Action Shots!

DONE!

Well...i installed the bulkheads, and my seat arrived...so i had a chance to finish 'er up today. weighing in at just under 45 lbs (20.5 kg) i introduce: "Sunburst"

hatches and deck rigging

i did the final work on the deck rigging and hatch covers today. in the last 2 pics, you can see how the hatches are held down from inside, to keep the closures off the deck.

end pour

i did the end pour in the bow this morning. i didnt take any pics, but just imagine the kayak standing on end. the chemical reaction of curing epoxy creates ALOT of heat, so i wrapped the bow in cool wet rags, to keep the heat in check.

i sanded and did a seal coat on the hull yesterday, and today i installed the hatch lips:

sanding, and skim coat...

i did a thorough sanding, and a final skim coat of epoxy on the deck today...next i need to do the same for the hull.

hatches

after taping the exterior seam today, i had time to work on the hatch lips. these will get coated with epoxy, and glued to the inside of the hole. then weather stripping around the exposed edge should water proof it.

i flipped 'er over and did the other inside seam this morning. woot! the hardest stuff is OVER!

i could put it in the water tomorrow if i wanted! (but i wont...) i still need to glass the outside seam, do the hatch lips and closures, bulkheads, deck rigging, and pours and grab loops. and last but not least a seat. i would love to do something like this. but i think i will use a folded-up sleeping pad for now, and order a foam seat from the interwebs.

no pics for you! (but it looks like the last pic on the post below...only in reverse. :P

well...i had a pretty good wekend. :D i glassed the inside yesterday... and today...



i installed the rail for the foot braces











cut the hatches (i cant believe i cut holes in it! :P )[img]

and started to put it together. i used 3 inch fiberglass tape...let it soak in resin and ran it from the bow to the cockpit (i could reach all the way up thru the front hatch) and then a second piece from the cockpit back to the stern (i needed a stick to reach all the way back, even thru the rear hatch)




tomorrow after work i will do the other side on the inside. not long now!

cockpit lip

I worked on the cockpit lip this morning...if i get some tim elater today i will put a layer of fibre glass on it. the insides of hull and deck are ready for glass too, but i am low on epoxy so they will have to wait a few days. i should be putting it together soon!

totals so far

so far the totals for the project go like this:

$228 for tools
$415 for materials, of which $285 is fiberglass and epoxy
$643 total (but i will need more epoxy and some miscellaneous parts, so i figure about $80 more to finish, bringing my projected total to $723)

3 hours making stands and hull cradles
3 hours cutting forms
3 hours making box-beam strong back and setting forms
5 hours ripping strips
15 hours to strip the hull
22 hours to strip the deck
1 hour of pulling staples
13 hours of sanding and planing
1.5 hours making the front and rear stems
5 hours making cockpit and recess
4 hours making and epoxying the foot braces
6.5 hours of fiber glass and epoxy of deck and hull (so far...i still have the insides to do, and joining the deck and hull, and the end pours)

total time: 82 hours (all times are approximate)
i should come in under 100 for the whole project. not bad :D

back on the forms

i wont be able to work on the 'yak for a couple of weeks, while i will be on vacation (pics when i get back :P ) so i put the whole thing back on the forms, and strapped it down tight to make sure it keeps it's shape while i am gone. i would hate to come home and find that the humidity warped it all out of whack.

it really looks like a boat when the two pieces come together. i don't have too much left to do before i get to that step for real (i wanted to finish before i left for vacation, but i ran out of time), just glassing the inside, and cutting hatches. after that its just joining the halves, making a seat (still not sure what i will do for this...i might just order a foam seat for now) and fill coats of epoxy. then a couple coats of varnish and into the water we go!

sanding, scraping, sanding, scraping....

took the hull off the forms over the weekend. its nice and light. now its just a matter of sanding and scraping untill its smooth enuf for a sealer coat of epoxy. i will probably mix up a batch of epoxy and wood flour (fine sanding dust) and fill some of the more un-even spots rather than trying to sand it all out. for the most part the inside can be kind of ugly, as no one will ever see it, except thru the hatches and cockpit...but i still want it to look as good as i can get it...so i sand, scrape, sand, scrape, sand, scrape...





no pics for you!

the Hull

glassed the hull this morning, with out doing a sealer coat. not a good idea. the bare wood soaks up so much epoxy, its hard to "wet out" the glass. i will always do a sealer coat from now on.
glass cut and ready to go

2 and 1/2 hours and 1300ml of epoxy later i am finally done.

i have been working on the foot braces all week while i waited for a good day to glass...
glass and first epoxy coat
looking good!
*sigh* nail and staple holes...oh well...

i did a sealer coat of epoxy on just the bare wood, no fibre glass yet. it really brings out the color.

cockpit

i worked on the cockpit for a few hours yesterday, and again this morning. here you see the partial recess, and "keystones" of dark cedar against white pine to mimic the front sunburst.
here you see the rear keystones in contrasting color to the front.
i am thinking of using this climbing rope for the combing lip, grab loops and deck rigging.

pulling staples, planing and sanding...

i pulled all the staples and started planing and sanding the deck. i will roll it over and sand the hull tomorrow...i have already done the initial planing, and started work on the stems.

the straps are keeping the shell tight to the forms now that the staples are out. the blue tape is holding the first lamination of the bow stem to the hull.

starting to look like a kayak now...nice and smooth

this is the cutout for the cockpit recess. i will strip partially across the hole, and cut out another smaller hole that i will make into the lip and combing.

the last strip!

17 days to strip the deck! here is the last gap to be filled.
the last strip!
and the last strip in place. i still have ALOT to do, but now i can start the sanding process. i also need to cut out the cockpit and work on the lip...and pull a bunch of staples.

got alot done in the last couple of days. here is a close up of the detail at the shear line.
a shot of the cockpit area, you can see the recess marked out in pencil on one side.
a shot from the stern.
and from the bow.

two shots of the "sun burst" detail i did at the bow.