Tell Simon “hi” back for me! Haven’t been in touch with him much since foldingkayaks.org folded, so I don’t know what his current armada consists of, but I’m always curious about his boats and his exotic adventures.
I’ve got 11 kayaks at the moment (though only 7 are seaworthy): 2 Feathercraft folders, 4 PakBoat folders, 2 skin on frame Greenland replicas,1 P & H rotomold and 2 vintage composites, a Perception and a Northwest (bought each from “barn sales” for $300). And a little Curtis solo canoe for when I get too decrepit to wriggle into a cockpit. Two of the Pakboats are salvage projects i have yet to complete (making new sponsons to replace defective ones) and then plan to sell. Both SOF’s are in rough shape – the one I acquired last year (when it was abandoned at the end of a skills camp and I rescued it from being bonfired) is strictly a museum piece as it is beyond repair. Skin is shot and some frame components are rotted. I would have trouble squirming into that ocean cockpit even if it could be salvaged. My beloved 18’ hunting kayak replica needs a new skin after 12 years of use and one minor frame repair (broken tail). That’s a project for this Fall now that I have the work space for it.
Since I moved 6 months ago to a new place with a massive detached garage + workshop (in addition to an integral one under the house for the car) I will have to exert great impulse control since my hoarding is no longer constrained by having no driveway or garage at all. My previous digs required schlepping boats in and out of ceiling trapezes in a walk-out basement in the back of the house, then uphill and a flight of steps to get to transport.
Impulse Control! I had a chance to get a small sailing dingy with oars in good shape for sailing or using as a tender for $150. I had set the hair trigger and then backed out realizing I didn’t ready need it and had enough boats that I am pleased with for my current activities. Oh, But How Hard it was to pass up because I could have played with it and sold it at a profit. The problem was I am too busy lately to paddle and sail as much as I want. I don’t need projects. If I end up homeless due to my boat addiction, can I sleep in your garage? That is if you haven’t filled it up with boats!
Wow, quite a collection! Thanks for sharing. Living in an apartment I certainly know about the need for impulse control but that unfortunately didn’t stop me from buying over (siravingmon) Simon’s folding Fujita as he may be moving to a smaller place himself.
Sure, plenty of room for a hammock in the garage! I’d need another 10 boats to completely fill the thing (30’ x 20’ x 12’). And I have an entire vacant second lot next door upon which i could construct a vast boathouse, (bwah ha ha… somebody stop me!)
But you’d probably be more comfortable crashing in the well-furnished boondock box truck camper, which is parked alongside it. (Hey, I could use a groundsman to mow this nearly 1 acre lot and prune the fruit trees if you’re looking for a retirement option). Wanting a place to keep that 24’ camper handy was another reason for buying the new place. Been so nice to have all the boats, the boat trailer and the camper (in which I can carry up to 4 boats) right there in that huge driveway. (see pic below of view from my kitchen window.)
In a sense, I have “downsized” my overall hoard by selling two properties that were more of a burden than a blessing to consolidate to this one. It’s already simplified life and is freeing me up to do more of the things I want, with far less effort and more often.
Yeah, I’ve talked myself out of some really nice deals too over the years. A couple of months ago I bailed on buying a Cape Falcon F1 that would have fit me because I still had not sold the second house and my finances were up in the air. Still a bit of regret over that.
But I’ve also gotten stuck with a bunch of “deals” that I was not able to exercise restraint about and justified with that argument “I can sell this for more than I paid for it.” Problem is, I get attached to these “deals” more often than not. (Like the scruffy $300 composite Perception Avatar that I had planned to clean up, rehab and pass along, but am now in love with.)
Trying lately to be more circumspect about what my poor loved ones might have to deal with in what I leave behind. Having to sort, pack and move all I had accumulated over 19 years in the previous house enabled some purging. But it’s still gonna be a hell of an estate auction.
Paid 900 few years ago Got it from a contractor who took it as partial payment on a job he did from a customer. I was looking for one for 4-5 years just about daily.
That’s a thought, but that is actually 480 watts of solar panels. They power most of the interior lights, the water pump and the 3-way fridge. Everything else runs on the two onboard propane tanks, or the propane generator, or I can plug in to “shore power.” Also set up to trickle charge the coach battery during periods when it sits. Well-thought-out rolling cottage, over all.
If you are curious about the details (of my box truck bungalow) Todd, the guy in Salt Lake City who designed and built it, had made this YouTube tour of it when he posted it for sale in early 2020. That’s where I found it while searching on line for a camper van. and contacted him to buy it. By the time we struck a deal, Covid lockdowns had complicated matters but in a way that worked to my advantage. I found a laid off long haul truck driver locally who was willing to drive it here for me for $600 and I only had to pay $200 for a one way airline ticket to SLC to get him there.
Since then I’ve updated the interior by eliminating the dark Tiki Jungle Bar decor and swapping the odd little oblong dinette table with a larger round butcher block top and replacing the bulky IKEA barrel chairs with a pair of lightweight commercial grade stack chairs from my local architectural salvage warehouse ($5 each and very comfortable). I sewed all new curtains and made a swing-out privacy curtain to enclose the toilet (who wants to sleep with your head 3’ from an exposed potty?) Even added an option to quickly set up a separate single bed across the cabin entry in front for when I travel with a companion.
This video gives a good overview of the van’s features. It’s really quite a pleasant cabin to hang out in. These box trucks are plentiful from fleets that regularly sell them off for tax purposes – a lot cheaper than the overpriced Ford Transit and Mercedes vans that people buy and then have to struggle to retrofit. The simple metal framed wood and fiberglass cargo boxes of these are very weatherproof and easy to modify and customize with basic power tools. And for us paddlers, that full sized overhead rear door and pull out ramp make boat transport simple and secure. The door segments are insulated with panels of rigid foam wrapped in fabric and screwed to the steel. He insulated the walls with spray foam before putting up the birch plywood wall paneling and custom cabinets. The window all open with screens and are one-way black out for privacy.
That is if you haven’t filled it up with boats! 
