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

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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????

Liquid Rhythm is up and running!

Written by KayakPeg

After a long time waiting our friends Sean and Jeff decided to it was time to get back in the game and start offering kayak trips. On June 20^th, 2009, at the Chassahowitzka River at 10:10am, the guys along with 9 ½ paddlers, were in the water and the inaugural Liquid Rhythm paddle was underway. 

It was our pleasure to support the guys on their first trip out and it was great to see a nice turn out and familiar faces; Bruce and Gloria, Red, Kathy, Dean, Kev and myself. And new faces, Sharon, who is a friend of Kathy’s and lives in Hudson, Lorrin and her 4yr old son Nickolas (this was our ½ paddler), they live in Valrico and when looking to buy some kayak gear landed on Kevin’s site, where he informed her of the paddle. 

 

The Chassahowitzka River is a nice river to paddle, pristine and spring feed, which means it is great for cooling off on a hot day, and it was a hot day. Luckily we did have a little breeze and some cloud cover. We paddled back to the “Crack” a spring that is a great place to swim and cool off. You can paddle back so far, and then you have to walk about 100 feet in the narrow stream, but well worth it. Red, Kathy, Sharon, Bruce and Gloria decided not to paddle back with the rest of us and paddled about until we cooled off in the water and caught up with them.

 There were lots of canoes and kayakers out on the river and lots of boat traffic to keep an eye out for. I would say half were courtesy and slowed down when they approached paddlers and the other half flew by creating a strong wake. This is a little unsettling to the novice paddlers, but the rest of us take it in stride and will play with the waves they create.

 The wildlife was out and about, all but the Otters, which we heard had been playing in the river the day before, but I did not see any. I saw a beautiful big blue heron, egret, a blue crab, lots of big fish, then when we came back in up by the boat ramp was a small alligator. The small ones do not bother me, but I know momma has to be around somewhere.

 

 

The guys gave us a nice tour of the Chas, and with the tour you get two very experience tour guides. Both have a great wealth of knowledge of nature, water and paddling. They give their customer personalize attention, and will keep the paddle going as long as the customers like. They also provide lunch, which this time was fried chicken, potato salad and cole slaw, all delicious and home made by Sean and his wonderful wife Shelly. Oh, and did I mention they are very entertaining?  Yes, you will laugh a lot with these two guys around.

 All in all I would say it was a successful first trip for Liquid Rhythm, with more to come. Check out their website to find information on future trips. Come out and join us in play.   http://liquidrhythmkayaking.com/Trips.html

Here are a few more pictures from the day:

 

The Seahorse...so pretty!

The Joy of Volunteering

How I spent my summer vacation…

Last Thursday I was talking with Darry Jackson and he was talking about helping some kids in a “Summer Camp”  I replied about how that sounded like fun and if he ever needed help to let me know.  From the smile on his face I knew I was in trouble, and it was confirmed when he said he would meet me tomorrow at 10am at Bay Pines Kayak launch.

Friday morning I arrived and was pleased to meet a Miss Rhegan Hyypio (the councilor) and a Great group of kids all from Country Day School in Seminole.  When the kids showed up, they pick which yaks they wanted to paddle and then worked together to carry them to the water.  It was nice to see a team at work.

When we launched, we headed over to a little spoil island a short distance away.  I was impressed how well the kids stayed together and paddled as a group with no whinning or complaints.  When we hit the waves of a boat wake I expected fear, but all I heard was laughter and cries for more… then I knew we had some natural paddlers with us.  When we reached the spoil, everyone got out and went for a short walk…

and when they got done everyone jumped into the water for a quick swim

and a group photo Left to Right are;  Amanda, Rhegan, Allen, Trevor, Logan, Tony,Renadall, Jake, Sarah, and Nadine.  Thanks kids. 

And then back in our yaks for some more paddling.

and when some of the kids figured out how to splash others with their paddle, I passed my pump over to one of the kids showing what a water cannon it can be… who me???  An instigator???

As we were nearing lunch time it was time to head back.  Along the way Darry showed one of the kids how to mix Bronc riding with kayaking

Close to shore there were a couple of kids that decided it was time to get me wet.  And as I practised my bracing in trying to resist, they succeeded in flipping my yak and dumping me in the water.  And as I am scrambling to collect my gear as it is floating by, the laughter I heard from those kids was the sweetist music I have ever heard.

I hope Darry will ask me to help him again when he does this.  And I want to thank everyone that was there for a great day on the water.

Suwannee River

Okay Phyllis, your story is so good, it looks like 4 of us at the moment and anyone else that would like to join us will be doing this trip next March.  Thanks for the insight.

KK

 

Someone I know just returned from an 8 day paddle trip and sent me an email all about it complete with a link to her  pics.  I just wanted to share it with others.

Just got back from 8 days on the Suwannee River. Five of us started off with a visit to Big Shoals which was kickin! A definite Class III. Took a bizillion pictures of it. Then stopped by The Telford Hotel for lunch. Great food & even better great price $6.50 for lunch buffet, soup, salad,& dessert bar included. We camped the first night at Stephen Foster SP. We didn’t have to eat dinner, we were still full from  lunch so we spent the afternoon checking out the park. The Springhouse was really cool. The river was still pretty high so it was running into the Springhouse. (63.69 on the USGS gage at White Springs) Very nice campground also. The next morning we were up early repacking everything. I had all my gear packed & then realized my glasses were missing. I did remember where I put them, in  the pocket inside my tent which I had just rolled up & squished into a dry bag. I unrolled the tent enough to get my hand inside and into the pocket. WA-LA there are my glasses not broke not even bent. American Canoe Adventure in White Springs shuttled us from the SFSP to the 41 bridge to put in. (16.00 for all of us & our gear) The current was  running at 3.5mph. by my GPS. We were going to Woods Ferry River Camp for the night which was 12.7 miles down river. Mostly all we had to do was  keep the yaks pointed down stream & the river did the rest. There were a lot of places where the water  was a series of boils or Whirlpools. My friend Carol called these areas “Whirlleybobs”. At Woods Ferry RC the water was completely over the  dock & the kayak storage racks, so we paddled right  into the ramp going up. We started the unloading process. There is a cart to pull your gear up the ramp. We made about 4 trips up the ramp with gear, after the first trip up I was wondering why I brought so much food.(I ate good all week, but the food was the heaviest part of my stuff) Then we pushed, pulled, carried & cussed five kayaks up that ramp to our screened sleep platform. We were totally wiped out by  this time. The camp keeper “Wild Gator Bill” who has been there for quite some time says “You could have left your kayaks on the ramp. You guys are the only ones here tonight.” We were so tired we had to make ourselves stay up to at least 9:00pm. Of course the next morning was a repeat just reversed. I think it was aroud 9:30am when we got on the river

 Monday morning for a 19 mile paddle to Holton Creek  River Camp. This area is where we started seeing the  limestone bluffs. The’re not as impressive when the water 10-12 ft. above what it normally is. The sand bars were few and far between, but the sturgeon put on there usual show of jumping high out of the water. You just never knew where they would jump next so we never got a photo of any but a few of us did get splashed by them. When we arrived at Holton Creek RC the dock of course was flooded. We couldn’t get into the stairs because of the hand rails. There was a small sand beach just before the dock we paddled back to & unloaded there. We pulled the yaks up to a post that was futher up on the beach & locked them to it. And started hauling stuff up the hill to the platforms. I have  to say these sleep platforms are really nice. I could recharge my camera batteries and with it being so warm I especially liked the ceiling fan and the AC in the bathrooms.
We were up early again Tuesday morning & on ourway by 8:30. We paddled up every spring run but the springs were flooded also, so we didn’t see anything but that coffee colored water in them. We saw some amazing tree roots though all along the river. Just before lunch we passed by the confluence of the Alapaha River & Suwannee River. We paddled up it a short distance. It was pretty muddy & the current was strong. Right at the confluence we had major “Whirlleybobs” to paddle through. We arrived at Suwannee River SP about 3:30pm and decided to trade our campsite for a cabin which was much closer to the boat ramp. We spent most of the evening on the screened porch in the swing & rocking chairs, sipping drinks with ice in them. I definitly want  to see more of this SP. The next morning we were craming ice into water jugs, hydration packs, and anything else that would hold it so we would have cold water for a little while. We were back on the river  Wed. morning by 8:00am.
The confluence of the Withlacoochee River North is just below the ramp at SRSP. We paddled up it just enough to say we were in it. The “Whirlleybobs” weren’t as bad this time. We just goofed around paddling from one side to the other. Saw a couple of deer & a red fox. We were getting pretty close to Dowling Park and it was just lunch time, so we started  looking for a place to stop. I just happen to look back over my right shoulder as we were coming around a bend in the river and saw a small opening. I paddled back and it was a very small spring. I yelled for everyone else to turn around. The short run into the spring was less than a foot deep, so it wasn’t flooded with that brown water. We stayed there for about 2 hours playing in the cold water after having lunch.
Our stop over for Wednesday was supposed to be Dowling Park RC which had just opened in late March.  The river flooded about 2 weeks after it opened and caused major damage. We ended up staying at Advent Christian Village right across the river from the River Camp. Doug Maby, camp manager went above & beyond for us. He met us at the landing, helped us carry all of our gear up the 35ft bluff, load it in the back of his truck & took us to bunk house where we were staying for the night. The next morning he came & got us, helped load our gear back in the truck, and carry it back down the bluff to our kayaks. He also has  primitive camp sites with a place to get water & take a shower if you want or you can stay in a bunk house.  Camping is 3.00 per person or 5.00 with a shower included. The bunkhouse is 18.00 per night per person  There is a small grocery store if you need supplies, a deli & a cafe if you’re tired of camp food or your own cooking.
We left ACV at 9.00am Thursday morning and by 11.00 am it was thundering, lightning, and pouring rain. In the worst of the lightning we pulled to the side of the river and waited for an hour for the worst of the storm to pass. We paddled most of the way to Peacock  Slough RC in the pouring rain. Once we got the yaks unloaded we all got a hot shower to warm up. We had an early dinner that night.(no lunch stop) Woke up Friday morning to more rain. After breakfast there was a break in the rain so we loaded up keeping the rain gear & spray skirts within easy reach and stared out. Within an hour we were getting pounded with rain again. I was thankful it was only rain (no lightning this time) We found a couple of small springs that were not flooded and got a few photos. The rain had stopped for a while so we stopped at Royal Springs for lunch. We had enough time to eat & the rain started again. We hung out there in the rain  for a about 1.5hrs then headed out for Adams Tract RC.
The Adams Tract RC dock & most of the stairs were under water. Ron, the camp host there had taken the hand rail off of the stairs on the down river side so you could paddle up beside the steps one at a time and get out & unload. After unloading each yak we would tie it off on a long rope & float it down river so  the next one could get in to the steps to unload. After we got them all unloaded we pulled them up river from the steps tied the bows together and tied it off to a big root on the bank & then around a tree, then locked the sterns together to the upriver hand rail. They would have to float there for the night. I have to say Ron keeps this camp just as spotless as Gator Bill keeps his Woods Ferry Camp. This was our last night on the river. I think we were all sad for it to end but dam glad we were going to be out of the rain sometime the next day.
Sat. morning I got up, put on dry clothes, went out and took a good look at the sky, come back and put my wet clothes from the day before back on. Saving my clean dry clothes for when I get to the take out so my hubby will let me ride inside the truck on the way home. It of course was a reverse process getting our kayaks loaded up Sat. morning. Taking over an hour to get the five loaded. We stopped at four more springs on the way but they too were flooded. It seemed like a very short 9.5 miles to Ivey Park in Branford where we were taking out. There was a light rain off & on. We made it to the ramp at 11:45am, got all gear unloaded & packed into large duffel bags for the ride home.
This was the first kayak camp trip I’ve ever planned or done. It’s not my last though. There are some things I’ll do different & some things will be the same.  One thing I wouldn’t change is my friends who came along. There was Carol who kept us laughing, Ed who tested our bandaging skills, provided much muscle, and helped keep my mind off the severe lightning, last but not least Mark & Janie, who also provided muscle for shoving & pulling yaks up some steeps banks, their amusing bicker and banter, and funny stories. I’m glad they all had enough courage to come along with me on my first week long kayak trip. With the high water it was easy getting from one camp  to the next. But I really missed the high limestone bluffs and numerous shoals that are here when the water is about 10-12ft lower.

 KK  aka Kayakrazee

http://community.webshots.com/user/kayakrazee

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