I will be building the Chesapeake 16 Lt kayak. I have plans for sawhorses but am looking for ideas plans for building a 16’ table to work on the hull. It does seem simple enough but I don’t want to run into problems when checking the hull for twisting. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
A 16’ table will be handy when assembling side panels and gluing on the shear clamps, but not when checking for twist. The Chesapeake hull is built without forms and has too much rocker to sit on a flat table. When checking for twist, you will need to clamp it to sawhorses per the instructions.
I built a simple 8’ work table using a sheet of 1/2” ply cut in half, screwed the two halves to 2x4 supports on the bottom. It sits on sawhorses so stores easily when not in use. Pictured is my Petrel Play build in progress. Note that the S&G PP uses external forms so the flat surface is handy for assembly.
We have a Chesapeake 16LT and 17LT. Very solid design that handles well. It tracks well but turned nicely on edge. If you plan to paddle in waves, I suggest that you add a skeg. Last spring during a camping trip on Indian River Lagoon, I got caught out in 4’ white caps in the 17LT. The boat handled very well with skeg.
Mark,
Thanks for the information. This makes me feel more confident. My kit ships in a few days so I am attempting to prepare.
You’ll probably stiffen the edges of your 8’ sections of work table with 2x4s or 2x6s. Consider a tab in slot arrangement so that you can reconfigure your work table into two 8’ tables. I didn’t use my 16x4’ table after stitching, my sawhorses were more convenient. When I build my next boat, I’ll make a two part 16’x2’ table atop 4 sawhorses.
ditto for Mark Nyes approach. standard for me as well. flexible, easy to reconfigure, and easy storage when you put it away. and yes, sawhorses for post panel assembly - not a table.
for unwinding, in my experience, really important you can sight down the front or back….so if building in winter in a constrained space, try to have the garage door open so you can stand several paces off the bow (front) or stern (back) to confirm the hull does not have twist or is warped. its very hard to check this alignment from the side. take your time on that step. once you stitch and tack glue your panels together its a beast to undo. (once had to re cut panels after i stitched and tack glued….because i didn’t open the garage door and check from the front.)
four clc 17 lts over the years….the CLC LT series really nice design and great first kit
if
if you have an extra height ceiling in your garage…like i once did….. you can stack 6 of them along one wall 
RHP,
Thanks for the suggestions. I had to look up slot and tab although I know of a few wood joinery methods. I could probably make half lap joints in the plywood to join them. A few temporary screws should hold them. I’d use 2x4 since I have limited space in my car to carry lumber.
Rob
Howard,
I will probably start in January and have room in the garage if I move the car out. The weather is supposed to be in the 50s here in VA. We do have two fiberglass kayaks on racks but I should have room. It will be crowded when I add another kayak ! Thanks for the tips on sighting the hull.
Rob
Oops. I wasn’t referring to a formal term, or intending anything complex. My use of the terms tab and slot was probably not helpful.
You’re probably going to build 8’ long table box sections. It isn’t hard to have the side rails from 1 section mate to the side rails of the other section so you can configure your table as one long table or two half length tables. This could be as simple as screwing the tables end to end with a stiffening rail on the long edge. Or putting that stiffening rail on the inside so that one table’s rails telescope into the other table’s rails like an extension ladder. I’m sorry if I confused things.
About 2:37 in this video you can see a 2 part edge stiffened long bench. The pieces are connected by an external 2x4. By tab and slot, I was suggesting to incorporate the connectors into the tables and just plug one into the other. That might be more trouble than it’s worth and distract you from your original intention, to build a boat.
RHP,
I did look it up and found lots of “slot and tab” use in sheet metal configuration. Interesting! I will be using 4ft lengths since I can only fit that length in my car. So, yes, attaching them somehow will be critical. I may just use the side rails to connect them all. I don’t plan on using the table again, at least not for building a boat. This project will fulfill my dream of building a boat. Although, if I succeed, my wife might want her own! The fewer alterations to the lumber will allow me to reuse it later in other woodworking projects.
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