The Hull is Glassed (almost)!

Ain't she purty? The hull has been fiberglassed with two (of what will be at least three) coats of epoxy. I'm hoping to get the third on tomorrow before I head up to West Virginia for a few days.






This has been the messiest part of the job so far. Overall, I'm pleased with my first effort but, as the pictures below show, mistakes were made. Hopefully, my little "clamp jobs" will help. I may have to see if I can find some kind of syringe to squirt epoxy into the gaps.






I doubt I'll get much more done this weekend than another epoxy coat, so won't be posting again until sometime next week. I'm out of town until Thursday, and Saturday Janet and I will be attending her family reunion. Slowly but surely, I'm getting it done.

Glass and Beams

Making progress slowly but surely. Didn't do as much as I'd hoped this weekend as I had to build a new set of stairs on the deck.

I did manage to finish sanding the boat, filled in some gaps and low spots, and drape the cloth. I hope to start saturating it with epoxy this week. It will take at least two coats (and more likely three or four) to fully fill in the weave. I need to buy a few 3" foam rollers to aid in doing this quickly and cleanly. The first coat needs to be squeegee'd on; I already have everything I need for that.

I was also able to laminate the two deck beams required for the kayak. These were formed from 1/4"X1-1/2" lattice clamped around a form. The 18" radius beam is shown in the picture on the left; I took it off the form too soon and it sprung apart. The second time, I left it on the form for a full 24 hours.


The final picture today shows the 24" radius beam still on the form. It should be ready to take off tomorrow morning, but will probably wait until later in the day when I get home.



Tomorrow, it's epoxy time!!!

The Seams are Glassed

The only thing I got accomplished this week was the glassing of the seams. Each of the three seams required three lengths of 3" fiberglass tape with epoxy saturating them in between each layer.

I might have gotten more done, but had to take Buster to the animal hospital to have him put down. He was diagnosed with lymphoma six weeks ago, and the cancer attacked him agressively over the last few days. He was a good dog, a good companion and will be missed.

Ready for Glass

At long last, the hull is stitched together. I've suspended it and it's ready for fiberglass and epoxy in the seams.

The Bottom Gets Stitched

Today I started fastening the bottom to the sides to make a complete hull. I had to move the kayak off the table and onto sawhorses since I have to get underneath/inside to feed the wires through the holes (and tiny holes they are!).


The first picture gives an idea of what it will look like once it's stitched. The second shows some of the detail that I'm having to work with: 3" pieces of copper wire, fed through 1/16" holes. With each wire 4" from the next one, my 18' (almost) kayak requires a total of 270 little pieces of wire. Times like this I'm glad Mom taught me to knit to teach me patience.

Where We Are

OK, so I'm actually jumping in with a fair amount of work already done. I've cut the plywood, scarfed the pieces of the hull together, shaped the sides and the bottom, and stitched the sides together and the two halves of the bottom together. At this point, I can actually see a boat!!

It's been an experience. So far I've learned that 1/4 inch plywood scarfed together to make 18 foot long pieces is fragile; as a result, my boat will be 17'9" instead of 18'1".

I've learned that it pays to measure at least twice, preferably three or more times. This boat will take an extra 1/2 sheet of plywood as a result.

I've learned that you can find good tools on Craig's List.

Finally, I've learned that you can't have too much space. I'm building in my garage which is 14X30 in the area I'm working; however, shelves, tools, and the boat do a fine job of filling the space.

The next step is to stitch the bottom of the hull to the sides. This will take place some evenings during the week and (hopefully) next weekend. Then it's time to break out the fiberglass.

The Beginning

(This was taken from a website I had started before this one)

"The Journey to Storm Dancer"

About the Builder

My name is Stuart Nottingham. During the week, I'm a not-so-mild-mannered accounting systems consultant. Weekends (and often in the evenings), I'm an active participant in the governance of my local homeowners association.



In my younger years, I was an avid outdoor type. I enjoyed hiking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and hunting. Even dabbled in rock-climbing a bit. As I've aged (and gotten much more sedentary than I should have), I've left the outdoors behind me. Now I want to get back.

As part of that journey, I've decided to build my own touring kayak. This site will chronicle the process.







About the Boat




To start, I read two books on alternate methods of building a kayak. The first, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak by Nick Schade, covered building the kayak using a frame and cedar strips. The second, The Kayak Shop by Chris Kulczycki, presented the stitch-and-glue plywood method.

After reading both of these books, I decided that the first boat I build will be the stitch-and-glue model. I purchased plans for an 18' Cape Charles from Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis, MD. This design was created by Chris Kulczycki and illustrated in his book.

The major component for the kayak (plywood) was purchased in October, 2006, during a trip to New Bern for the annual Ghost Walk. Staying with Janet's cousin and his wife, I went to Beaufort and purchased marine grade plywood at Atlantic Veneers. One task down.

While I had an old table saw, it was missing the mitre gauge and rip fence. I found them for $180, but found a whole table saw for sale on Craig's List. Deciding I really didn't need two table saws, I sold my old one and found a radial arm saw (again on Craig's List).

For Christmas 2006, my family lent their support by giving me hand tools and books that will help. Stuart III has already put in an order for one of the sailboats.