Spring Run (part 2 finishing the hull)

11/06/09   Well it is time to work on the inside of the Hull while I continue to work on stripping the deck.

After scraping and sanding the inside I mixed up some fillet compound (epoxy, woodflour, and Cab-o-sil) and put fillets in the stems.  This is not necessary, but is a trick I learned from my friends that make S&G yaks.  It makes it much easier to lay the inside cloth with no air pockets or wrinkles.

And then I skimmed the entire inside with an epoxy putty to fill all voids for the same reason

11/01/09  Well it is the beginning of November and the end of Daylight Savings Time.  I found a little energy to work on the yak today, got the shear strip pieces (which I had to staple/nail) secured to the forms and then stripped the deck and forms from the hull.

The hull is already loose from the forms, and the gaps you see are from the spring back.

And now the inside of the hull is ready to be scraped, planed, and sanded

It is also time to start the next chapter of this build, as I will be working on the hull as well as the deck at the same time.

10/30/09   Here it is the end of the month and I haven’t posted anything.  I guess I might not make the Christmas deadline I set for myself.  The reasons I haven’t progressed are basic ones I guess.  The first one is that I am working now and by the time I get home it is dark and I am tired. LOL  2nd is that now is the best time to be kayaking and camping here in FL and I am trying to take advantage of it while I can.  So my free time has been spent playing instead of working on the yak.   3rd is I recently hurt my back and have not been able to do anything much less work on the yak, but thanks to Modern medicine (good drugs) I am getting better.  And the 4th reason is probably the biggest reason.  I am stumped with how to do what I want as far as the deck design goes.  The deck strips I need to start with are many little pieces that are cut at angles.  Trying to cut them to the right length, right angle, glue them together and wrap them around the curves of the forms has proved to be challenging at best when I am trying not to use staples.  I may have to give up on that and staple the first strip till I can get 2 strips mounted on both sides and use the Hot Melt glue gun to secure them to the forms so I can finish it with the “Doodads” 

10/05/09  The following pics are the of the second coat of epoxy while there was enough daylight to still take pics… barely.

This is the graphic I have settled on with changing the name to “Flyin’”.  That too is subject to change at any given moment. LOL

10/04/09  Well, I got the hull all sanded and ready to glass.  I was going to go get my camera, then excitement got a hold of me and the next thing I know I am spreading glass on my yak!!!  Well, I can’t let bare glass just set there, so it was time to mix up some epoxy and start spreading.  As usual, I put an extra layer of 4 oz glass on the stems, and the center of the hull before covering the entire yak.

 

The Padauk does not stand out as red as I hoped against the Mahogany or Dark Red Cedar as I had hoped.  But it is still pretty!  I only have after work for the next 2 weeks to work on the yak, having plans for the next 2 weekends.  Gee, I hope I can finish this yak by Christmas.

9/28/09  Can you tell what I have been doing lately???

Yeppers!!!  I am planeing and Faring the hull.  Not a lot to see different, and I am not getting much done a night do to being busy working, but here are the latest pics.  Notice some of my favorite tools, they are not needed, but fun to use. LOL

Spring Run (part 1 the begining The Hull)

09/16/09  Today I finished glueing everything on the  hull.  Now it is time to start working the plane and faring board.

Now I have decided to finish out the bottom of this yak with the dark Aromatic Red Cedar.  This is very different for me, because all my previous yaks have all had light colored hulls.

Now I decided to start my outer stems in padauk to match the center of the stripe, that and I also liked the way it looked on the “King” I just finished

I decided to equal the white cedar on both sides of the stripe, and then put a WRC strip before changing colors again.

Working both sides till I reach the top of the inner stem forms.

Got the stripe done and am continueing with the white cedar.

09/01/09  Here it is Tuesday again, and I don’t have much to report.  Between work and health, I have not gotten very far this past week.  Here is what was happening so far.

  Things I have learned this last week.  That even using these High Teck Doodads, you also need lots of clamps.  But only at the bow & stern, and only if you are bending your strips rather than using fillers.

and rubber bands and this florida heat don’t really agree.  When I go out to the shop to check on it, I find a floor full of broken rubber bands and a few acrylic clamps just sitting on the boat.  When tieing the rubber bands on, when they break they send the doodads with force to the floor.  Mine being a concrete floor, the acrylic doodads don’t survive.  I have managed to break 5 of them so far.  But I still love them!!!  Something tells me I need to order another batch of these just to have around for future builds.

Well as you can tell, I decided to add a racing stripe down the side of my hull.  I had some padauk and mahogany left over from previous builds.

And now I am back to White Cedar…

08/24/09  I know I said a week, but I am thinking that I will just post on Tuesday night.  Not a lot has changed from the last post, but I now have 4 full strips on the port side, and 5 along the starboard side.

Again I am bending my strips to form the bow & stern because I like the way it looks.  I have seen yaks with filler strips, but you lose the lines of the boat visualy with them.  At the moment the only place I am using clamps is at the bow & stern.

the stern

the bow

Speaking of clamps, this is where I would normally show you 30-60 clamps of different types hold the strips in place along with a bunch of staples holding them to the forms.  But these “Doodads”  I got from Seppy in Brisbane, and invented by Amlap in Portugal (both were met online with the “BlueHeron” forum) are the cats meow!!!   So Thanks Silvero, and Rick!!!   With these little pieces of acrylic and $10 worth of rubber bands all my clamping needs are taken care of.  What I have learned so far is to place one over any joint you have and it keeps them even, wrap the rubberband tightly because they are what clamps it, the pieces are only the holders, and in stubborn areas, just add another.

my joints seem to be tighter and lining up at the ends better, but I am not sure if it has to do with the clamp system, or the fact I can only do one run per side at a time, so I am spending more time being finicky.

08/23/09  I now have 2 strips down each side, but because of the relaxed way of building this yak, I have decided to only show posts on the progress once a week.  You dont really want to see each piece as it gets glued on.

 

08/21/09  Today I worked on setting my forms on the strongback, Aligning (leveling and squaring them up), taping the forms, and installing my begining strips (for the life of me I can’t think of what they are called! LOL).

  Then I had to play with the “Doodads” I got from Seppy Down Under just to see how they work.  I may have to order some more of these, Pretty Slick!!!

This is my first attempt to build without staples

Although I am using clamps at the moment in the middle, I am hoping to just use rubber bands and Doodads as the sides build

I still have not settled on a pattern yet for the deck, I know I wanted the shearline to be WRC and the hull AWC at least to the waterline.  I also have bounced around names and graphics and have narrowed it down to 2.  It will either be called the “Water Nymph” or the “Dolphin”.  I like the first one, but obtaining a graphic I like will be hard.

08/19/09  I made my new strong back today and marked my forms.  Laid the spacing out on the strong back, ripped and glued some scrap Mahogany on the bow & stern forms for my inner stems.  It has begun!

Redfish King (part 7 Delivery)

Truck loaded and all hooked up for the trip.  I wrapped the new Yak in a “Danu” cover to protect it from any menacing bugs, stones or anything that might want to hurt it before it is delivered.  Actually this pic was taken in the parking lot of the motel we stayed at in Chattanooga TN.

 

Our camp site at Norris Dam State Park.  We are all set up and waiting on Kevin to show up for his yak.

Kevin unwrapping his yak for the first time.  Does he look excited?

Strapping it down to his car the first time… it looks good on his car.

The classic pose with builder/Kayak/Owner.  Now I am 6′ and Kevin is 6′2″ and you can see that the cockpit combing doesn’t even reach our heads.  Shows how big this yak really is.

Floating and smiling… what else is there?

He sits it well, and it rides the water well

A pic for his Mom. LOL

Here we sit at the Norris Dam wondering how to get through.  Okay maybe not…

Well, might as well head back to camp it has been a fine paddle….

 

 

Well it is tuesday nite and my bags are packed.  We will be leaving soon on another road trip with our camping trailer and 3 yaks.  I am actually looking forward to taking this newest yak to her proper owner and hope to be able to post lots of pics of this trip.  So stay tuned for a week or so.  And then after that I will be starting a whole new series.  Tennessee HERE WE COME!!!!!!

Redfish King (part 6 Finished)

Specs;

Length    17′ 9″       Width    20 1/2″          Deck Height   11 1/2″      Weight  43 pounds

 Hours to construct  310  man hours  3 1/2 months in Duration

Materials;

Western Red Cedar, Atlantic White Cedar, Padauk, with Ash in the line recesses and combing lip, and 1/4″ okoume plywood for the bulkheads.

Maas Epoxy, 4 oz. E glass, Eiphanes varnish

 

08/03/09  Today I dry buffed the entire yak, and then started all the outfitting.  I ran all the deck lines, installed handles that I made to match, and then worked on the seat.  I have to tell everyone that this “IR” backband is the primo of backbands.  I called a friend to ask if I could use her scale at her work to see what it weighs.  And while waiting on our appointed time, I took pics in the drive…

This is the yak outfitted…

The “IR” backband and carved seat from Joe @ Redfish Kayaks

Close up of handle, deck lines and deck recesses…

Ooooops, I ended up putting the builders tag in the wrong place, the seat covers the owners name and serial number.  But Hey, at least my name shows.  Hahahahaha

I kind of ran a little more shock cord than standard, but it just looked right to have the extra lines.

 

Boy does this yak have a lot of rocker…

Kevin (the owner) asked me to take pics from what it would look like from the cockpit so he could fantasize about paddling it during the build.  Here I am sitting in it while on a sea of grass… okay a small pond of grass….

Loaded on the truck for it’s maiden voyage….

She sits well on the water, and I am way over the ideal weight for this yak…

Damn is this yak fast!!!

20″ wide yaks are not designed for fat paddlers…

Here are my classic on the beach shots…

You can really see the rocker in this pic…

It just looks so good on my truck, I had to do another of it leaving the beach

Here it is on the trailer, packed away till it is time to deliver it next week

I thought it looked good to be sitting with Peggy’s Guillemot L

Well stay tuned for in 2 weeks I should have pics of it being paddled by her owner on one of the finest lakes in Tennessee.  Norris Dam here we come!!!

Redfish King (part 5 finishing)

08/01/09    As of today I now have 5 coats of varnish all the way around and have used about 1 1/2 quarts of varnish.  I started the day by lightly wet sanding the deck (actually I started at 4:30am doing water support for a local triathalon), and then I installed the hatch foam and the shock cord for the hidden hatches.  Washing the yak of any slurry, I was impressed I could not spray any water in to the hatches.

Then I managed to get 2 coats of varnish sprayed on today…

and with a little touch ups and the handles tomorrow, I should be ready for dry buffing on monday.  Fit the seat, backband, and deck lines!  Then it will be time to test her out in the water and make sure it is ready for delivery on the 13th.

07/28/09  I was out at 6am wet sanding the entire yak down.  The varnish I am using is working out nicely.  It is “Epifanes” High Gloss and is working out smoother than the Interlux Schooner I have used in the past.  The only down side to this stuff is the drying time, it seems to take a lot longer… 24 hrs instead of 12 hrs.

This is just one coat of varnish, it is really high gloss

 

After sanding it down I washed it off, flipped her upside down and put my first coat of varnish on the hull.  I am using 4″ foam rollers for the base coats to build it up, and then I will wet sand it down (deck done that way already).  Then I will spray the last 2 coats for that mirror finish

07/27/09  Okay, I put the second coat of varnish on the deck before going into work this morning.  I will do another tonight after work and then being off tomorrow I will work on wet sanding the entire yak and putting 2 more coats of varnish then wet sand it smooth and on Wed a final spray on the deck.  That will have to cure a couple of days before I can flip her over and start the hull.

07/26/09  I put the first coat of varnish on this evening after wet sanding the deck.

07/24/09 AM    I had some epoxy problems that took some time to correct, but this morning I started my end pours starting with the stern.  Trying to decide how to do this not having a shop with a 14 foot ceiling anymore, I decided to use my flag pole.  And being a patriot, I decided to leave my flag up for all to see that this is a USA made Kayak.

PM… I flipped her over and did the bow

and the view from my desk…

 

7/14/09  I got the thigh braces installed and filleted tonight.

Figured as long as I had my good camera out, I would do full pics.  The first is what you will see when on the water

and this is what everyone will see when on the water…

07/12/09  After getting up at 4 AM to work Water Safety for a local Triathalon, I came home to work on the yak.  I put the yak on one edge and sanded the other.  Hoping to control drips in this method

And while taking pics of my shop for a listing in Blue Heron Forum I thought I would take pics of some things I haven’t shown like the name tag that is mounted inside the cockpit area.

and the only graphic included on this yak complete with wet sanding slurry LOL

and how the deck is looking so far…

 

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????

Carrying Handles

Okay everyone, I am now looking for the perfect profile for carry handles.  The ones I made for the Guillemot are not comfy for smaller hands,

 

And the ones I have turned out of Padauk for the present “King” I am finding boring,

So if anyone has any ideas at all, please email me at kev_th@yahoo.com or leave a message on the Blue Heron forum at http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1074

Redfish King (part 2 building the hull)

05/11/09 Finished shaping the hull today

And I put a sealer coat of epoxy on half of the hull sealing it and filling cracks, sadly most of all of it will be sanded off with a finer grit sandpaper.  But you get to see what the colors are going to look like once the glassing starts.

04/29/09  It is time to start fairing, sanding, and filling the hull while stripping the deck.  This is also when you can really see the difference of the white cedar below the water line, and the red above.

04/24/09  Today I worked on the 1st stage of planing out the hull  and shaving both stems to fit.  In doing this I keep all my cedar shavings in my one effort to recycle and be “green”.  What do I do with these shavings you ask?  I mix them in with the kitty litter.  It streches the litter farther, and REALLY helps with the smell! LOL  And yes, before you email me, I know my truck is not considered “Green”… forget it, I love my truck!

04/23/09 The last couple of days I have just been putzing around working on the hull.  Nothing really exciting to see, but keeping me busy.  Today with the help of my trusty shop dog… Matilda May (Tilly)

I was able to finish stripping the hull. 

 I glued up the last strip on the stern’s outer stem,

and started faring out the bow stem. 

 It is also time to pull staples.  This is probably the most boring part of making yaks.  I even wondered if I could hire some kid in the area to come pull them, but this idea passed as I continued to remove them.  Well, it is time to sharpen the edge of my block plane and clean up the shape of this yak.  I also discovered that the frame I have used to cradle my previous yaks is to big to fit this yak.  I will have to make new ends before I can start stripping the deck.

04/20/09  Well I was working away on the yak when my glue bottle ran out of glue, and my staple gun ran out of staples.  I figured it was the kayak gods telling me that was enough for the night.  I am almost done with one side of the hull, and have the outer strips started.  The bow went well, but the stern has such a radical bend in it, I can only do one strip at a time and then I had to use a heat gun to get the padauk to bend.  So that I can maintain center line when it comes time to trim the first half of the hull, as well as making sure the yak is still balanced when I pull a string, I am marking a center line as I go using the forms as my points of origin.  Both ends lined up, so I am sure my string will too.

04/17/09 I am up to where the outer stems connect on the bow, it is REALLY taking shape now.

But from the rear it doesn’t look like I am as far.  I have to clamp each piece at this point from the strips going from horizontal, to vertical.  Once I get as far as the bow, it should move quickly again

After a couple of emails with Kevin, we decided to run the outer stems in the same padauk as the center of the deck making it look continuous.  And being this close to starting to need the outer stems, it was time to rip the padauk

04/16/09 Today I am still working on the hull, but I have now switched to the white cedar along the water line.  These strips are only 6 foot long and require a little more time, plus it is where the ends come together in tight shapes requiring lots of clamping, so I only have 2 strips on each side.

04/15/09  I finished up the Red Cedar on the hull today, tomorrow I will start the White Cedar.  I had to take pics of the just finished build with the new build.  Something about seeing the roughness of the new compared to the beauty of the finished.

And now are some pics of the progress made today.  The good news for Kevin Russell (the owner) is that his yak is now on the builders stand and has 100 % of my building attention.  Late start, sorry.

04/10/09 Well I moved the forms where they are supposed to be, cut down the strong back, added the ends (complete with inner stems), and started laying up strips on the hull.  I managed to get 5 strips on each side before the originals started to give.

I am using a combination of methods of building, some from past experince and some are from Redfish.  One of the things I really like is the slotted wood holder that Nick Schade talks about in his book.  It takes a lot less clamps to hold the strips together.

You can really start to see the lines at this point

Guillemot L (part 4 in the water)

04/19/09  After some modifacations I used this boat for “Water Safety” for a local swim meet.  It started out with a light chop on the water and was a good test on how the yak performs.  Let me tell you, it turns on a dime, is very playful and easy to handle.  The secondary is right on, you know exactly where it is.  And speed?  It has lots!!!   And although when paddling the bow creates a splash, so I was very currious what it would do in waves.  The splash is there, but it is pushed out the side.  No matter how hard this yak crashed down on the back side of a wave, my skirt and PFD remained dry.  I am impressed, I will have to think about making one of these for me…

04/16/09  John of CLC Boats was down here at Gandy Beach a couple of weeks ago doing a demo and I wasn’t quite ready.  But then I decided where would be a more fitting place to try out my new yak than the same place.  Hey John… still looking for that “Anas Acutas” you promised us.

Pics of me playing with it on the Maiden Voyage…  She handles so very well!!!

 

 

And now I turn the “SeaHorse over to her owner for approval…

Can you see the smiles?

My Guillemot L (part 3 trimming it out)

04/12/09 For those of you following my progress, you know that I am trying to move out of the shop I was using and into my garage.  Well, to day I am completely moved out.  I just unloaded the “Seahorse” in my garage ready to trim out with skeg handle, seat, deck lines, hatch straps, etc…

She looks good almost completed sitting under the “King” that is just started.

Once this yak is finished I will be devoting my time to the King, and it should go quickly.  Luckily work is starting to pick up a little so I wont have 8 hour days on it, but I will do something everyday now it is at my house.

It Is Done!

04/14/09  I finished the “SeaHorse” today while it was storming outside.  The following pics are of some of the details I did on this yak.  Tomorrow evening will be the “Virgin Float” and turning it over to it’s rightful owner.  It is like watching one of your kids leave home.  You know it will happen, but it still is hard to give up. LOL

Artwork

The Handles (homemade), recess fittings, deck line

Seat and foam padding.  The back is from Necky, and the seat is CLC with an added pad

 

04/14/09  Here it is on my truck getting ready for it’s maiden voyage.  I hope to have lots of pics of it on the water later tonight.  Notice the Redfish King I am starting in front of it.

Peggy, I hope you like this yak.  A lot of Heart & Soul went into this one.

Redfish King (part 1 getting ready)

04/09/09 While I was away kayaking a revelation hit me.  I strung the forms wrong.  For some reason my yak was coming out 8 inches longer than it was suppose to be.  Well DUH!!!  16 forms each form being 1/2 inch thick, my measurements should be from face to face, not between.  Luckily they are screwed on so I can move them and trim the strong back down.

04/03/09 I made the strongback and mounted the forms to it.  Then I taped the edges to keep the glue from building from sticking to the forms.  The spacing of the forms was a little different on this yak, it was not consistent spacing.  But then this is not your common yak.  It is nice to see the lines of this yak take shape, I know one thing for sure… my fat butt will never fit in it!

The internal stem strips are made and clamped to the end forms awaiting to be screwed down when the glue dries.  Then I will have to glue up the external stems before mounting the ends on to the strongback.

I’m starting it now!!!

04/02/09 I dug out the forms and laid out and cut out for the strong back.  Hey, It’s a start.

03/05/09 Today I went and picked up the padauk I needed to do the job, and while I was there at a wood wholesaler, I picked up the plywood for the strongback and bulkheads, and hatch rims.  All of the strips are piled up and ready to start

02/25/09 Kevin’s wood arrived today, we are getting ready to start.  If you would like to see the specs of this fine craft, just click on this link http://www.redfishkayak.com/king.htm .

My plans have changed, and my next build is for a young man in the great state of Tennessee.  He has chosen a Redfish King as the yak he most wants, and I have received the plans, and forms.  The wood strips of cedar and padauk should be delivered tomorrow.  He has sent the design that he wants and I am looking forward to making this fine yak!  I have never even paddled a fish form yak, let alone made one, so this should be interesting.  His design ideas are very simple, but yet extremely elegant.  This should be one fine kayak when it is done.

My Guillemot L (part 2 finishing)

04/04/09 Today I put the fifth and final coat of varnish on the deck after spending the day with John Harris of CLC boats (http://www.clcboats.com/) on Gandy Beach here in Saint Petersburg, FL    Wish I would of had this one done to show off, but there will be time.  The next two pics are after the varnish.  I still have to varnish the hull, then rig it out.  Launching will be soon now.

03/16/09 I haven’t posted anything again, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working.  It just means the work I have been doing is boring.  I have been putting fill coats on the hull, and wet sanded the entire hull.  So even though I have been busy, there really isn’t anything new to see.  The sad part is there wont be for a couple of weeks.  Now the hull is done, I will roll her over and do the same to the deck. then start my varnishing.  Then you will see pics as I am done varnishing, and trimming out the hardware.  Other than the fill coats I have drilled the rear bulkhead for the skeg cable and  and used duct seal on the skeg box and bulkhead to keep things water tight.  I also laid out for my foot pegs and prepped them.

03/10/09 It’s been a couple of days since I posted anything, but I have been working… well kind of.  Sat. I spent about 20min puttying and sealing the sheer line, Mon. I set the ribbon I use on the port side, and today I set the ribbon on the starboard side.  That only takes a couple of hours on each side.

03/06/09 Had a hard time getting motivated, but still managed to get a few things done.  I started with installing both bulkheads, and filleting 3/4s of the way around on one side of each.  Then I moved on to sanding the drain ports for the hatches, and then cutting out and installing the hatch rims, and once that was done I hoisted it back in the air and did a end pour in the bow.

03/05/09 Not an exciting day today, I rolled the yak over and seam taped the other side, and then left to run some errands.  Picking up materials for my next build (Redfish King).  When I came back I lifted the yak up to do an end pour on the stern end.

03/04/09 I started the day by cutting out my hatches, and then started strapping the two halves together and seam taped one side together.  I must say that this is the hardest part of kayak building.  Trying to get the tape & epoxy along the seam from bow to stern is a royal pain.

 

03/03/09  Coming back from a nice weekend paddle (see Cayo Costa), and suffering through jury duty on Monday, I managed to do a little work on the boat today.  I laid out the recesses for the deck lines, the u-bolts on the ends, and the hatches.  I pre-drilled for the u-bolts and then filled the holes with epoxy to seal the wood from any moisture,

and then I drilled the holes for the deck line recesses and installed them. 

Then I did my final fill coat of epoxy on the inside of the deck.  I also discovered that the foot pegs are going to mount right at the seam line.  So I guess I will have to mount it on blocks instead of using thru bolts. 

02/27/09 Today I installed the combing.  It is really hard to take a saw to the body you have worked so hard to shape.  But taking your time and fitting the combing a dozen times and slowly cutting away what is needed, you end up with a nice tight fit.  Add to that a nice epoxy/wood flour putty along the outside and you end up with a nice product.  Also installed the skeg handle block.

The pile of items left to install before I start the varnish work is getting smaller…

02/26/09  Today I finished with the major glassing… the inside of the deck including reinforcing.  Put a second fill coat on the inside of the hull, and started my idea of wood carry handles.  I like the feel of “Kayak Karry” handles which I can no longer find, so I am constructing my own out of some mahogany veneer I am laminating.

02/25/09  I striped the forms out today, did a little light sanding on the inside of the hull,

and glassed the inside of the hull.  Thanks to my contacts at US Composites ( http://www.uscomposites.com/) for giving me a great deal on the kevlar hybrid material for my cockpit area, I laid the reinforcing cloth as well.

Time to box up the forms till I can make another one of these yaks for me.

 

02/24/09 Today was productive in a simple kind of way.  I added the reinforcing glass to the bottom of the hull, added my graphics, the boats name and my serial number.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The serial number is on the port stern, the name is on the front of the combing, and my Seahorse graphic of course is on both sides of the bow.

I also took the 14 recess deck plugs and epoxied them to seal them before installation

RAW

Epoxied

02/23/09 I split the deck and the hull today, and glassed the outside of the hull.  This is the first layer of glass, and I will add reinforcing tomorrow.

02/22/09 I remembered my camera!!!  And I put a 2nd fill coat of epoxy on the boat.  I remember being told that many thin coats are better than less thick coats, so I am trying to keep them very thin.  I still have the fabric where it is covered but not filled.  I am going to stop here with the outside of the deck and finish the fill coats after installing the skeg handle, deck line recesses, and combing.  Limiting the amount of epoxy used and trying to keep the weight down.

stern to bow

Sorry about the bright sun shinning in on the wet epoxy

bow to stern

I also worked on the combing and glassed the other side of the plywood I am going to use for my bulkheads.

This is after the first coat of epoxy

02/21/09 Well, I went into the shop to clean it and get it ready to start glassing next week.  Well, that went so well, and dust had settled out, so I decided to see if I could glass it by myself.  I picked up a roll of “Boat Mask” wich is a piece of plastic conected to a roll of tape kind of like a masking machine.  After you tape the seam, you can unfold the plastic and it hangs a couple of feet down.  I figured if it came from the local fibreglass dealer, it should work better then painters paper did on my first yak. LOL  We will see.  I dug out the 30″ glass andunrolled it on the deck… I could not stand it, I had to dig out the epoxy and do my first fill.  Peggy came by and I recruited her help spreading epoxy.  The bad news is I didn’t take my camera, so I dont have any pics, but I will take it tomorrow!!!  The colors are looking really nice and rich, it is going to be a pretty yak.

Chesapeake 17, a Yak from Down Under

The following pics are of the yak a Aussie I befriended from the CLC  builders forum built.  It is his Chesapeake 17, and the first kayak he has ever built, but not his last.  He is starting a Shearwater 17  next.  His name is Lawrence Watson but goes by the name of Wordsmith on CLC.  I am pretty impressed for a man pushing 70 and I love the Compass Rose he inlayed along with the curved paint lines to accent the shape of the yak.

1) first pic is of the finished craft including the cart he made for it.

 2)Nicely cambered and upswept one piece bow tip

 3) The extended cockpit

 4) Another pic of the combing

 5) Beautifully engineered “Smart Track” rudder system

 6) Birds eye view

 7) Stern view

 8) On the water

My Guillemot L (part one building)

02/18/09 Well I have been busy fairing, and sanding on the boat, and today I put a seal coat of epoxy on the deck.  I hope to start laying glass early next week and will have fresh pictures then, there is just nothing new to see yet.  I have learned something new on this yak, building a combing is a pain in the A__!!!  And I am still not even done with it yet.  But I know that it being wood instead of the pre-made glass one I used on my other yak will look good, and the decision to put wooden fittings for the deck rigging will just top it off.  So starting next week watch for “part 2 the finishing”

02/09/09  It has been awhile since I posted anything here, I have been busy with selling excess gear, and working on the combing, skeg, and cockpit recess.  But here are some pics of how she is looking so far

02/04/09 As you can tell from the pic below, The deck pattern is done.  I am starting with my cockpit recess.  This is a slow process, so after I glue up one piece in front, and one in back, I work on the skeg and combing, then back to the recess

02/03/09 I have taken a few days off to take care of business (laundry, Anita’s B-day(my sis-in-law)) but thought I would at least post the newest pic of progress

 

 

01/29/09 I finished the pattern on the starboard side, glued up a jig to make my combing, and made the blocks for the skeg handle.

01/27/09 Just worked on the deck and laying out the combing.  The pattern is now set.

01/26/09 I took the day off and had a wonderful paddle across Tampa Bay.  What a great day on the water.

01/25/09 It was a quick day today, I just epoxied the skeg parts, and laid out where the pattern and combing fit.

01/24/09 I have come to the conclusion that there is something very satisfing in taking a block plane to your boat to fare it out and producing curls of wood shavings.  I finished the mahogany highlight strip and filled in the other bow quarter panel.

And until you are done there is never enough clamps to fill the job

01/23/09 Well, today I worked on filling in the (what I call front quarter panel) red cedar up front on one side.  Continueing with the mahogany stripe at the stern.  And made some more red cedar strips. And I even sanded the front stem to shape.  It is really taking shape. I forgot my camera at the shop so I will have to post pics tomorrow or when ever I get the camera. 

So I am going to take this moment to let everyone know that the shop I am using isn’t really mine.  It belongs to a friend who is also looking for work and is not using it, not having any jobs.  I have a two car garage full of tools, but since I put in the laundry room, it is not long enough to house my yaks.  So I just haul my stuff over and use Gordons shop.  So incase I forget to mention it, Thank you Gordon.

01/22/09  The weather here is still to cold to work on the yak.  Hahahaha, it may only be 35, but we dont have heaters here in FL.  Well, titebond still works and so do clamps.  So I have my highlight stripe started.  Cold mahogany does not bend well, nor does it take staples, had to use finish nails to hold it in place.

I decided that the red cedar and mahogany was to close in color to be next to each other, so I am going to picture frame the red cedar in white cedar.

01/20/09 Well I posted a question on CLC Boat Forum a couple of days ago and got no feedback.  It looks like there is more help on S&G yaks than strippers.  So I am going to attempt doing my pattern the way I did my first one.  Hopefully I will have pics to show progress tomorrow.  Meanwhile… I have started working on the skeg, but still thinking about how to make the recess for the skeg handle.

01/16/09 YAHOO!!!  I finished stripping the hull today, and glued my stem pieces on.  She looks like a yak, well she really looks like a canoe without the deck, but she will soon be a yak.

And I have all these tiny little nails to pull

01/15/09 Well, it has been awhile since I posted any progress on this yak so it must be time.  Some of the things I have discovered is that cedar does not bend as well as the hardwood I used on my first one.  And short pieces (8ft) are more time consuming than the 16ft long pieces I used on my first yak.  And third… Everything I read, said to use staples in construction.  Well I figured I have this 23 (tiny)gauge pin nailer I use for work and it leaves such a small hole you can’t really see it.  Well it is so small, it won’t even hold the cedar when it is in a bind.  The cedar just pulls off, or the bind of the wood just bends the tiny nails.  I started using 1/2 inch staples today and it is amazing how well it works.  I guess the people that do this for a living might know more about building kayaks than I do.  But I am willing to bet that I can still trim a house or hang doors faster than they can!

I am almost done stripping the hull, and I have the ends shaped for the stem strips.

On the bottom I decided to stagger the strips to give it some what of a pattern for I am convinced that the fish that will be swimming by like to look at pretty things too. LOL

And as you can see, I have lots of work in pulling staples and scaping glue before I can start fairring the hull into shape.  But at last I can see a wonderful kayak starting to take shape.

 

01/08/09 Still at the point of watching glue dry after putting on 1 piece at a time.  Not a lot of progress but I do have 3 strips down each side complete from stern to bow.  As you can tell from the next pic, there is no such thing as to many clamps!

01/06/09 I finished setting my forms and getting them sanded and taped.  I also started setting my shearlines.

12/20/08 I built my strongback and started setting my forms

12/18/08 Okay, it is now time to start my winter project, my next Yak.  Design has been drawn, material gathered and time on my hands with this economy slump.  This yak will be different in the fact it will be mostly cedar and mahogany.  I have decided to make the cockpit a little larger, and this will be my first wood cockpit rim.  I will be posting my progress with pictures as I work on this winter project here in Sunny Florida.

This is the design I am hoping for.  The yellow (including the hull) will be white cedar as well as the cockpit area, the tan will be mahogany, and the purple will be red cedar.  I decided to use ash for the stem strips on the outside of the bow and stern.  I am installing a skeg using the system that a lot of composite yaks use, with a recess handle and cable to operate.  Instead of Carbon Fibre seam tape I used on my first kayak, I am going to try and use a tapestry ribbon.

I would like to put a drawing of a Unicorn on the bow if I can find one that I like, that is what this Kayak reminds me of, maybe a Seahorse

Making a Skeg for a wood yak

On my Guillemot L, I decided to make a skeg in the same manner that P&H does theirs.  Havin 3 cables on hand, I am making 3 skegs… more yaks to come. LOL

I drew out the pattern of the skeg on a piece of 1/4 inch mahogany plywood and covered both sides of it with 4 oz glass and one coat of epoxy.  I also did one side of the rest of the plywood I had left to make the box out of.  I will fill the glass for the box before cutting it to size and put that side to the inside.  I will cut the blades out on my bandsaw and glue the cable in before filling the weave.

 

Here I am cutting the blades out on the bandsaw

 

Next I cut a slot in the top of the skeg inwhich to epoxy the cable to

 

And drill oversized holes for the cable in the top and connecting bolt through the sides.  I then tape the back sides and will fill all with epoxy when I do the fill coats.

Starting the slide block, I inserted a 3/4″ core box bit in my router table, and set up a center line on the fence

I took a mahogany block 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 X 6 inch block and laid out 2 marks 1 3/4 inches off the center line each way.  Lineing up the left line I lowered the block down on the router and slide it till the right hand line met up with the center line

This created a rounded groove like this

which I then epoxied inside to seal it up

I put the sides of the box together and taped them in place.  I then mixed a little wood flour with epoxy and made a 1/4 inch tongue depressor in which to fill all of the inside corners with a small fillet.

 I marked the ends of the handle block to drill the holes for the rod and cable

 Then I placed the block on the kayak so I can plane it to match the shape of the kayak body, then I marked how it sat on the inside

 removing the block from the boat, I planed and belt sanded the underside of the block and reinstalled it, tacking it in place using hot melt glue so it can be removed at a later date.

Then I installed the slide bar and handle to make sure everything works, but then removed both 

 Moving to the skeg box, I started fibreglassing the outside

I cut the box slightly larger than the tapered shape of the skeg

  I finalized it up by drilling a 1/4″ hole thru the box and skeg, using a 1/4″x1 1/2 S.S.bolt, fender washer, and rubber washer on the outside of the box, spacing the skeg with 2 S.S. fender washers on each side, and another rubber washer, S.S. fender washer and a S.S. acorn nut to hold it all together. 

Drilling the top of the box for the cable and cable tubing, it is ready to install.

Spring Run

There is not a lot to say about this yak, I haven’t started it yet. Hahahaha  This will be my 3rd wood yak to build.  You can see this design at  http://www.redfishkayak.com/spring_run.htm

Joe over at Redfish was great in helping me decide what I wanted and was very quick in shipping the forms and plans.

My First Wood Strip Kayak

In April 2008, I decided to try my hand at making a wood strip kayak.  So I got on  WWW.CLCBoats.com and ordered the forms for the hardest yak I could find to build… A design by Nick Schade called an “Expedition Single”.  I then purchased Nick’s book about building strip yaks.  While waiting for these items to arrive, I found a local source for free lumber at a local moulding company.  They just pile their edge strips (which is junk to them) outside for the taking.  I loaded up my truck with enough poplar for the hull, cherry, mahogany, & poplar for the deck.  Found a great source for my epoxy and fiberglass supplies, and started scrounging all the accessories from fellow yakkers.

Once I started making strips,       it was time to come up with a design.  With that done, it was time to set the forms.  My plan was to work on the boat as I read how.  Hahahaha, who was I kidding???  It was more complete a step, then read what I did wrong.  Well with the forms set I placed my shear strips and started the hull.  .  Ooops, what was that about stems???  So I grab a piece of Ash, trim the ends of the hull, and cut a couple of outside stems.  This worked fine except now my 19 foot yak is 19′-6″.  Hmmmm, I start to have doubts with a boat almost 20 feet long, and only 20 inches wide… sounds like a log.  Well, move on to the deck and see what else I need to learn.  Again I start with my shear strips, and then set my pattern.  Well that went okay… I think.  Now just fill in the holes.  A little putty, and it is time to cut out for the cockpit.  I decided to use a ready made glass combing, so I had to adjust the deck area to except the combing.  This I did with mahogany.

Now at this point I must tell anyone who is wanting to build a kayak, you must learn to love sanding.  Lots and lots of sanding   A little more putty and a lot more sanding.  The book I was reading talked about faring and using a block plane.  Not owning either of these tools, I just used my DA sander to shape and smooth.  Later I learned why faring is important, but at the time I justified using my DA as being good enough on car bodies, it should work on my yak.  Now that I finished the shaping and smoothing to the point of 220 grit paper, it is time to move on to the next step.  Let me grab the book cause I know NOTHING about fibreglass!  All I know is that it itches when I put it in my attic.

Now let me talk about family.  Anyone with older siblings understand that they are smarter & wiser to the ways of life because they have been around longer.  Up till now I could except this, but when looking for someone to help me glass my boat, my brother (8 years older) actually volunteered to help.  Okay, blew that theory, but a great help he was as we both learned how to do a glass lay up.  We started with the hull, and I protected the deck using painters tape and paper.  I read to use wax paper but I couldn’t figure out how to keep that in place, the tape just would not stick to it.  After wetting out the entire hull, I came back and put a second layer of 4 oz glass under the cockpit area and both stems.  Added 3 more fill coats of epoxy.  Now it is time to strip the tape and paper, flip the yak and do the hull.  Okay now I know why you don’t use painters tape and paper.  When epoxy leaks under the tape it just really sticks good.  Played like H___ getting the tape off, and the paper… Who would think that paper wets out with epoxy and sticks to the boat in all the places where you don’t want it to.  Okay where did I put that sander?  Wax paper huh?  Well I did figure out to jam it in between the shear strips with a putty knife.    Oh Brother where are you?  After laying up the glass, and 3 fill coats of epoxy, it is time to strip the paper and have a look at what this marvel is going to look like.   Okay, I will admit that pride is starting to set in.  The day dreams of plowing thru surf, going places no man has ever gone, even know that the fish I am sharing the water with will approve of this kayak.  It is time to go home and read the book for the 7th time for the next step.  I am starting to think I am a slow learner.

Okay, it says to split the two halves, remove the forms, and sand the inside.  What???  Oh Lord I hate sanding, and how am I suppose to get inside those inside curves and tight ends.  Hmmmm, Nick does mention that one can only see the inside of the cockpit area, and I think I read, maybe dreamed you could always paint this area so you dont have to be as finicky on the inside.  That was when my brain storm idea hit me, now where did I see that stuff???  Okay, I found some kevlar/carbon mats that were on sale because they were end cuts off the roll.  Gee, and look they even have it in Orange.  Hehehehe, 2 days later it came.  I had to work a little harder to wet it in, but I am feeling a little like a Banty Rooster.   UH OH!  Kevlar does not cut like glass does.  Not even my razor knife will slice it.  Time to research how to trim it with out buying a $70 pair of kevlar scissors.  I looked around my shop and found a pair of shears that is used to cut plastic laminate.  Worked like a champ.  After glassing the inside of the deck, I had to put my baby up for 3 months while I flew to Alaska for 3 months to work.  I will admit that she was never far from my thoughts while I was there.

Sept. 10th I returned to my Sunny Florida Home, happy to be back, and having down time I threw my self back into finishing my baby.  While I was gone, even though both halves were glassed, without the forms in it, the shear lines curled a little.  So when I joined the 2 halves together, the seam was ugly, and the curls were to deep to sand smooth both inside and out.  A good friend of mine had mentioned how sharp it would look if I used Carbon Fiber as skid strips on the bow and stern.  Hmmmm, so why not use that as my seam tape as well.  So I puttyed the outside and sanded the inside.  Then I added the carbon strips    When I was reading an online builders forum on CLCs web page, I saw a discussion about adding graphics.  So as long as I was adding epoxy, I decided to add a graphic.  I always liked mermaids, but a famous kayak maker already uses them, and after seeing whales in Alaska, I decided on a simple Whale drawing to go on one Whale of a boat.    So after printing my drawing on rice paper using my inkjet printer, I inserted it between the carbon strips, and filled both with epoxy.  Now it is time to add the varnish.  I will admit that I had decided on 3 coats of varnish.  But by the time I got a finish I was happy with, I ended up with 5 coats on the hull, and 7 coats on the deck.  And for those of you at this step, I actually found joy in wet sanding between coats.  Something about rubbing the yak down with your hand making it smooth was satisfying.

During the construction of this kayak, I inspected every kayak, wood or composite with a whole new insight.  I decided that when it came to trimming it out, I was going to take the best of what I liked.  I drilled the deck with a hole saw where I wanted the deck line connections and added blocks drilled to except the plugs from the hole saw, added t-nuts, and epoxy coated the blocks, glued them in place so I didn’t lose my pattern lines, filled the edges with a fillet of wood flour and epoxy so these recesses would drain water and added semi recessed line clips.  I used “Waterproof” U-bolts on both ends for the deck lines and handles.  I also liked the way the handles are tied to the perimater line so they dont flop around, but easy to grab.  So I used 1/8 inch shock cord to do this.  I used weather strip from a car to put on my hatches for a good seal, An Extrasport replacement seat, an inflateable thigh brace for my back band, installed my minicellbulkheads, caulked everything in with “Black 3M 5200″.  Let me warn you, when using this caulking, wear gloves, once it dries, it does not come off skin.  At 3 PM Nov. 4th 2008 I completed my first kayak.  By 4:30 pm I was on the water.  I figured I actually have about 280 working hours including making my own bead & cove strips, graphics, and changes.  Please enjoy the pics and let me know what you think, good or bad… My next project is a “Guillemot L” from a full kit.

 

 

 

My special thanks to John and everyone at Chesapeake Light Craft www.clcboats.com , Sweetwaters Kayak http://www.sweetwaterkayaks.com/ , Osprey Bay Kayak http://www.ospreybay.com/ , US Composites http://www.uscomposites.com/ , Bill Jacksons http://www.billjacksons.com/kayaking.htm , and all of my friends for thier support and ideas.

Kevin Thompson

 

UPDATE!!!

I took the boat out today, and all I can say is WOW!!!  She weather cocks into the wind finer than any yak I have ever paddled.Casual paddle strokes in a 2 foot chop and I was flying around 6 knots in a headwind.  No rudder, or skeg and she tracks so well.  The only bad spot was when I crossed a motor boat wash (between the wakes where it is dead calm) and she quit cruising.  She is made for open water!!!!  A TRUE EXPEDITION YAK!!!!