beleaguering ennui

Well, some people know this story already, but to be inclusive I must tell it… I was in Arizona, doing a Sustainable Design program at the the Ecosa Institue. While there, one of the many inspired minds we were energized by, was that of John; It is his tale, which I like to think of as one of rags to—non-monitairy—riches.

Upon graduating Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University he went on to fly the biggest planes he had ever dreamed of flying. Felt somhow unsatisfied, quit, and kayaked across the country.

Now that is just so cool to me, and so ever since (Spring of 2003), I’ve been wanting to repeat the trip in some fashion. Thus began my logic… To kayak across the country, first one needs a boat. I don’t have a boat so I need to acquire one. If I’m going to get a boat, I want it to reflect my passion for sustainability and respect for indigenous wisdom. I should build a kayak. Now at this point I only knew what I wanted, but that’s it. I didn’t know what to call what I was looking for, where to look for what I was looking for or even what questions to ask, to figure out what I was looking for.

Now it was in this situation that I have often turned to Encyclopeidas or (at the reccomendation of my 8th grade Biology professor) Childrens’ books. They both offer often very general information, like a good appetizer, not satiating but a solid instillation of what good is to come.

The long and short of it, is that with desire it came to be that, 1 year later I began the building of my boat under the supervision of a Mr. Mark Rogers who, with the irreplaceable aid of his wife is Superior Kayaks. And now, ten months later, I am putting it in the water for the first time. Who knows what’s next.

For general info, it’s a West Greenland skin on frame kayak (qajaq) it’s made of White Pine with Oak ribs and canvas stretched over it—sealed with oil paint. It’s over 3x my lenth and the width of my hips plus a fist and a half. I’m working on a page dedicated to it, with more about the construction experience—I’m sure more pictures/stories are to come as well. As far as the name, I’m workin’ on that too. Any suggestions?

This entry was posted on Monday, July 4th, 2005 at 4:32 pm and is filed under life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.