Here we go!
Four mm Okoume ply purchased (cut into 12" strips, ready for scarfing); 7 ft of Ash, cut into 1" strips (for scarfing into shear strips), a 3ft x 3" board of Zebra wood for the bow and stem strips, and my epoxy and cloth arrived today, so I'm off & running! I hope to maintain a photo log of my progress and will post pics / updates here occasionally.
I say "LT modified" because I'm cutting the 17 down to the LT dimensions (1 inch off the sides), but will keep the 14 inch profile of the aft deck for the extra cargo space. I'm adding the Zebra wood end caps for looks (it'll offset the Mahogany nicely) and I may route/cut a 3/8" strip along the deck/side lines for a Zebra wood edge (to hide that plywood deck seam)... have to look at router issues before deciding.
I may also put a decal on each side (undecided on what decal) and possibly (probably) a compass rose on the for deck. Nice touch, eh?
Plans are great, I look forward to getting though the first phase. Not looking forward to the fiberglass, but will find plenty of help here if needed.
Welcome any ideas/suggestions;
Thanks,
Larry
Epoxied side & bottom panels this week... hope to lay up and cut out this weekend. Once I figure out how to post pics (and have pics worth posting), will put some up.
L
I've assembled my panels for bottom and sides; in doing so I had to scarf about 18 inches to the side panels and 6 inches to the bottom. I laid on 2 layers of glass to reinforce these joints (which aren't true scarf joints, but rather 45 degree joints on the side and butt joints on the bottom panels). My question is, will the tension on the plywood at the bow/stern cause any problems with this double layer of glass? The curves seem rather severe and I'm hoping I haven't complicated maters (read: screwed myself) by building up the reinforcing glass for additional strength.
Not that it matters now... I'll be cutting panels and assembling within the week.
Appreciate any thoughts, insights or recommendations, given where I am.
Thanks, Larry
Today I cut out the bottom panels... was easier than I thought it'd be, especially planing the plywood to the finish line. After getting to the line I stood back and eyeballed it for fairness, used a "Micro Plane" to shave a few bumps off and everything looked good. Here's a couple pics, if this works like I think it will...:
[IMG]http://i27.tinypic.com/wrjsi9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i25.tinypic.com/2efjl06.jpg[/IMG]
The ladder is a "jig" I built to make it easier to support the long panels... comes in handy for nailing the plywood down when cutting/shaping. The sides are lofted; will cut them out one evening this week. By next weekend this should look somewhat like a boat!
I'm gonna put an outside layer of fiberglass on the small bottom joints (last 6 inches of the hull) in an effort to keep that awful end twist from cracking that joint apart when I start assembling the four pieces.
More to follow,
Larry
Guess that "TinyPic.com" option isn't working.
Will try to fix that.
L
Cut the side panels last night and tonight I sanded them to the line. For a change from the plane, I used a 4" belt sander, held on edge and carefully eliminated the 1/8" of wood leading up to my pencil line. With the exception of the weight (sucker's heavy!) it worked extremely well... prevented me from all that plane-pushing and sweating all over the place. Had to stop after doing the top edge & ends, as my arms were getting wobbly... tomorrow's another day.
At this rate I'll do a little more glassing tomorrow/Thu, set up my end-caps Friday and anticipate starting the stitching process Saturday morning. I hope to have pictures of a boat hull by Sunday night... WooHoo!
L
Finished sanding the side panels tonight... switched from hand plane to belt sander because it allowed an easy, light touch and brought me to my lines without jerking the wood around a lot.
Also glassed the outside of two small bottom joints at the ends (both); my concern was that without the "sandwich core" construction these might crack/separate when twisting the bottom up to meet the sides at each end. Hopefully the glass reinforcement on each side (doubled on the inside) will prevent this catastrophy!
Tomorrow I'll smooth out my shear strakes and glue them to the sides (must buy more clamps... must buy more clamps... argh!). Then I'll have the 4 day weekend to start wiring the hull together. I'll have photos Monday night!
One note on "LT Modified," I was going to cut an inch off the sides to turn my "17" plans into the "LT" boat, leaving the aft deck curvature (24" radius, IIRC) of the 17 for extra cargo space. Due to the size of my final glued up side panels, I reduced them by 1/2", which'll give me a little more interior room and still reduce overall volume from the 17 regular (read that it's quite a large, expedition-sized kayak!).
More soon, L
Today I started the stitching process. What a PITA!!! But after a little fussing with the bow, things became fairly easy.
Found that leaving the bottom center seem loose until the sides were tight/aligned, then going back and tightening the centers really helped even things up.
The hard part, though, was in the center of the boat. I've stitched half the length of the hull and my bottom overhangs my stern/sides by about 3 inches. I believe that's because I'm having to almost fight to get the middle sides to reach the bottom... that 22" bar (that holds the 23.5" beam on the middle of the sides) is really pushing the sides out; pushing them back in as I "stitch" should eventually lengthen the sides to meet the bottom (my theory, we'll see if it works). But that's tough... have wrapped clear packing tape from side to side to pull those in as I go along... makes it easier to align / drill my holes for wiring.
Had to buy "bell wire," which is a tad lighter than the stuff I ordered here. Would prefer the heavier gauge, but hey, it's Lowes..... Anyway, seems to be holding up well.
Decided to fit/install my end-caps (bow & stern) after the hull is wired up. Then I'll just loosen the end wires enough to slip in the tab on my fancy wood tips.
Pics of progress this afternoon; as I mentioned, I'm now half way down the hull (tomorrow will see it completely wired).
http://i31.tinypic.com/29aqtjn.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/29aqtjn.jpg
Enjoy - I am,
Larry
And a couple pics that didn't load last time (not sure what happened there...?)?
http://i25.tinypic.com/jzwf86.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/qnaame.jpg
Ok, boat's wired (with a few zip ties... 85 feet of wire and I run out at the last 12 inches... whoddathunkit???)..., and the internal seams are buttered with the first layer of epoxy, plus end pours bow & stern to hold that complex array of plywood connections together. Tomorrow I'll begin cutting those wires, run a heavier fillet of epoxy; Tuesday I'll begin taping the seams. The boat is hanging (as depicted in the plans, to check for twist) for now; believe I'll leave it until the taping is done.
I was amazed while wiring it together, I kept thinking I should be doing something to ensure the shape came out ok... but it's like the boat knows what it's supposed to look like. With very few exceptions, my seams lined up, my lines were increadibly straight (or curved, as the case may be... they were "fair"), and when I leveled the boat from the "hangers," placed two straight edges front & back, it was amazing, perfectly plumb! I was overjoyed (mostly 'cause my body hurts so much from climing around under and over that hull to get the wirings in!).
Tomorrow I'll put thicker/wider fillets of epoxy along the seams and Tuesday I should begin taping them (4" wide tape; CLC didn't have the 3" in stock). When that's all set up I'll tilt the boat and complete the end-pours. For deck hardware, I'm fitting a piece of Ash into each end, above the epoxy pours, that'll accept the screws for two brass eyes.
Pics:
http://i31.tinypic.com/a72vm.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/161nr0l.jpg
Enjoy, Larry
P.S., for what it's worth, my next boat (will build 2 14 footers for my wife and her girlfriend), I'm using zip ties all the way around. I broke so many wires, and my fingers are full of holes from being poked by the ends. I figure those 7/16" holes are all getting filled/glassed/painted anyways, so why torture myself!?!
L
Ugggh!
Finished my fillets this morning and began glassing the bottom strip (tape) after lunch. I knew there were some ridges and bumps in my fillets, but the more I tried to remove them (while soft) the worse matters became... so I let things be. I considered sanding the bottom before glassing it, and started to, but that wasn't really fixing the issue. So, there seems to be lots of little air-bubbles under my glass tape seam, and I'm hoping I haven't severely damaged the integrety of the bottom.
I'm strongly considering adding some thickened epoxy to the chines before taping them, as I see the same issue coming up again. I hate to add the extra weight, but I also want strong, tight taped seams.
http://i30.tinypic.com/4rusgj.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/b7b2w7.jpg
L
After some thought yesterday, I spent an hour power-sanding those rough chine fillets this morning (what a mess!). Afterwards they were smooth enough but had enough dips that I'd have air bubbles galore when glassing. I filled in a small, smooth overlay of some thicker putty and they really evened out. I'll take the extra (nominal) weight in favor of less air bubbles/pockets and a stronger tape bond. This new layer has some verticle ridges (left by design - it was that or continue to screw up a nice, even fillet) which will easily sand off tomorrow.
After a little research I decided to only tape the cargo holds and let the 6oz cloth in the cockpit count for my seams (rational was twofold, amount of work/epoxy and the difficulty of getting one layer of glass to lay across the edge of another (without serious sanding!)). I'm a tad nervous about glassing the cockpit because filling that 9oz tape was a bear!
I'm feeling much better about the structural integrity now... off to buy more mixing cups, brushes, etc. at Dollar General (I love the General!).
Pics:
http://i27.tinypic.com/15hmt5j.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/15hh7qp.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/2vtwsx0.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/wqsx0y.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/2hn5b21.jpg
Larry
Well, all that extra sanding, re-filleting and re-sanding paid off; tonight I put my glass tape on the seams, and they layed down exceptionally!!! The smooth curve across the seams (fillets) gave a perfect surface for the glass to adhere to, and I got very few air pockets along the way. There was a lesson learned, though...:
Never (NEVER) mix up a cup and a half of epoxy to do tape seams... you'll never get through it before it goes exothermic! I got half way through my last seam and the glue got sticky, as in - it pulled the tape off rather than setting it onto the wood. I stopped when I got it layed down with a credit card, mixed up a small, fresh batch, and was able to finish without much incodent. But, I'll have to do some serious sanding as the goopy glop that I put on toward the end really sludged up the bottom. The glass looks good, but it'll take some fairing in order to look nice.
Tomorrow I'll sand all that excess epoxy off, then put 4 oz glass in the cockpit. The plans call for 6 oz., but I've got lots of 4 oz and just enough 6 oz to do the hull. I'll put some 6" strips of 6 oz along the seam under the 4 oz cloth, as a little extra protection, but don't envision any problems. After all, the exterior gets 6 oz cloth, and my keel will get an additional layer of the left-over 4 oz for rub protection. Think I should be fine.
Very happy with the results so far. This weekend I'll shape and install the bulkheads (1/2" marine-grade Fir plywood, 4 oz glass on both sides). Will form up about 4 Ash beams and try to cut/install those.... A little sanding and paint on the interior, and it's DECK time!!!
Moving right along... more pics to follow.
Larry
Tonight I glued in the deck beam (first of three, actually). Glued the arch up over the weekend (Ash, cut into 1/8" strips and epoxied to a 3/4 x 3/4 inch cross section)... I cut the angle on each end with a Japanese saw, then touched them up on a stationary belt sander. Fit was excellent!
I mixed up a very thick paste of epoxy & cab-o-sil and lightly pressed the beam into place between the sheer clamps; using a small strip of plywood on each side to keep the beam from popping up out of position. Worked like a champ! There's a 1/32" gap between the end of the beam and the sheer clamp but planing the sheer down will eliminate that. I probably should have sanded the beam first (to prevent stressing it after gluing) but don't anticipate anything more than hand sanding to remove a little excess epoxy from the sides.
I left off the end screws (as mentioned in the plans), based on advice here and the fact that the epoxy cures hard as nails... figure I'll be fine, especially after the deck is installed.
Next step is to sand the cockpit and aft bulk head, tape the bulkhead and glass the cockpit... a little planing and I do believe I'm ready for the deck! Need to buy another sheet of Okoume.
Picks of the deck beam here:
http://i36.tinypic.com/14kl5vp.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/2dl9qgj.jpg
More to come...,
Larry
This week I added two additional deck beams. These will provide extra "shape support" to the deck when I cut out the hatches (well, that’s my theory). They added no real weight, don’t get in the way, and if they keep the deck from distorting after removing a significant sized hatch, they were worth the extra effort.
Today I sanded the cockpit, bulkheads and all the beams (what a crappy job, sanding epoxy! but I must say, this MAS sands pretty easily, using a Makita palm sander and 100 grit paper). Later today I’ll tape the rear bulkhead and possibly glass the cockpit (although that’s a big job and I’m reluctant to get started).
Last night I began planing the sheer strip (clamp?) at the beams to determine how much wood I’d be removing. Easy to plane (it’s Ash) and pretty easy to match the curve of the deck. I’ll cut a curved template out this afternoon to provide a better gauge when I get to final planing. It seems I’m getting close to decking…!!!
The pic shows the beams in place prior to gluing them in. I used two 1/16" nails under each beam (pressed into the sheer strip) to keep them in place while the epoxy cured… there’s no real pressure on them. Worked like a charm, and the nails, pressed into drilled holes, pulled out with very little effort.
http://i36.tinypic.com/30wo28l.jpg
Larry
I am from about 60 miles from New Orleans in bayou country
Steve Bourgeois
Glassed the hull today. Wow, major job! Used 3 and 1/2 cups of epoxy (5 separate batches) and it took almost three hours. Hit a few snags (literally... snagged the cloth - doesn't like to lay back down easily!) but all in all I was very pleased with how it went. Biggest chore was simply playing with the epoxy until it wet out the glass; then getting the bulk of it off / spread around so it wasn't too thick.
I plan to tape the bottom and use micro-balloons to fill in that part of the weave; bottom will be painted; sides and top varnished. Figure I can feather the seam / line between the two when I do the sanding.
Took several pics but this is a good representation:
http://i35.tinypic.com/2u4ueip.jpg
Any thoughts?
Larry
Hi Larry,
The worst of the glassing is over. The micro ballons idea will help when it comes time to finnish sand the bottom and also save some epoxy, just keep it off the varnished deck. Looking good.
Chris
