Redfish King (part 5 finishing)

07/09/09  Today I started wet sanding the deck before putting a finish coat of epoxy on.  I have several days of this with nothing new to see.  I hope to start varnishing next week.

07/08/09   Bulkheads… I hate bulkheads!  They take so much time and there is really no reward. LOL  The pics make my fillets look sloppy, but you cant see it in person.   I also got the hatch rims cut down to the right size.

07/07/09 today I got the foot braces installed

07/06/09  Today I glued the hatch rims in, and it is time to put most of the clamps away now.

07/05/09  Lets see… the things I got done this weekend.  Well I worked on different handles, now it is time to figure out what style I wanna use.

I also made and  installed the spacers for the hatch lips out of 1/4 inch mahogany ply.  As you can tell from the pics, you can never have to many clamps.

 

I also made the blocks for the hatch hold downs.  Yes for those of you following this blog I had made some before but I was not thrilled with the style of them, so I decided to make new ones.  I like these much better.

 

Then I put the final coat of epoxy on the inside of the yak.

Redfish King (part 4 glassing)

07/01/09  Well, it is offical, this is now a Kayak!!! And this next pic is for daydreaming of seeing it on the water soon, what a nice view

 Today I worked on the outside seam Port side.  I laid out the tape

Now you see it….

Now you dont…

Okay, almost don’t.  This too will disapear with more coats of epoxy

06/30/09  Today was more of yesterday, just the other side.  You will see that I had to use more band clamps than tape to hold the second side

06/29/09  After taping the two halves together, and adding a few band clamps, I started taping the inside seam with fiberglass and epoxy.

And in keeping with tradition, I now have epoxy in my hair.  I used a scap stick to push the tape up into the bow and stern, and then taped a brush to another to be able to reach up there and smooth the tape down and add the epoxy that was needed.

inside smoothing brush

This evening I added my secont coat of epoxy, worked on handles, epoxied the clips on the hatch covers, and filed down the deck recesses that I could reach

 

06/15/09  Okay, besides cutting the deck and fitting the combing, I glassed the thigh braces and plywood that I am going to use for the hatch rims, and bulkheads

The sheet that is only half done has the hatch paterns on the other side, and being a pattern to cut the rims and openings, I saw no reason to waste the glass cloth or epoxy.

06/09/09  Okay, I am sorry for not posting for awhile, but busy, busy, busy.  It is that time of year.  I have managed to pick up a couple of kayak repair jobs, and even a couple of construction jobs, plus the weather is perfect for paddling.  And inbetween all of this, I have even managed to work on the yak, just not taking pics or posting about it.  So tonight while waiting on epoxy to cure I will try and catch up.

I puttied the inside of both the deck and hull, and then sanded it all down.  And filled in the stems with my fillets using wood flour, cab-o-sil, and epoxy.

then I laid the glass cloth on the underside of the deck, adding a triple layer at the rear of the cockpit recess where it gets the most stress getting in and out of the yak, and with help we epoxied it in

Then it was time to do the hull.  Adding extra glass in the center which I always put the reinforcing under the full sheet and wet both out at the same time.  I found it makes for a much cleaner job without leaving stings everywhere.

 Then I got the hull all epoxied in.Doing the fillets on the stems made the glass lay down much easier, and even if they are not very pretty, you will not see them unless you climb in the hatches. LOL

Coming next week!    after the 3-4 coats of epoxy will be to install the combing…

06/01/09  Today I got two more fill coats on the deck and it will be ready to split and remove the forms soon.

And now that the epoxy is dry, it is time to split the halves and discard the skeleton

5/31/09  Today I epoxied the first layer of glass on the deck, installing the graphic as well.  Just one coat so far…

5/20/09 In the following pics you will see the 4 oz glass laid out on the hull.  If you look close, you can see where the fabric has been doubled on the stems and the cockpit area.

Next you will see how far the first mixed batch about 6 oz.  or 16 pumps of resin and hardner will go.  The doubled glass fabric really takes a lot more epoxy than a single layer.

And my combing table makes a good mixing table as well

The following pics show the colors of the hull after the first coat of epoxy

And with the second fill coat

Redfish King (part 3 building the deck)

06/22/09  This morning I worked on cutting down the excess of the combing that hung below the deck, leaving tabs for mounting the backband and cheek plates

and sanded it down then coated it in a cab-o-sil epoxy mix filling all voids.

Then I saw on http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/kayak  where Nancy the builder of “The Water Lily” made these hatch hold down hooks.  She sent me the link from where she got the idea for them, but to be honest I stole the idea from her so I am giving the credit to her. LOL  She had made a modification in which the hatch is secured by a tether that I really liked.   I measured them out and cut them on the bandsaw, then glued them to the inside of the deck so when I cut my hatches, they will remain in proper form.  I will coat them completely in epoxy as I work on the hatches.   So thank you Nancy, you are a true artist!  If you can, check out her build at http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/kayak/index.html

This afternoon I got the hatches cut out and the deck moved out of the way (tied to the rafters)

to continue work on the hull which first I glued the pegs in for the foot braces using thick epoxy to set them, then 2 layers of 6oz glass and epoxy to anchor them solid

06/21/09  Well good news and bad news… I blew something in the tranny of my truck, but that kept me home to work on the yak.  Today I fitted the deck line recesses and glued them in place, and I glued the combing in place.  It doesn’t sound like much, but it took me most of the day to get it done. LOL  I also worked on sanding the handles and will continue with them tomorrow as well as cutting away the excess of the combing.  Oh and not to worry about the truck, it is under warrenty and will be ready tomorrow.

06/17/09  Boy!!!  Let me tell ya, Summer is here, with a Gusto!  This is not the time of year to live in Sunny (roasting, blistering, muggy) Florida.

Since my last post, I have laid out and drilled for the deck line recesses and U-bolts.  I have also laid out for the hatches, but not cut them yet.  Nothing is glued in yet, just fitted.

06/15/09  Just as promised, the combing has been fitted to the deck

And as you can see from the blue tape, I am laying out the deck line recesses, and eye bolts

05/31/09  Time to glass the deck

with the graphic.  This is the first time I didn’t cloud the cut of the paper and now I am hoping the edges will disapear with the epoxy I have left to apply.  The room I had to work with kept me from cutting it in cloud form.

05/29/05  It is time to glue up the rim of the combing

And as long as I have the epoxy mixed, might as well put a sealer coat on the recesses, hatch blocks and glue up the blank I am going to turn for the handles.

The artwork Kevin sent me to use arrived and so I decided to use one of the larger samples as a test for color fastness.  So I epoxied it on a piece of scrap spruce (the base of my stand).  It held the color okay, but the paper was way to thick, so I had to reprint it on my paper.

05/28/05  Okay, the filling is done, and the final sanding.  Working on bending the rim of the combing

05/27/09  HOOORAY!!!  The cockpit recess is done.  Now for a little sanding, final filling, sanding and the deck will be ready for glassing.  Check out the next few pics as to how it looks.

And this view is for you Kevin… just imagine waves in front…

I also finished with the 3rd coat of epoxy on the combing, removed it from the jig, placed it on the yak and scribed the profile of the recess to the top using a marking pen, then returned it to the jig

Then I ripped and planed the combing lip strips out of Ash, and am pre-bending them for installation following the marker line

Maybe I should just do a section on building a combing.  Maybe on my next build.

05/14/09  Well today was a short day and will be my last posting for the next 3 days.  I leave for the “Poker Run” early tomorrow morning and wont be back till late sunday.  Other than getting ready for my weekend, I worked on the recess having only 12 more pieces left to go, and I finish sanded the hull and did a little filling.  Monday I hope to do a finish sanding and start glassing.  More stuff came in today, I got the epoxy and varnish.

So check in Monday night to see pics of the boat and a report on the weekend paddle.

05/13/09  Well I am begining to think that there are more strips in this recess than there is in the entire yak! LOL  But I am getting there

And supplies are starting to come in… YAHOO

And the combing is coming together

05/11/09 On the deck today I worked on filling in the cockpit recess.  This is a slow process and not much to look at.  I didn’t even take pics…  I did work on building my jig for the combing today, I will be posting a whole new category on that when I start working on the combing.  But here is a pic of the jig.

05/08/09  Again I haven’t been posting, but as you can see from the pics, I have finished stripping the stern, and cut out for the cockpit recess.  The Combing is tiny (16 1/2 X 32) for such a huge recess, but I guess that is part of the allure of this yak.  It will be easy to roll.   From the following pics you can see I have started filling in the recess, and as I wait for the glue to catch on that strip, I am working on rough planning and sanding.  I had to show off one of my favorite Block Planes.  I love the extended handles on it.  A Lee Valley Tool exclusive.

Stern from the bow

Stern from the stern

I had to trim the strong back down and knock out a couple of forms for the recess to fit

It is amazing to me how the joints tighten up with a little planning and sanding.  I work on the right (starboard), and not on the left (port).

Using my “Fareing Board” to sand with, the Padauk is staining the white cedar pink. LOL  I am hoping the DA sander with finish paper cleans it up, or at least wiping it down with Acetone will clean it up.

This pic is after I put it away for the night

 

05/01/09  Today I managed to finish the Port, and Starboard which means the front half of this yak is stripped out!

And Kevin, these next 2 pics are for you, sorry I couldn’t get a video of water playing in front of your yak, but this is what your view will be when you paddle your yak

04/30/09  I started the infill of the White Cedar, and today completed the front Port section.  By following the sheerline, it makes the center stripe stand out that much more.

4/29/09  Well, I am at the point with this yak that I can post in two columns at the same time.  When I have glued up several strips on the deck, I just flip her over and work on the fairing of the hull.

I have the center stripe, along with the two skinny white cedar stripes running down the middle.  I have learned a valuable lesson with this pattern… with curves, you really can’t tell if you are off just a little, but with straight lines, you can see if they are off from a mile away.

With my shop helpers (pic above) approval, we staggered the connections between the center and the shear.  The cool looking thing is that the center strip of padauk lines up with the padauk stems.

On the starboard side I have all the red cedar and accent stripes done, I just have to fill in with white cedar now.  The port side is not as far.

Does the use of clamps ever end????