18th Century Hunting Shirt

Attached is a photo showing the collar of an 18th century hunting shirt I made about two years ago. I used the measured drawing in Beth Gilgun's book, "Tidings From the 18th Century." The directions were easy to follow and the pattern is simply a series of squares, rectangles and triangles of various sizes. I began hand stitching using a backstitch (shown in an early chapter) and did the front seams and much of the collar in this way. It was challenging and it made me realize that if something takes you that long to do you had better do it right. You come to understand the saying about a stitch in time saving nine as well. You are much better off fixing the problem before it gets severe, possibly necessitating the construction of a new garment. If goods were so hard to come by in our time people might take more pride in their work and take better care of what they have. Craftsmanship is a rare skill I think.

I ended up finishing this shirt with my wife's Singer sewing machine, but there were still a few spots that required hand stitching. It's a good skill for a woodsman of any century to have.

Enjoy your journey.

-The Feral Man

direction and paradox

Imagine if you can a compass to show you which direction to take in your life; an oracle to direct and guide you. Would that it were so simple.

I like what I am doing for a living but I have a small problem. I perceive that ultimately I cannot make a living for my family in my current occupation. Factors too tedious to explain here limit my earning potential. Before long I will have one son and then another in college.

It seems that I must once again make a choice. To choose what I am doing and know that the years ahead will be a financial strain for all involved; or to change direction and try to limit the financial strain although the job might not be as satisfying.

Ultimately, I know I will choose to support my family by any means I may. If the job is satisfying but the pay is not then in the end the job will eventually become unsatisfying. The flip side is that some jobs are not worth any amount of money. I simply seek the middle ground; a relatively fulfilling job at what I deem a fair salary. A bit of freedom, a bit of direction, the opportunity and resources to create and explore. Finally, the ability to give my wife and sons what they need and maybe a bit of what they don't . I had these things once but had no balance. I did not realize and appreciate what I had and I was at times a work-a-holic. Now I have more free time and appreciate my family but cannot give them all they need much less want. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

So it is with a heavy heart that I must update the resume and strike out once again in search of employment, knowing that ultimately, I will likely end up once again in a corporation. Without such corporate support I would have little chance to run wild. The time and money to nurture the animal within is what gave me strength and sanity. How's that for a paradox; a feral man that must accept the bonds and constraints of a corporation to feed his nature?


-The Feral Man

Pirogues and skin-on-frame kayak books

Finally, a project photo! Here is a shot of my pirogue that I built about 5 years ago. I have paddled canoes and kayaks for years and owned a large sit on top kayak at one time. I enjoyed the sit on top but it was heavy and hard to move by myself. After several years of research and contemplation I decided to take the plunge and build my own boat. I went with a kit from www.unclejohns.com It included cypress stems and ribs. I added 1/4" plywood gussets to strengthen the ribs. It is covered with a layer of 3.5 oz fiberglass cloth and 5 or so coats of epoxy. The boat ended up being 11'9" long and weighing less than 25 pounds. A far cry from my 80#, 14' sit on top. It's a great boat for playa lakes and I have had it on Conchas lake in New Mexico. While on Conchas I encountered some 12" waves and a wind of about 10 mph. That was probably the limit of what I would put this boat through.

There is something very satisfying about paddling a boat of this type on still water, particularly in an area inaccessible to larger boats and those accursed jet skis. It is even more enjoyable if you built the boat yourself.

I plan to try some mouse boats at some point or perhaps a skin on frame kayak. As stated I do a lot of research and I have read portions of several skin on frame boat books over the past few years. Each has it's own merits and here is my analysis of them:

Wood and canvas kayak building, George Putz: If you have no desire to steam bend wood this is the book for you. built on plywood forms and assembled with glue and screws Putz' method is accessible to everyone. The canvas covering is attached with nails. Not interested in steam bending and stitching on a skin? If so this is your book.

Building the Greenland Kayak, Christopher Cunningham: An incredibly detailed book devoted solely to building one specific design. It introduces the reader to steam bending, construction using mortise and tennon joints, wooden pegs, lashing with artificial sinew and sewing on nylon coverings. Great chapters on making paddles, spray skirts, a tuilik ( paddling jacket), float bags, kid's kayaks and a balance stool. A balance stool is a plank attached to rockers to help train paddlers for the tippiness they will encounter in a kayak. It also includes instruction on launching and landing, rolling and paddling. If you know you want to build a Greenland this is the book for you.

Building Skin-on-Frame Boats, Robert Morris: Thorough instruction on building NINE models of skin-on-frame boats. Steam bending, joinery, lashing, stitched on coverings. A short chapter on paddle building. Good information on building using anthropometric measurements( spans, cubits and fistmeles). In addition to the good photos each book contains this volume also has excellent drawings. The voice of this book is very appealing to me as well. Here is a quote from the preface. "They are looking for a place where the human eye is regarded as a precise measuring tool, a place where "sweet" and "fair" and "true"are understood as technical terms, and romance is part of the working language." If you are not certain what type of boat you want to build this book is an excellent choice.

Enjoy your journey,

-The Feral Man