Bulkheads

I installed the bulkheads this afternoon. The plans call for either 3" closed cell foam or plywood. I went with the foam because 1. it will add flotation and 2. more importantly, it's easier to shape and place (it compresses).

I couldn't find 3" thick foam, so I glued three 3/4" sheets together. Ordering the 3" would have cost close to $300, while I was able to get the 3/4" as remnants from an upholsterer for $40. I used Gorilla Glue to put the sheets together.




I created templates from posterboard for each template. My next challenge was cutting the foam. After trying to buy a cheap bread knife without driving to Raleigh, I used a hacksaw blade. Worked passably well.

Finally, I glued the bulkheads into place using marine adhesive caulk (3M 5200). Now, it's wait three to four days for the caulk to cure sufficiently for me to cut the decks.

My bungee cord was delivered from Karst Sports. I'm still waiting for my Fastex buckles and nylon webbing. Should be here this week.



More to come

Plymouth Boat Show

Janet and I took a day trip to the Plymouth, NC Antique and Wooden Boat Show. This is an annual event that I found on the 'net in January and planned to attend since. While there wasn't a kayak to be found, the craftmanship in the canoes, sailboats and powerboats was impressive.


At the cafe where we had lunch, the proprietress told us that the gentlemen who has been organizing the event was selling his place and moving to take care of his in-laws. Hopefully, someone else will step up to fill the role. I wouldn't mind taking my completed kayak there next year.


For more pictures, go to my Picasa site. Now I'm off to work on my own project.

Baby steps

I've gotten a few things done. Got the seat bottom in and decided that in order to make sure the foot braces were best located, I had to sit in it.


Took the kayak off the sawhorses (thank God it wasn't epoxied to them) and took it outside to the grass. With Janet's help, I marked where the braces would be comfortable. While I had it out, I had Janet take a pic or two of me sitting in the boat. I really can fit into this thing!! Did find out that the epoxy is still a bit tacky.



Next step, install the bulkheads. Headed off to work on cardboard templates for them. Then install the decking. I'm also going to order the straps for the hatchwork so it'll be in hand when I'm ready.

A Little Bit More, A Little Bit More....

Not much since last week at this time. I started getting ready to put the deck on and stopped. It made more sense to me to put the bulkheads, foot braces, and seat in while there's no deck on it. So, I cut out the pieces of the aforementioned assemblies (except the seat and bulkheads; will do that soon, though) and glued them together. In the first pic today, you can see the foot braces in their approximate position in the hull. These are just two pieces of wood glued together that will be glued and screwed into place inside the hull.

The second picture shows the seatback on the form to shape it. Y'all have seen the form before; it's the same one that I used for the front deck beam.

So what have I been doing, you may ask, if I haven't been working on the kayak? Well, this past Saturday Lake Royale sponsored their first triathlon. Now before anyone asks, I didn't take part in it as an athlete, but was a volunteer on the water during the swim portion. A number of us who canoe and kayak were out there to help anyone who found themselves over their head. We all did so well at it that we're being recruited to help out in another one this week at Falls Lake. I've got a board (bored?) meeting so I won't be able to help out on that one.

It's starting to look unlikely that I'll be finished by my self-imposed Halloween deadline. Which means it may be spring before I launch her. Janet and I are going next Saturday to the Wooden Boat Festival in Plymouth, NC. I'll take some pics there so that you'll have something besides my efforts to look at.

More later!

Deck Beams are Installed

A little mid-week update. I've installed the deck beams. Next is to coat the inside of the hull with epoxy (as a preservative), then measure and cut the deck.

Just a Quick Update

As I mentioned last week, Janet and I had a reunion to go to Saturday after I got home from a four day trip to West Virginia. While I would much prefer that my animals were healthy, one "advantage" of having to give fluids subcutaneously to a cat is that the needle is not reusable after two treatments (at least not for the intended purpose). We had a syringe left over from some earlier vet treatments that the needles fit into. I was able to inject epoxy into the worst of the voids and some of the lesser spaces before the syringe and needles gunked up too badly. Now I just have to wait for that to cure before shifting the boat around.

I'm going to spend a bit of time checking out the installation process for the deck beams. Those of you who have read the blog from the beginning will recall that my kayak is about six inches shorter than originally planned. I need to "guesstimate" what this will do for the beam and cockpit placement. Hopefully, I'll be able to put the beams in place this week.

More to come!!!