Duck Floats!

Launch time and place: 3/20/10, 3:30P.M. Long Lake, Bridgton ME. Distance from building site to launch site 2700 miles.
There was no champagne, marching bands, or a big crowd, just Carol, Clay and the loons.

1. It floats!
2. No leaks!
3. She really tracks well!
   
4. Cuts right through the chop!

All said "well done my son"


To get a better view click on Picture.

The Duck is Heading North

Yes, it is finished and will travel with us to Maine! The last coat of varnish went on last week. There are 5 coats on the hull and 4 on the deck.
With a wet sanding using 400 grit paper between each coat.
Varnishing this large project was a real challenge to say the least. The experts say dust is the biggest concern. We cleaned the garage as best we could. Then we hung plastic to seal off part of the garage and only used that part for the varnishing. Sanding and other preps were done elsewhere.
Another challenge was to figure out the temperature and humidity; both determine the technique you use at any particular moment. Due to the size of the kayak those weather factors can and often do change before you get from bow to stern. It took this many tries before I was satisfied with the look and I was not willing to try to perfect it any more.
There are a few warts but as my new boat building friends keep reminding me "It ain't a coffee table, it's just a boat."
The last last thing I had to do was drill a hole through the bow so we could put on a grab handle. This took me back to the always helpful builders forum with many questions: What type line to use? What size? How big to drill the hole? And the most scary one, how do you drill the hole so both sides match up?
Someone recommended a forstner bit. So back to Harbor Freight for some bits. After many practice trials on scrap lumber I finally took the plunge. It came out pretty durn close. Then we settled on single braided 3/8" black line.
I have to really thank all the people via the CLC Builders Forum who answered my many cries for help during the building. I could not have done this with out their help.
Carol June, was the biggest help from the beginning of this project all the way to the finish line. In fact it was she who tied on the bow line (using an Albright Knot) which was the last piece of the puzzle.
Wishing y'all happy paddling.

Home Stretch

The last coat of epoxy is curing (72 hours) so I have some time to update the blog. This mandatory time off also gives me a time to shop for varnish. Varnishing will be the last big task that remains. Everything has to be sanded before I start with the 4-5 coats of varnish with sanding between each.
I am still hoping to have it ready to go East. If the varnishing is complete then I can finish the rest there.

Rehatched Hatch

It worked! If you are a new reader go to the post "Hatched an Egg" so you have the back ground for this one.
Carol's idea of getting something that would help fill in the space and be decorative and glue it all together with epoxy might be a solution. I said "we will see".



Carol had an idea we could find something to tie it together. She found what she was looking for at WoodCrafters. It is a product called processed veneers. Which comes 1/8 inch wide 30 inches long. The width was just right to fit the cover. We put the inlay in and put epoxy mixed with wood flour (a thick dark substance) around the bottom side into the groove. Similar to applying drywall tape. After that cured we used epoxy mixed with silica powder (less thick and almost clear) and using a syringe applied this mixture from the topside. This is the result after the fiber glass was applied.
This picture is a whole lot different than the one in my mind when I realized I had made the wrong cut. It not only looks great (click on the picture to see the detail) but more importantly is going to hold together. Another example of Carol June's great creativity.

A Coat of Glass

It's March Madness and our Jayhawk flag is flying high on the pole and KU is high in the polls. It is also great weather in San Antonio as you can see by our blooming pear tree. It's 70 degrees and 70 degrees means it's a good day for putting down fiber glass. And fiber glassing is just what we have been doing for the past week.
First we covered the hull with glass and poured about 2 cups of gooey epoxy right in the middle of the hull and started moving it around with a plastic squeegee being fast enough so that only a little bit runs down on your feet. (Isn't gravity great.) And of course you need to get all the glass saturated before it starts to set up. Or in the epoxy vernacular "kicks". In about 8 hours when it reaches the "green stage" you have to be ready to trim off the excess and remove any masking tape. Before any bad things can happen. Every 8-10 hours, depending on the temperature, you apply thin coats of more epoxy to "fill the weave". I hope this sound like I know what I'm doing. March Madness at it's best.


Once the hull was done we turned the kayak over and started the same process on the deck. We are now at the second coat stage. Doing this blog is how I'm spending my time before the next coat. We are getting there.
You may remember an earlier post about making a wrong cut for the hatch cover. ( See Hatching a Bad Egg) I said Carol may have a solution to the problem, well tomorrow we will find out. If it works we will let you know in the next posting.
You can always click on any photo for more detail.

Cockpit Coaming

The coaming is the reinforcement around the cockpit and also gives you a place to attach a spray skirt. This comes in 5 different pieces that have to be glued together and then glued to the deck. Getting five slippery pieces all lined up just right and keeping them there with clamps is like herding cats.
Somewhere I read that it takes at least 15 clamps to build a kayak and 30 is better. Well I used 35 on this part of the project. Notice my home made ones form PVC pipe. They work well but you need two hands to put them on and you don't always have two hands available.
The 5 pieces are now one and will be attached to the deck later. You will have to check back to see how that goes.

Third Fitting

This is the third time I have stitched the deck to the hull. This time I also glued them together and removed the stitches. After the stitches were removed I had to get inside and put fiber glass tape soaked with epoxy along the seams of the hull and deck. Not an easy chore. I tried to cover up most of my body especially my arms and head, I had on a respirator , goggles and a head light. It would have made for a good picture. Carol helped by holding a flash light therefore everyone was too busy to get a picture. I finished with quite a sore back, epoxy on one ear and on one lens of my new glasses. After a week it is almost off the ear but the glasses part is there to stay. Ops. Are we having fun yet? . For better or worst this is the result.