
Pablo “Its first voyage.”
Pablo “Ahhh, yeah.”
Dan McCoy “Its going to need some weight in it.”
Pablo “Yup, fish.”

It is estimated that the max capacity of this pirogue will be between 575 and 600 lbs. Twice that of my Wilderness System’s Tarpon 160is.

Links :

Uncle John’s Pirogue
Boat Building Process
Lady Bird Lake, Austin, TX
Wilderness Systems Tarpon 160i Angler

Started this project on Feb 3rd 2010 and should be done by spring break in March. EDIT. This should be done by Easter.

Update. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on the rub rails and attaching the bottom of the boat to the rest of the skeleton. I’m hoping to start filleting tomorrow. All total, I’ve probably have about 10 hours in so far.

March 25, 2010. I’m coming into the home stretch. After a month and a 1/2 of slowly working on it, I’ve been busting butt getting it water ready by next weekend. Total hours to reach the finished bow and stern compartments and glassing the exterior is about 30 hours.

March 28, 2010. I took the boat out on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TX to give her a test run. I wanted to make sure the seat was in the correct position. It was an awesome ride and she turns on a dime. The expected max capacity of this pirogue is about 600 lbs. See Videos of the Uncle John’s Pirogue’s maiden voyage. Lady Bird Lake, Austin TX.

March 30, 2010. Installed temporary handles and hatch covers for the Easter Weekend Colorado Kayaking Trip. We’ll be traveling the Colorado River between Little Webberville Park and 969. A distance of about 20 river miles.