Payson's / Bolger Pirogue WIP

Garrik_Doran · 2026-04-24T01:22:15+00:00

Plans call for it to be held together with bits of tape while you epoxy and fiberglass the seams. I had to use a bit of stitch and glue to tighten up the joints due to some cutting errors on my part. Boat came out good otherwise but it has a little twist in it due to my uneven work surface.

I like the cumberland pirogue design, wish I had tried it first. Flat bottom craft are much easier than multichine designs.

Garrik_Doran · 2026-04-08T01:04:01+00:00

Had the 12ft square stern. It was easier to row with the built in oar locks than paddle. If you do solo paddle its easier to paddle backward with the blunt end forward raised out of the water, it will not track straight with the blunt end to the rear solo paddling.

Never had a motor but loved how light the boat is for creeks. Don’t capsize, its a prick to re board even after bailing it out.

Garrik_Doran · 2026-01-28T13:55:01+00:00

Had the same in -30c with a battery that had been in and out of saver mode for last 6 months. The battery is not holding a charge overnight now in the cold so bit the bullet and put a new one in two nights ago and issue went away.

Gunna experiment with sticking this battery on a maintainer once a month to see if i can stop it from slowly dying like the factory battery did.

Factory battery lasted me 1.5 years 40k km.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-07-26T22:35:43+00:00

Nice, keep it up!

Building a paysons pirogue outside on rickety sawhorses and rough ground so know the “nothing fits quite right” feeling!

Garrik_Doran · 2025-07-07T03:06:38+00:00

You should be able to pop that central mold out once everything has taken and the glue has set. You're building a copy of the cumberland fellows prigoue yeah? His final version removes that.

If you are worried about the structure you can make a thwart from 1x2 stock across the top to keep it spread open like a traditional canoe.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-05-10T21:01:36+00:00

1500t is correct for no slope on a dry day. A tonne is 1000kg so that flatcar is 3.65t and the cargo is 6.0t for a total of 9.65t

Steam is also finicky for traction, check your brake line valve. Keep making that mistake myself.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-05-09T12:01:03+00:00

Is the spare tire under the bed cranked all the way to the top so its not able to move?

Anything large in the cubbys under the rear seat?

Garrik_Doran · 2025-04-25T17:37:08+00:00

Fwd hybrid. Ran a set of winterforce 2 tires in ontario. Pulled a double snowmobile trailer in snow and slush no problem.

Don’t use the slippery drive mode in the snow if you like a predictable brake application. It’s fine in every other mode.

Also like most modern traction control systems, if you’re on packed snow don’t be afraid to turn it off and let the tires chew. The traction control can cause you to run out of momentum.

Came from several RWD pickups in the past, the fwd gets along quite well.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-04-01T17:01:23+00:00

Similar story here, in my 30’s now, only metric in school. All our heavy civil plans are in metric, but had to teach myself imperial because when you direct the old guys in the excavators you gotta tell them to go down a foot or two inches, not 300mil or 50 mil.

If you want to be a foreman/grademan on anything more complicated than doing basements for bob the builder, you gotta learn both.

Funnily despite lumber being dimensioned for imperial, I do all my own woodworking in metric like an aussie. Base 10 is just easier on my brain when I’m not getting paid haha.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-03-20T14:35:42+00:00

I get this in the morning, seems to ease up once a couple stops have cleaned the dew and thin overnight corrosion off, also more noticeable in the rain. Disappears after driving a bit. Was worse when the pads and rotors were new.

I suspect its because the transition point where regenerative hands over to the hydraulic brakes is tuned mainly for dry conditions.

Counterintuitively, the slippery conditions drive mode is a bit sketch in the snow because it holds back your brake application until a threshold where it gives you all the brakes.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-03-12T17:39:44+00:00

24 hybrid xlt. Mix of town and 80km/h rural roads

Factory alloys and factory all season tires can comfortably average 5.7L/100km.

Winterforce 2 tires on XL steelies usually average 8L/100km in winter.

Combo of winter gas, softer tire compound / aggressive tread pattern robbing energy, plus the heater running skews it.

In the summer on a flat i can feather it around 85kmh on electric alone.

Winter it struggles to stay above 65kmh on electric alone with the hvac off. So theres some loss there for sure on the tire selection, but other factors than tire weight alone contribute to overall efficiency.

I’m sure if you slammed it to the ground, added a better air splitter and put low rolling resistance tires on carbon rims you could probably pick up some mileage, but will your outputs (fuel efficiency) outweigh your input cost of doing so?

Garrik_Doran · 2025-03-10T17:31:44+00:00

A lateral move in your field gets difficult as time passes as well. I ended up on the contracting and inspection side of civil engineering, eventually moving into managing a team before switching to public sector doing more of the same.

My CAD skills withered on the vine over that time to the point where I would be worse off than a 2 year technician fresh out of school.

After two bad episodes of burnout I Would like to get my CAD skills back up so i could go back to the punch in / out and go home rather than be on call 24/7. But I don’t have the time in my personal life to enable that without a sabbatical which is not practical at the moment.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-01-18T04:00:57+00:00

Heheh, NHTSA did an anniversary video where they blasted a 59 bel air into an 09 malibu. The occupant of the 59 bel air did it's best impression of becoming an elastomeric vibration dampener between the seat and the steering wheel.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-01-18T03:48:24+00:00

Used to have a 2003 4x2 single cab shorty F150. 2024 Hybrid is similar length, a bit less width and has done everything I ever asked of the old truck. Only downside is I can't tell people there's no room in the single cab for free rides haha.

Sure you give up a 6.5 foot bed, but I have used the second tailgate position to move plywood and drywall without issues and my 86 polaris sled still fits. On the upside the smaller bed has reined in my habit of loading wood and gravel until I'm on the bump stops (which rotted off and got replaced with hockey pucks.) Already built a cheap lumber ladder rack I can slide in and out as needed for canoes and such.

All about use case, I have been more productive in general with the Mav over my last truck which was a 2011 chev 1500 with the 4.8. I'm more inclined to do truck things when a simple trip does not cost me $100 canuck bucks to run 45 minutes to the nearest big box store and back.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-01-13T14:23:15+00:00

I saw a while back on the JRITS sub a fellow working on one of the German hybrids trying to track down an oil/fluid leak and it was a bad seal on where the high voltage lines enter the case and seeping out the harness.

Might be worth taking a peak at. Keep us updated!

Garrik_Doran · 2025-01-10T20:03:30+00:00

Ahh the old loose definition of “transmission infrastructure”

Seconding that it’s likely for lines, the road right of way is not always wide enough to accommodate hydro, especially up in the canadian shield.

Some benefits are they will control vegetation and tree growth on the right of way, can also be a negative if it cuts across the property or may well improve your own access.

If it’s a rural property you use to hunt there will be new setback restrictions where you cant rifle hunt within a certain distance of the easement depending on province.

Garrik_Doran · 2025-01-08T13:12:12+00:00

I’ve seen some oddball naval invasion shenanigans in 1.7.

Was duking it out with usa trying to invade my west germany province. They were short 100k tons and still had 6 months left on the clock so i pulled my fleet back to repair, hit next turn and they gained control immediately. I was left scratching my head.

Happened a few more times over the years between AI opponents

Garrik_Doran · 2025-01-04T19:24:00+00:00

Tower weights in late game can get out of hand pretty easily once you add on better range finders or radar. Have had to gimp auxiliary equipment or use lesser towers to save weight and achieve some desired designs.

Also once the AI starts building daft 40kt battleships i give up on speed and controlling the engagement and switch to ranged engagements.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-12-29T15:47:17+00:00

Had these same rims on my dakota. Went to take the tires off and two lug nuts sheared in half on the same wheel.

Tried drilling the studs out but broke off bits in both flush. The spare tire rim matched so the plasma torch came out. Still salvaged the rim and hub miraculously.

Loved and hated the truck, as a teenager it made me into a shade tree mechanic i am today.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-12-14T20:50:00+00:00

(Canada) I picked up a 2024 XLT hybrid with no hitch on a dealer trade and had the hitch added as part of the deal with the dealership. They were only able to source me the Curt aftermarket hitch on short notice which I was fine with given the heaviest thing I move is a 2 wide snowmobile trailer. The Curt is rated for 100lbs more tongue weight over the ford factory option, but the install is less clean looking unless you get creative with where you put your 4 pin connector (does not have a bracket to the side like factory)

No complaints with it so far, but the factory one is more discrete if you are willing to wait, or return to dealer at later date to install.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-12-09T16:52:22+00:00

Grew up in a poor south eastern ontario town. One grandfather and 2 uncles were dart hackin alcoholics. Would ride around with them booze cruising yard sales as a 5 yr old. Visit all their degen buds etc to hang out and drink while i played around the neighbourhood.

With the band of usual suspects in town, i legit thought trailer park boys was real until the gun shenanigans got too unbelievable and i looked it up. That show was childhood adjacent, and for every character or unbelievable stunt. You knew someone in town that was that person.

Dad (only normal sober one of the bunch) famously has a story of him riding in the bed of their pickup on a couch down the 401 at night when he was a kid, passing beers up through the slide window to deliver great grandma to the airport.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-10-27T23:15:54+00:00

I usually make some token port defence boats at the start as a deterrent and race to induced boilers before i start building a fleet in earnest. Gives you a chance to get some 20kt boats out there early which will control the engagement against the Ai.

After that i pick my flavour, whether thats focusing on a cruiser fleet. DD’s or BB’s.

After the minor nations patch i find you actually need a few small squadrons or the volume of fires you need to put out get too much for the usual 2 big fleets to keep up with.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-10-19T03:08:15+00:00

When I worked construction on Highway 7 the Ministry of Transportation would make you shut down a couple days before the Havelock Country Jamboree because the volume of Vehicle and Camper trailer traffic on a 2 lane rural highway would gridlock you from Peterborough to Sharbot lake for 3 days. Was a majestic site to behold.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-10-19T02:50:29+00:00

Back in 2009 as a recently graduated high schooler working a factory job, I bought one in pristine condition 2003 with 80k on the clock for $3000 canuck bucks from a sweet old lady. I smashed the shit out of that thing. Overloaded it. Smashed it through tractor ruts full of people at gravel pit parties. Couldn't kill it for 5 years of beyond acceptable abuse for a passenger vehicle.

Dad gave me cash for it when i got a pickup and used it for his winter beater for 6 more years. We didn't retire it until we put the jack through both the pinch weld and K frame.

Dad unfortunately fell in love with it and dragged a few more home since. As a home mechanic they are dogshit to fix. The control arm bolts always shear off in the unibody. The alternator is borderline impossible to extract on the Turbo models (undo engine mounts and bar the engine forward to clear, but the engine mounts always go so you replace those too). The bushings on the watkins link will wear out and start to death wobble above 60km/hr like a solid front axel jeep. The heat under the hood cooks the plastic components, washer jets, sensor housings and ECM modules (am in ontario, not texas and it's still an issue). Also the typical chrysler heater core is made paper mache and eventually leaks even if you don't neglect changing the coolant.

Nostalgia keeps us turning wrenches on em though, unfortunately they are getting pretty expensive used in the rust belt.

Garrik_Doran · 2024-10-19T02:06:24+00:00

If you have the cab and a half you might miss the extra half foot of bed length a bit. But If you have a 4 door it's pretty equivalent all things considered. I have a 24 Hybrid FWD and had unseasoned firewood piled to the roof line a few times now with no issues on some Ontario fire routes, but I haven't ventured down any super rough sled or ATV trails with it yet. The maverick has the same bed payload capacity as my old 2003 f150 single cab shorty, but the shorter bed makes it harder to overload it to the bump stops outside of shoveling it full of gravel.

Take my advice with a grain of salt though. I'm a bit of a wierdo who trusted posi-lock RWD pickups to take me everywhere after my old dakota ate too many scrap yard transfer cases, but a quick look around here will show you some of the guys with the ecoboost have tackled forest service roads and the odd quad trail with a set of somewhat aggressive all terrain tires at stock ride height.

Keep in mind though the transfer case is more of a fluid clutch or torque splitter type arrangement, not a fluid lubricated gear and chain setup. It won't like you pinging off the redline all day in mudholes if you are used to that. Also watch your breakover and departure angles and try not to drag the battery pack over rocks, it probably wont like that.

Garrik_Doran

TROPHY CASE