Okoumefest 2015

My Petrel took the award for BEST KAYAK at Okoumefest 2015.

Tri County Times

The Tri County Times did a story about my kayaks.

Maiden voyage

I got a chance in between thunder showers to take the Petrel out on its maiden voyage. I had a little trouble squeezing my big white royal Arabian butt into the 17 inch wide cockpit. But once I was in, it went very well.  It is a very fast Kayak. I covered about two miles in 15 minutes with very little effort. It was not the best weather for good photos .

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.

Cockpit recess

I made the cockpit recess by lofting a template from Nick Schade's book. I glued wood strips over the template. After the glue dried, I sanded the wood smooth. Then I put down one layer of 6 oz. glass cloth.

After trimming the outside of the recess to the template, I set the recess in place so that I could lay out my deck pattern.

Back to work again

Well it's about time that I start working on the Petrel again. The building season is getting under way and I have plenty things to do in the MAN CAVE. This winter I plan to finish this Petrel and I have also started building a small boat for fishing called a Coot. You can watch the Coot progress at www.louskayakworks4.blogspot.com .

Here I am laminating the Stern Stem with strips of Ash. I wet the strips with hot water to let them bend without breaking. When the wood dries, the bend will remain and I will glue it all up.

I did the same thing to make the Bow Stem. After glueing is finished, I will shape the Stems with a block plane and sanding block.

Still striping the hull

I have about two hours work left to finish striping the hull.

It looks rough and ugly now, but it will be beautiful after sanding.

Keel strips

Time to start the keel strips. The short wood strips that are clamped to the center line will act as a guide to lay the first keel strip. This strip is glued to all the forms with hot glue. That way, I don't need to use any staples or nails. When the hull is finished, I can tap the forms with a hammer and the hot glue will break free.

The second keel strip is glued to the first but not to the forms. The forms are now covered with tape so that the strips do not get glued to the forms.

The spring clamps that I use come from Home Depot. I have 50 or 60 of them. Home Depot sells them for $1 each. Today I went to Aco Hardware and they have the same clamps for $11 each !!! At eleven bucks each I could pay for a whole kayak with what 50 clamps would cost. I think I will get some more of them before Home Depot changes the price.