My wife has picked out the Shearwater 16 hybrid and the kit gets delivered tomorrow. Today I am busy mucking out the basement and reorganizing so I don't trash it so bad this time. She wants me to copy this deck pattern...
I spoke with one of the Matts in Groton yesterday about the best way to do the curved strips. He suggested an iron or laundry steamer. Any other thoughts?
Dan
Hey Dan,
I told you that building yaks was habit forming, one can always come up with an excuse to build another.
If you look close, the curved lines are thinner than the rest and will do a gentle bend with no problem. Remember all the curved lines my first 2 yaks had? I find that curved lines in the pattern are easier than straight ones.
Kev
Just a few (hundred) simple steps to go
Excellent advice.
I have a couple of heat guns. I spent 10 years stripping the paint off the beveled cedar siding on my house with a heat gun and a putty knife, but that's another story.
Even tho I did admire Rob's boats we didn't have a chance to chat.
Dan
Dan,
Rob Macks, whom you met yesterday, has an online tutorial that recommends using a heat gun to bend strips. Check it out at http://www.laughingloon.com/shop.tips.html
-Wes
Doing the end pour, this time with a bucket of ice water to keep it cool
So, I manage to wrench my back on Saturday and the backcracker sez no lifting bending twisting. Which means I can't crawl under dashboards for a day or so. But I can do stuff at bench level...hmmmm what could that be? and it's rainy out, so....
Checking for twist, ready for glue.
Dan
Dan, you certainly don't waste any time! Lookin' good so far. I miss those exciting days of building (especially since I'm so deep in wedding planning that I've only been out twice since splashing in mid-May)
~Chris
I got the compartments filleted and glass taped and the cockpit glassed this weekend. One thing I'm noticing that didn't seem to be an issue on the last boat is that where I epoxy the plywood with no 'glass the grain is rising. I'm debating whether I should give it a light sanding and another thin coat of epoxy. I know it won't be seem in the compartments but it is kind of rough.
Any opinions?
Dan
Dan,
I always do a light sanding in the hull followed by a thin coat of epoxy, rolled on. Makes for a nice, easy to wipe dry hull. And the few ounces of weight it adds are negligible in the long run.
George K
Thanks George.
That's what I was thinking. I'll probably do another thin coat over the glass cloth in the cockpit too. I didn't do this on my boat, but wish I had.
btw, epoxying when it's 70-75 degrees is a whole different experience than doing it at 60-65. A bit more nerve wracking , but it sure sets up faster.
Dan
Here's the latest picture...
and another...
Dan:
Beautiful job, and fast.
I think I have to get going on my second.
Congrats, lookin GREAT !
Ted B
Thanks Ted,
The second one is definitely going faster. I'm not second guessing myself the whole time. This deck pattern means I have twice as many strips to fit, but I have the routine down pretty well and it's moving right along.
I'm not promising my wife that it'll be done this season, but you never know.
Dan
Latest pic...
Dan,
WOW, What a great looking kayak !!!
What is the light colored wood in the center ?
Lou
Thanks Lou,
That's the white cedar surrounding the cockpit apron.
Dan
Stripping complete!
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