I am a carpenter that has worked on many commercial fishing boats and ferries. I have renewed planks,stems and keels. I see that I will need to use finesse that isn't needed on larger vessels, when I start this kayak. The Petrel is absolutely gorgeuos and I would love to build one. I see another question posted about transitioning around the hard chines. Is it just more hand planing or is there a trick ? I would like this boat to look like furniture... at least before she starts a long life at sea.
Thanks in advance
Being a furniture maker, I found the Strip very easy to shape (the S&Gs scare me). Use lots of clamps to hold your strips tight to the forms and following boads and you will be amazed at how little planning & sanding you will have to do. Nick Schade talks about using fillers in the upswept bow and stern, I bent mine to follow the lines and it looks very slick.
I agree the Petral is a very sharp looking yak, but I am to big for it, so I made an Expedition Single. Both have the same Guillmot lines, you can tell NS designed them all.
I am about to start my Petrel. I also was taken by the lines of the boat and I look forward to building it. I have built several stitch and glue boats. They have been very quick and easy to build and the results have been excellent.
I have been reading about the techniques of strip planking a boat and it seems to be very straight forward. High curvature just means narrower strips. If you like, I will let you know how my build goes; or perhaps we can compare notes if you decide to go for it.
Good Luck.
Has anyone tried using wiggle board for the cockpit ?
I have used it in the past when I have to make a tight radius.
The 3/8 mohagany plywwod takes a little extra to finish as the grain opens at the turn, but I think it might be a good alternative.
What do you think?