Varnishing

Well if I wanted too, I could put the Petrel in the water today. I still need a couple more coats of varnish to say that she is done. I have brought the Guillemot down into the man cave to put a new coat or two on her as well.

I will be taking both kayaks to OkoumeFest in four weeks. I am looking forward to meeting other boat builders and getting their advice on what I am doing wrong with my glass work.

I also want to try some other kayaks out so that I can decide on what kayak to build next. 

Gluing the deck to the hull

Finally gluing the deck to the hull. Time is slipping away. The big boat show is in eight weeks and I still have lots of sanding and varnishing to do.

Cutting out the hatches

Cutting out the hatch plates for the kayak. It takes time to build enough courage to start cutting. I hate the idea of cutting holes in a good looking kayak.

Glassing the deck

Today I put the fiberglass cloth on the deck of the Petrel. Once the cloth is soaked with epoxy resin it turns clear to show the wood grain underneath.

First glass

Today is a big day for the Petrel build. I just put the first area of fiberglass cloth down with epoxy resin. This starts a process that will take me until spring.  

Sunday, November 30, 2014

This is the first post in three years. I stopped working on this kayak when Dad got sick. I had no time with Dad in hospice and after he passed away I had no wind in my sails. I spent the next two years working at a new job as plant manager at a wheelchair company. This job left me too tired and depressed to work on my time off so the Petrel build just sat for three years. I quit that job last March I now I am back to being myself again.

This week I started working again on the Petrel. It felt so good to be working with my hands again.

Deck layout

To lay out the deck pattern, I used 1/4 x 1/4 strips in different colors to outline the pattern. I used a hot glue gun to glue the strips to the forms.

Once I have an outline to work to, I can start laying strips. These strips do not get glued to the forms at all. I just glue the strips to each other.

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see the fancy grain in the wood. This is Lace wood from Africa. It is very light weight and very easy to work with. Once it is sanded and glassed, the grain will really stand out.