Increasingly in recent years I have seen more and more sea kayaks. I saw a PBS TV series about a guy who started way up in Newfoundland and came down the coast to Boston. I was fascinated. I saw TV specials on sea kayaking in the Puget Sound and in Alaska's inland waterway.
In February 1998 while biking the Mexico's Baja California, we had a rest day on the beach at Bahia de Concepion. Three of us rented sea kayaks for the day and kayaked in the Sea of Cortez around a coral island with many birds and went diving for clams. We had a great time and I was hooked. In 2001, some hiking and biking friends and I started day kayaking in rivers around Maryland, trying different kayaks.
Why a Chesapeake Light Craft Kayak?
I had always been interested in building a cedar strip canoe. I collected a couple of books on the subject and read them. I planned to build one once I retired in 1996. All my retirement plans got scuttled and since I already had two canoes I forgot the cedar strip canoe.
While canoeing Florida's Wilderness Waterway we pulled into a camp site early one day. Beached there was a beautiful wooden open cockpit kayak. I scrutinized it closely and started a deep conversation with it's owner from Ohio. When I asked him where he got it he said he built it from a kit from Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) in Annapolis, Maryland.
That summer Bill Spangler, Bill Sneeringer, Joe Dumin and I were were biking the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail and I persuaded them to make a slight detour to CLC. At their factory CLC had about 10 boats of their design built and on display. I was enthralled and picked up a catalog and other materials. No one else was interested and I had no place to build or store a kayak so I dropped it.
In the spring of 2001, I discovered that hiking friend Dick Whiteford had just completed a CLC kayak. Dick, Stew Weyforth, Ron Cully, Fielding Lewis and I started kayaking in local rivers and trying different kayaks. One day I tried Dick's CLC kayak and found it handled significantly better than any of the commercial composit material kayaks that I had tried.
Ron Cully and I went on the Susquehanna Sojourn in June. A fellow sojourner from New York had a CLC Chesapeake 17. I talked to him at length and he offered to let me try it but unfortunately I never got the chance. The wooden kayak was beautiful to look at.
Chesapeake Light Craft Try Outs - October 9, 2001
Ron Cully had tried several commercial kayaks and had decided not to get a kayak. CLC held a demo day somewhere around Annapolis and Ron went to try out some of their kayaks. He was so impressed with their performance that he changed his mind and decided to get one. CLC started a sale with 10% off ending October 15. Ron decided to buy one and talked to Stew Weyforth and me about it. Stew decided to get one as well and I was delighted. Ron arranged a try out in Truxton Park on October 9.
Ron, Stew and I showed up at CLC about 9:00 a.m.. Stewart May from CLC greeted us and loaded a Chesapeake 17 which I wanted, a West River 164 who someone at CLC told Ron about and a Chesapeake 16 for Stew. We drove the short distance to Truxton Park and put the kayaks in the water. I started in the West River 164 and liked it very much. I then tried the Chesapeake 16 which was too small and I had no interest in it. I then tried the Chesapeake 17 which was a beauty. I think it handled the best and looked sleeker than the West River 164. I discovered that I could beach the kayak, remove my feet through the cockpit hole and stabilize the kayak by planting my feet on both sides and it was easier to push myself out of the seat.
We returned to the CLC shop and Stew ordered a Chesapeake 17 LT, Ron ordered a West River 164 and I did as well. I ordered the West River 164 because it carries 15 more pounds, is almost 10" shorter, has a higher cockpit and CLC says it handles better than the Chesapeake 17. These are important issues with me since I intend to use it for touring. CLC promised our kits would be ready by October 20.
Kit Pickup Day - October 20, 2001
I drove to CLC in Annapolis to meet Stew. Stew brought his Nissan Xtera and trailer. He is taking all three kits to his garage where we will build them together sharing tools and equipment. Ron had prepaid and authorized Stew to pick up his kit. Each kit had 8'x2'x2" pack, a box of asessories and a box of epoxy glue.
I bought a web seat, rudder, spray skirt, cockpit cover, epoxy spreader and several paint brushes. My bill is as follows:
| West River 164 Kayak Kit | 1 | 656.00 |
| Epoxy spreader | 1 | 1.00 |
| Foam brush 2" | 10 | 4.00 |
| Chip brush 2" | 5 | 4.50 |
| Mesh seat | 1 | 85.00 |
| Cockpit cover | 1 | 16.00 |
| Spay skirt | 1 | 50.00 |
| Rudder kit | 1 | 165.00 |
| Sales tax | $49.08 | |
| Adjustment | -$59.00 | |
| Shipping Handling | $73.00 | |
| Total | $1,044.58 |
I received a couple of CLC T-shirts. I photographed the boxes and made plans with Stew to begin work.
First Work Day - October 30, 2001
I left the house at 7:22 and drove south to Annapolis where I met Ron Cully at the intersection with Riva Road at 8:00 a.m.. I followed Ron south on Riva Road across the South River Bridge to a right on Woodside then another right on Poplar to a left on to Ron's house on the right. Ron drove us through Davidsonville to MD-2 south to left on MD-262 Lower Marlboro Road 1 mile. We turned left on Huntingtown Road for 2 miles to right on Shaw Drive and Stew's house the 3rd on the right at 8:46.
We met Stew in his very large garage below and behind his house. He had constructed an 18' workbench to glue the kayaks on. We put a baseline with chalk and string on the
table. Next we put masking tape strips every foot and perpendicular to the baseline. We then marked the masking tape with lines and then alignment marks according to the blueprints provided with the West River 164 kit.
It was about 11:30 so we drove into Huntingtown for a BBQ pork sandwich ($4.50), a bag a BBQ corn chips and a pink lemonade for $6.66. We returned to Stew's for lunch on the back deck and were back to work on the kayaks by 12:30. Stew's 4 month old Labrador Retriever Porter was helping us out by wanting to play and getting into everything we left on the floor.
We layed both of Ron's #3 bow and stern panels on the table aligned with the marks we had done this morning and tacked them down with the brad gun. We did the same with the #2 panels, the #4 panels upside down and the #1 panels from top to bottom. We mixed up some (4 squirts each resin and hardener) epoxy glue. Ron using a soft sponge applicater glued each surface of each scarf joint on all panels placing wax paper between each surface at the glued scarf joints. We followed the same procedure for the panels of my kayak placing them on top of Ron's panels. We placed boards with weights on top over the scarf joints.
It was now 3:20 p.m. so we closed up the garage and made plans for Thursday. Ron and I drove home quite pleased with or first day progress. We worked about 5:36 on the kayaks.
Work Day #2 - November 1, 2001
I left home at 7:18 and drove the 29 miles to Ron's house arriving at 7:56. Ron was cleaning the leaves in his driveway and so we headed for Stew's place. We turned right on Riva Road to the T junction where we turned right on MD-214 to the traffic light then
left on MD-424 to a right on MD-2. We arrived at Stew's place at 8:42. I had my cordless drill, pocket knife, camera, plans, platform sander and two 8' saw horses.
We started by removing one at a time, the glued panels from the table that were stuck together and nailed to the table with brads. We got the two shear cleats in 3 pieces with 2 scarf joints each for Ron's, Stew's and my kayak and glued and clamped the joints with wax paper around them. It was now 11:10 so we decided to go to lunch.
We drove to Hardesty's on MD-2 for a porkchop sub, crab flavored potato chips and a lemonade for $7.95. Again we ate on Stew's back deck in the warm sun with the temperature around 70 degrees.
We got back to work about 12:50. We made a 6" jig with a mark 3/8" from the edge to mark the bottom panel #1 around it's perimeter. With the two 16' #1 panels for Ron's kayak and the two for my kayak stacked atop each other and clamped, I drilled the 64 1/16" holes. Ron and Stew were marking the top edge of the #2 and #3 panels. I then drilled the four #2 panels and then the four #3 panels. Ron and Stew were cutting coils of copper wire into 3" lengths. We layed Ron's two #1 bottom panels atop each other and loosely laced the bottom edge with the cut copper wire pieces. It was now 2:00 and we decided to stop as there was not enough time to start the next phase.
By the time we closed the shop and finished discussing plans for next week it was 2:49 as we drove away. The drive home via Ron's house is about 70 miles. We worked 3:38 on the kayaks for a total of 9:14 so far.
November 6, 2001 Tuesday Work Day #3
Drove to Ron's house arriving at 8:00 a.m.. Got into Ron's Toyota van and he drove to Stew's house arriving at 8:50.
We laid out Stew's Chesapeake 17LT on the table. We stacked the two bottom bow and stern panels aligned on the table marks and nailed them in place with the brad gun. We did the same with the other two panels next to the bottom panels. Stew glued the scarf joints, two per panel and placed wax paper between the panels to prevent gluing them together. We placed weights on the glued scarf joints to get a good tight bond.
It was 11:15 so Stew and I drove to the Hard Times for a 6" Italian cold cut sub and potato chips for $4.67. We ate and then rejoined Ron at work in the garage at 12:15.
Ron and I sanded the glued scarf joints on the sheer clamps and cut them to the specified length for both our kayaks. We glued one side of the sheer clamps and the top edge of the #4 panels. We placed the panels back to back with plastic between and the sheer clamps on the inside top edge of the panels then clamped both with C clamps every 19". We put everything away and dog proofed it for 5 month old Porter. It was 2:20 and time to head home. We worked 4:30 for a total of 13:44 so far.
November 8, 2001 Thursday Work Day #4
Left the house at 7:15 and drove to Ron's house arriving a little before 8:00 as traffic kept moving. I drove us to Stew's house arriving at 8:40.
We set up the saw horses (we have 5 sets) so that Ron and I can work simultaneously on assembling our kayaks. Since the kayaks are over 16' long we need more than two horses per kayak. We moved all the panels for Ron and my kayaks from the work bench to the saw horses. We glue Stew's shear clamps to the top panel of his kayak. It
is more difficult since his kayak sheer clamps are wider and have to bend more. It requires all three of us to glue, bend, align and clamp the sheer clamps (one for each side of the kayak) to the top panels. Stew began drilling the stitch holes and stitching the bottom line of his two bottom panels. Ron and I working individually on our kayaks began assembling the panels to form the hull. I stitched the bottom line of the two #1 bottom panels that I drilled onTuesday with the thin 3" long copper wire pieces. I then opened up the bottom panels and lined up the bottom edge of the #2 panels along the top edge of the #1 panels. I then drilled 1/16" holes 5/8" from the bottom edge of the #2 panels directly opposit the holes along the top edge of the #1 panels.
It is 11:45 and time for lunch so we break on Stew's deck in the warm sun and eat our lunches. We save time by bringing our lunches and are back to work at 12:20.
I stitch both #2 panels to the stitched bottom panels. I line up the bottom edge #3 panels to the top edge of the #2 panels, mark opposit the #2 panel holes (drilled on Tuesday), drill and stitch them to the rising hull. I repeat the process with the #4 panels. The #4 panels are heavier and stiffer with the sheer clamps (actually a railing glued along the top edge of the hull used to fasten the deck to it) so I need some help to control the 16' piece. I insert the bulk heads to help give the kayak some 3 dimensional shape beyond a plane so that the edges will line up and can be stitched. Ron has managed to stitch his bow ends as well.
It is now 2:15 so we decide to pack it in. We hang rope loops from the rafters and put our budding hulls on the loops suspended from the ceiling. We place some horsses next to the bench and put all all as yet unused pieces intheir boxes on top. We then surround them with the additional horses. This is a precaution against the playful and innocent antics of 5 month old Porter. We worked 5 hours today for a total of 18:44 for the project. I am spending about 3 hours a day driving and we are averaging about an hour per day for lunch.
November 13, 2001 Tuesday Work Day #5
I got away on time and arrived at Ron's a few minutes early. We got in Ron's van and arrived at Stew's house at 7:30.
We began work immediately and were at a point where we could all work on our kayaks individually. I laced the bow and stern ends of the four pairs of panels together. The front bulkhead was too high so I had to sand about 3./16" from the notch under the
sheer clamp on each side so the bottom would close. I then laced the front and back bulkheads in which really gave the kayak shape and rigidity. Ron discovered that his front bulkhead was almost an inch too far forward. I checked mine and I had made the same mistake of measuring from the bow point around each side. It should have been measured from the bow point in a straight line to the bulkhead. I had to take the bulkhead out and move it and relace it in placedrilling new holes. With that done I started on the bottom seam and worked my way up each side aligning the seams and tightening each stitch to hold the seam firmly in place.
We were all so engrossed in what we were doing we worked until 12:10. We took a break eating our lunches on Stew's deck on another warm sunny day. We were back at work at 12:40.
While tightening the stitching on the 3rd or 4th seam I discovered the seam would not close at the front bulkhead. This required removing the bulkhead again and sanding about 1/8" off one of it's edges. I replaced the bulkhead without stitching it and the seam closed up nicely. I spent the rest of the day tightening the approximately 240 stitches without completing the job.
It was 2:40 p.m. so we rehung the kayak hulls from the garage rafters. The hulls are really well defined with beautiful lines if you ignore the protruding stitches. We worked 5:40 for total of 24:24.
November 15, 2001 Thursday Work Day #6
Ron had a doctors appointment so I left home at 7:15 a.m. and drove 58.8 miles to Stew's house arriving at 8:35.
We took down my kayak hull and set it on sawhorses. I spent the entire morning tightening the stitches on all 7 hull seams. The front bulkhead was causing some seams to bulge open so I spent a long time sanding and filing the edges of the bulkhead so it fit well.
It was 12:00 so we broke for lunch on the deck in the warm sun with the temperature probably around 70 degrees. We started back at 12:30.
I drilled some additional holes in the bow and stern and stitched them tightly closing some seam gaps in the last six inches fore and aft. I used a sabre saw to cut the corners off the bow and stern so they have a nice rounded curve to them. I then flattened the curved loops of the stitches on the inside of the hull. The hull is tight, evenly shaped and ready for gluing. Stew 's hull is also ready for gluing so we quit.
We hung my kayak hull and put everything away for the weekend. I left at 2:15 to drive home. We worked 5:10 today for a total of 29:34.
November 20, 2001 Tuesday Work Day #7
I left home at my usual 7:15 to pick up Ron at 8:00 arriving at Stew's 58.7 miles later at 8:48.
I made 4 bow and stern stem clamps to close the cracks near the stems and to make sure they were straight vertically. I tightened several copper wire stitches and made final seam alignment adjustments.
It was 11:10 so we broke for lunch in Stew's kitchen. Stew has a fat scale so we took turns getting on the scale. I weighed 189.5 pounds with 21% fat. That is high since clothes added to my weight and he couldn't key in over 6 feet for my height. Stew's fat was 16% and Ron's fat was 12%. We went back to work at 11:50.
We made epoxy glue of 10 pumps of a and b plus 10 heaping teaspoons of wood filler to make the glue the consistency of peanut butter. I glued the two bulkheads on both sides in the hull. I used a spoon the make a nice even seam and to scrape up excess glue. Next I put glue in both stems using a sharpened stick blade to stuff the glue into the narrow ends. Next we paralleled the two saw horses and leveled them. I turned the hull over with the gunnels resting on the sawhorses near each bulkhead. It was slightly twisted so I pushed the one gunnel down about an eighth of an inch and they were resting on the sawhorses at all four points and hopefully straight. Next with Stew's help I filled all the outside cracks with glus smoothing each one and cleaning up the glue as I went. It was very tedious and time consuming. We finally finished at 3:10.
Today we worked 5:42 for a total of 35:16.
November 27, 2001 Tuesday Work Day #8
Drove to Ron's and got in his van to ride to Stew's at 8:40.
I removed the four clamps on the bow and stern. I then cut the copper wire and extracted the approximately 240 stitches. Some were partially glued in around the bulkheads and stems and were difficult to remove. I removed all but about a half dozen that were totally covered in epoxy glue. I then went over the entire outside of the hull removing dried chunks of epoxy glue.
It was noon so we broke for lunch. I forgot my lunch in the refrigerater so Stew fed me. We were back to work at 12:40.
I mixed six measures of epoxy and then 6 heaping teaspoons of wood dust to make a thick paste. I sealed some gaps around the bulkheads that I missed last week. I then went over the entire hull filling all holes and cracks where the wire stitches had been. I hustled to finish by 2:40.
Ron and I headed home having worked 5:20 for a total of 40:36 so far.
November 29, 2001 Thursday Work Day #9
Drove by Ron's and picked him up at 8:00 and on to Stew's at 8:40.
Used a belt sander to sand the stems smooth assuring a even curve and flush panel ends in the stern. Stew glued his bulkheads in place and we covered his kayak with sheets because the interior was still tacky. Ron and I then began to sand our hulls smoothing the glue along the seams and in the stitch holes.
We broke for lunch about 11:30. We returned to the kayaks at 12:15.
I discovered I still had several spots in the seams and several holes that were open. I used the leftover glue from Stew's bulkhead gluing to fill all open spots in the seams and holes.
We stopped work at 2:10 p.m. having worked 4:35 for a total of 45:11 so far.
December 27, 2001 Thursday Work Day #10
I drove to Ron's about 8:00 and he drove us to Stew's house about 8:45. It is cold and breezy. I moved my kayak outside because of the dust and sanded the hull all day. I had to do a lot of sanding to remove the epoxy glue from the seams and hole patches especially near the bow and stern. I also had to round the seams or chines and the ends of the hull. We broke for lunch for about 20 minutes. We stopped about 2:10 having worked 5:05 for a total of 50:16 to date.
January 3, 2002 Thursday Work Day #11
The last 5 miles of road to Stew's house were covered with snow and slick. Ron and I arrived at 8:45. I started almost immediately to epoxy fiberglass mat to the bottom of the hull. I used 15 pumps of epoxy and 15 pumps of fast drying hardener that Ron picked up for me at Chesapeake Lightcraft for $23. I was working very slowly and the glue started getting very thick and impossible to work with. I switched to 10 pumps of epoxy and 10 pumps of regular hardener and that worked much better. I worked straight through without a break until 2:30 when I finished. I worked 5:45 for a total of 56:01.
January 5, 2002 Saturday Transport home & close-in carport
I drove to Stew's house arriving about 10:30. I loaded the kayak hull, drill set, horses, sander, kayak component box, kayak parts box, epoxy glue box, rudder box and seat into my car. Ron arrived about a minute after me and loaded his kayak and gear. We left together about 11:30. I arrived home at 1:00 and unloaded. The glue was not fully cured and the bicycle tubes holding the kayak hull on the roof rack left black marks and indentations on the bottom of the hull.
I closed in the carport with 3 blue 9X12 tarps and some clear plastic for the back door opening.
January 9, 2002 Wednesday Trim excess fiberglass from hull
I raised the saw horses about 9 inches so the kayak hull would be at a easier level to work on.
I trimmed the excess fiberglass from around the top edge of the hull and cleaned it up. I then sanded the black marks and indentations left by the bicycle tubes. This took about an hour. Total work time on the kayak is 57:01.
January 10, 2002 Thursday Apply 2nd coat of epoxy
I got 4 gallons of kerosene and got the new kerosene heater working. It is a warm day about 55o so with the heater it was over 70o in the closed in carport.
I painted over the bottom of the hull with epoxy glue mixing 5 batches of 10 squirts of epoxy and 10 squirts of hardener. I probably put it on too heavy especially the first batch. This took about an hour so I am up to 58:01 total hours.
January 11, 2002 Friday Apply 3nd coat of epoxy
The epoxy and pretty dry and it is starting to look real good.
I applied the 3rd coat of epoxy taking about an hour. I used 3 batches of glue totaling 32 squirts each of epoxy and hardener. My total work time is up to 59:01 hours.
January 14, 2002 Monday Apply 4th coat of epoxy
I applied the 4th coat of epoxy taking about an hour. I used 2 batches of glue totaling 20 squirts each of epoxy and hardener. I didn't cover the entire hull but only rough areas where the fiberglass is still showing and where I had runs. My total work time is up to 60:01 hours.
January 15, 2002 Tuesday Apply 5th coat of epoxy
I applied the 5th coat of epoxy taking about a half hour. I used 1 batch of glue totaling 10 squirts each of epoxy and hardener. I didn't cover the entire hull but only rough areas where the fiberglass is still showing mostly at the bow and stern and where I had runs. My total work time is up to 60:31 hours.
January 17, 2002 Thursday Fiberglass inside hull
I started about 1:15 mixing up 25 sqiurts of epoxy, 25 squirts of hardener and 19 heaping spoonsfull of wood powder filler. I completed the fillets along the keel on the inside bottom.
I cut 3 pieces of fiberglass and inserted them in the bottom of the kayak then glued them in with 125 squirts of epoxy and 125 squirts of hardener mixed. It s a long and tedious process which I finished at 6:55. It took 5:40 to complete the two tasks so my total time is now 66:11.
January 20, 2002 Sunday Fiberglass inside hull
I spent about an hour cutting the excess fiberglass around the hull. Total work time is now 67:11.
January 22, 2002 Tuesday Fiberglass inside hull
I spent half an hour trimming fiberglass and touch up the inside with epoxy mix of 5 squirts of epoy resin and 5 squirts of epoxy hardener. I now have a total of 67:41.
January 23, 2002 Wedesday Fiberglass inside hull
I cut the drip bumps of epoxy from the shear clamp on the left side of the hull for 1:15. I now have a total of 68:56.
January 24, 2002 Thursday Sand outside of hull
I started sanding the outside hull with 100 grit sandpaper. I started on the starboard bow section and completed about 1/6 in 2:40. I have worked a total of 71:36.
January 25, 2002 Friday Sand outside of hull
It is warm so I moved the kayak onto the patio to sand it. I finished half of the kayak using all 5 sheets or 20 pads of 100 grit sandpaper in 3:30. I now have a total of 75:06.
January 26, 2002 Saturday Sand outside of hull
I biked to The Home Depot and bought 25 sheets of 100 grit sandpaper and a coping saw for $14.63. It is warm so I moved the kayak onto the patio to sand it. I sanded for 2:30 bringing my total to 77:36.
January 29, 2002 Tuesday Install deck beam & epoxy inside
I cut the deck beam to fit and installed it gluing both ends and inserting a screw at each end through the shear clamps.
I mixed 10 squirts of resin and 10 squirts of hardener so I used the remainder to paint the inside of the cockpit with a second coat. I worked 1:15 bringing my total to 78:51.
January 30, 2002 Thursday Plane shear clamps
The shear clamps were coated with glue that had run down and formed drip bumps. I used my new plane to angle the shear clamps to a 18" radius in the stern area. When I started to plane the fore area my plane was totally ineffective. It was dull and had a small V in the center. I quit after 2 hours. My total time is now 80:51.
February 1, 2002 Friday Plane shear clamps
My plane is totally ineffective. I got a heavy duty rasp and removed all the epoxy from the foreward section of the shear clamps. I then ground the plane blade until it was virtually straight edged and sharp. After adjusting the bite I was able to plane the front fairly quickly. I used a hacksaw blade to cut the screws protruding through the underside of the deck beam. I got the fore and aft decks out to see how they fit. I realized that I had to glue the front deck joint so I cleaned up and cleared an area to do that. I mixed 2 squirts of resin and 2 squirts of hardener and glued the scarf joint after taping it to keep excess glue from running on the deck. I used the excess glue to touch up the cockpit area. I worked about 3 hours bringing my total to 83:51.
February 5, 2002 Tuesday Glue & nail aft & fore decks
I mixed 15 squirts of epoxy resin and 15 squirts of slow hardener. I painted the planed shear clamps from the cockpit back, the top edge of the bulk head and the bottom side of the rear deck. I placed the rear deck on the hull and used a bicycle inner tube to bend the deck around the top of the bulk head. I also used bungy cords near the stern to help hold and bend the deck. I started nailing the deck at the cockpit with 2 nails then switching sides all the way to the stern.
I repeated the process for the more severely curved front deck starting the nailing at the deck beam. After finishing the front, I nailed back from the deck beam.
I took a razor knife and cut the rear deck along the overlap edge of the fore deck and removed the cut off piece of the rear deck then nailed the last few nails near the seam.
It took me 4 hours to complete running my total time to 87:51.
February 7, 2002 Thursday Cut edge of deck
I spent about 3 ½ hours cutting the deck overhang off of the kayak with a coping saw. I still have some trimming to do on one side. My total time is now 91:21. It really looks like a kayak now.
February 11, 2002 Monday Sand edge of deck
I worked for 3 ½ hours doing some fine trimming on the deck edge and then sanding the edge smooth and rounding it slightly. My total time is 94:51.
February 12, 2002 Tuesday Glue deck seams
I glued and clamped the wood tabs under the joining seams of the front and back decks. This took about 20 minutes bringing my total to 95:11.
February 18, 2002 Monday Wood filler deck seams
I filled the cracks between the deck and hull with wood filler. This took about 30 minutes bringing my total time to 95:41.
February 21, 2002 Thursday Fiberglass deck
I sanded the wood filler between the deck and hull. I used a furniture marker to darken it because the epoxy doesn't change it's color.
I taped newspapar about 1.5" below the deck edge all around the kayak to prevent glue runs down the hull. I cut the fiberglass from corner to corner to form two traingles of fiber glass. I placed them on the kayak and smoothed them down and did some minor trimming allowing about a 2" overlap between the two sheets of fiberglass. I then painted the deck with 44 squirts of resin and 44 squirts of thickener epoxy glue using a 2" natural bristle brush. This took 4:15. My total is now 99:56.
February 23, 2002 Saturday Trim excess fiberglass
I took about 30 minutes to trim the excess fiberglass around the edge of the deck and in the cockpit area. Mt time is now 100:26.
February 24, 2002 Sunday Epoxy deck 2nd coat
I lightly sanded the deck knocking off the rough spots and smoothing the overlapped fiberglass seam with 100 grit sandpaper. I mixed 10 squirts of resin and 10 squirts of hardener and lightly coated the deck for the 2nd time. This took about an hour rasing my total time to 101:26.
February 26, 2002 Tuesday Epoxy deck 3rd coat
I mixed 6 squirts of resin and 6 squirts of hardener then brushed it lightly over the deck.
All signs of the fiberglass weave must be covered. This took 40 minutes. My total time is now up to 102:06.
February 28, 2002 Thursday Epoxy deck 4th coat
I mixed 4 squirts of resin and 4 squirts of hardener and lightly coated the deck. It took 30 minutes raising the total time to 102:36.
March 2, 2002 Saturday Trim deck fiberglass
It has been cold so the epoxy is still a little soft. I removed the newspaper from around the hull and the tape holding it. There was some excess fiberglass that overlapped the tape so I trimmed it off with a razor knife. Pencil does not leave a mark on the epoxy so used masking tape to outline the fore and aft hatch holes. I cut the hole pattern from the provided sheet and taped over the masking tape. I then traced the outline for each hatch hole onto the masking tape. I then removed the pattern sheets. The fore hatch hole is 32" in front of the cockpit hole and about 2" in front of the fore bulkhead. The aft hatch hole is 9" behind the cockpit hole and 8" behind the rear bulkhead. This took about an hour so my total time is up to 103:36.
March 3, 2002 Sunday Cut hatch holes & fillet bulkheads
I drilled a 3/8" hole inside each hatch hole outline. I used a power sabre saw to carefully cut inside the outline of each hatch. The cuts were real smooth because there was epxoy coating each side of the mahogany marine plywood deck. I donned latex gloves and mixed 10 squirts of resin, 10 squirts of slow hardener and 8 heaping teaspoons of wood dust to make a peanut butter substance for the fillets. I started on the front side of the fore bulkhead and ran a fillet of epoxy butter across the top where the deck joined the bulkhead using the bow hatch hole. I taped a spoon to a long stick and leaning into the cockpit ran a fillet across the top of the back side of the fore bulkhead. The deck overlaps the aft bulkhead by 1/2" and the cockpit is wide there so it was easy to run the fillet across the front top of the bulkhead. I had a lot of epoxy butter left over. Next using the aft hatch hole 8" behind the bulkhead I ran a fillet across the back top of the rear bulkhead. This took 2:40 bringing my total time to 106:16.
March 4, 2002 Monday Bow end pour
I took my mix can and measured 6 ounces of water in the can. I took some masking tape and taped it inside the can so that a straight edge just touched the water. I mixed 15 squirts of resin and 15 squirts of slow hardener to bring the level to the tape mark or 6 ounces. I took the kayak off the saw horses and turned it bow down and stern near the roof peak. With a light inside I poured the 6 ounces of epoxy into the bow through the fore hatch hole. This took 30 minutes bringing my total time to 106:46.
March 5, 2002 Tuesday Stern end pour
I mixed 6 ounces of epoxy (15 squirts of resin and 15 squirts of slow hardener). I turned the kayak stern down and the bow up in the point of the roof. I poured the epoxy into the stern end. I cut two plywood strips 16" and 21" and glued and clamped them across the hull under the deck aligned even with the top and bottom edge of the aft hatch opening. This took about 40 minutes bringing my total time to 107:26.
March 7, 2002 Saturday Hatch opening supports
I cut two 1 1/2" plywood strips 17" and 20". I mixed two squirts of resin and 2 squirts of slow hardener. I fitted the two 1 1/2" plywood pieces in the shape of a C then glued and clamped them around the underside edge of the aft hatch opening between the two plywood strips I glued on Thursday. I glued and clamped the two plywood strips and two C shaped pieces of plywood around the underside edge of the smaller fore hatch opening. Everything took 2 hours to complete. My total time now is 109:26.
March 14, 2002 Thursday Hatch opening supports
I mixed two squirts of resin, 2 squirts of hardener and a heaping teaspoon of cab-o-sil thickener to a mayonaise consistency. I glued and clamped the two C shaped 1/2" wide plywood pieces around the fore and aft hatch openings on the outside. This took about 40 minutes bringing my total time to 110:06.
March 16, 2002 Saturday Cockpit coaming
I lightly sanded the cockpit coaming top piece and 4 C shaped pieces to remove shavings and rough areas along the cut edges. I mixed 4 squirts of resin with 4 squirts of slow hardener and then blended in two heaping teaspoons of cab-o-sil. I put epoxsy
on the underside of the top piece then both sides of the middle pieces on both sides then the top of the bottom pieces on both sides. I used three brads to hold the pieces together and aligned. I glued around the cockpit opening. I clamped the cowling around the cocpit opening. The back end got twisted and I couldn't clamp it down to the back deck. I removed all the clamps and started clamping again starting at the back and then the front. I then filled in with clamps on both sides of the cockpit opening. It looks pretty good but I'm worried that I don't have enough glue holding it down. This was very tedious and tense work requiring 3:40 to complete. My total time is now 113:46.
March 18, 2002 Monday Sand hatch openings
I sanded the edge of the fore and aft hatch openings in about 40 minutes bringing my total time to 114:26. I want to allow the caoming to dry some more as there is a lot of tension on it.
March 19, 2002 Tuesday Cockpit coaming
I removed the clamps on the left side and it pulled away. I mixed 2 squirts of resin, two squirts of slow hardener and a heaping teaspoon of cab-o-sil. I applied it to the separation between the deck and the cockpit coaming then reclamped it. I painted the sanded edges of the hatch openings with the excess epoxy. I cut out the ribs for the fore hatch and marked the hatch where the ribs will attach. I can't proceed because I need the big clamps. I worked about 1:30 for a total of 115:36.
March 21, 2002 Thursday Fore hatch ribs
I mixed a squirt of resin, a squirt of hardener and a teaspoon of cab-o-sil then glued and clamped the two ribs of the fore hatch in a 15" radius. This took 30 minutes raising ny total time to 116:06.
April 1, 2002 Monday Aft hatch ribs
I mixed a squirt of resin, a squirt of hardener and a teaspoon of cab-o-sil then glued and clamped the three ribs of the aft hatch in a 24" radius. This took 30 minutes raising ny total time to 116:36.
April 2, 2002 Tuesday Coaming
Using a coping saw I trimmed the inside edge of the cockpit coaming and deck so it was even all around. Using the orbital platform sander I sanded the inside edge and rounded the edges on top. I mixed 2 squirts of resin and two squirts of hardener and coated the coaming and the top of the fore hatch with it. I mixed a squirt of resin, a squirt of hardener and a teaspoon of cab-o-sil and filled the slight crack between the left side of the coaming and deck. I worked 1:30 for a total of 118:06.
April 6, 2002 Saturday Hatches
I mixed 4 squirts of resin and 4 squirts of hardener then painted both sides of the fore and aft hatch covers and their ribs. I painted a second coat of epoxy on the cockpit coaming. This required about ¾ of the mixed epoxy. I mixed a spoonful of cab-o-sil into the remaining epoxy glue and filled the cracks between the coaming and the deck, the seams in the front and back of the coaming and the seams in the molding around the hatch openings. I worked about 30 minutes bringing my total to 118:36.
October 8, 2002 Tuesday Sand Hull
I lowered the kayak from carport roof onto sawhorses and sanded the hull for 1:30. The total time is 120:06.
October 10, 2002 Thursday Sand Hull
Sanded the hull for 1:15. The total time is 121:21.
October 11, 2002 Friday Sand Hull
Sanded the hull for 1:30. The total time is 122:51.
October 12, 2002 Saturday Sand Hull
Sanded the hull for 4:00. The total time is 126:51.
October 13, 2002 Sunday Sand Deck
Sanded deck for 1:00. The total time is 127:51.
October 19, 2002 Saturday Sand Deck & Epoxy
Sanded the deck then mixed three squirts of resin and 3 squirts of hardener with cab-o-sil then filled crack on right side of the cockpit coaming and some small cracks between deck and hull. Worked 1:30 bringing the total time to 129:21.
April 12, 2003 Saturday Epoxy Spots
Mixed two squirts of resin and two squirts of hardener then epoxied spots on deck and hatch covers where the epoxy was sanded through. This required 30 minutes bringing my total time to 139:51 hours.
April 14, 2003 Monday Varnish Coat #1
Applied varnish coat #1 very thin with a sponge brush. This required one hour raising my total time to 140:51 hours.
April 15, 2003 Tuesday Sand and Varnish Coat #2
I wet sanded with 400 grit sandpaper the few small runs and rough spots. I then applied varnish coat #2 very thin with a 1 1/2" sponge brush. This required one hour raising my total time to 141:51 hours.
April 16, 2003 Wednesday Sand and Varnish Coat #3
I wet sanded with 400 grit sandpaper the few small runs and rough spots. I then applied varnish coat #3 very thin with a 1 1/2" sponge brush. This required one hour raising my total time to 142:51 hours.
April 17, 2003 Thursday Sand and Varnish Coat #4
I wet sanded with 400 grit sandpaper the few small runs and rough spots. I then applied varnish coat #4 very thin with a 1 1/2" sponge brush. This required one hour raising my total time to 143:51 hours.
April 19, 2003 Saturday Outfit Kayak
Installed the seat with velcro straps and an adjustable cord for the back. Put foamed caulking around the underside of the fore and aft hatches to seal them. Drilled holes and installed three snap latch straps as hold downs for the hatches. Drilled holes and installed loops to thread tie down bungie cords in front of and behind the cockpit. This required 6 hours raising my total time to 149:51 hours.
April 20, 2003 Sunday Build Temporary Footbrace
The instalation of the rudder requires an additional end pour and reenforcement of the sides for the foot pedals. This is time cobsuming and I don't need the rudder for day paddling. Therefore I decided to build a temporary removable footbrace frame stool so I can use the kayak now. This required an hour to measure, cut and assemble raising my total time to 150:51 hours.
4/28/03 Nanticoke River
5/5/03 Wild Ponies on Assateague Barrier Island
Last updated June 1, 2003.