Kayaks and paddles come from wood

Right now, every bit of my body seems to be aching. That comes from too hard use of my body for a couple of days. Here’s a glimpse of where the kayaks and paddles I build come from. This autumn was the time to thin out between the trees that grow around the old church in Fiskum. I was asked by the church community if I could use some wood…!

There was quite a bit of everything there – mainly ash, elm, birch and alder. All great for parts of kayaks and paddles. Trees were felled, giving space for new trees and better environment for the church that dates back to 1100.

Monday we moved 3 tons of snow by hand, giving space for storing the wood outdoors. Tuesday my assistant and I went to the sawmill. The sawmill is part of a farm up in the hills. It is run by Ole Kolkind, a great guy who is in his seventies.

I was pretty scared of the volume of all the wood logs. I was seriously worried how my back would cope with lifting and mowing heavy logs around. The temperature was around 16 degrees below zero.

After two days of lifting, carrying and stacking wood, I’m very happy AND very sore in most of my muscles. Especially my back. However, it can’t beat the overwhelming joy I feel when I look at all the great materials, nicely stacked and left to air dry. In manageable pieces ready to pick and use for all kind of woodworking projects…

I’m beginning to use some of the ash today already. Green wood is perfect for steam bending cockpits.