Was it an eon ago when snow covered the ground? On this 82 degree day it is a strain to recall the frozen fingers that pushed another board through a makeshift outdoor mill. How many times did this shop’s tent decide to talk a walk across the back yard when the wind howled? Well, now the long days of summer are coasting down. July was a beater, but the daylight has been shortening for over a month now. It is now August, the dog days are here, if only for a short spell. Without a name, the dear kayak is complete, tested, and proven. She is worthy of name. Maybe it is superstition, perhaps some respect needed to pay a craft that has delivered so much joy. It began with that first saw cut and now complete, she offers many a paddle and no doubt many water travelled adventures.

I confess my kayak experiences have been limited to just a few craft, all mine, but this boat excels beyond any of the others. So, it took 237.5 hours and $757.50 in cost. You could add 5-10% in either direction for the time spent, but fastidious records were kept by spreadsheet and tasks noted. This is generally contrary to my nature, except I wanted to know. Cost includes  plans ($95). All of this is clinical and perhaps too obsessive. Neither does the boat or process justice. Would I do it again? Oh, yeah. I’m hooked … and it started as a wee babe. What is it? As Louis Armstrong said, “Man, if you gotta ask, you’ll never know”. The ripples, the waves, the wind have always enchanted me. Add to that the satisfaction of going forth in a vessel I built by hand, no kit, just some plans, boards, glue and glass. Can I call it sublime? (I may need to look that up, but seems apropos. Got to use those words sometime).

There are a few details left to catch up on. I’ve not much more to add there. However, I can’t leave a hole in the process, but I didn’t want post without the true splash. Here ya’ go:

Seized paddle keepers. Deleted the stem toggles as a result.

Glued strips for hip braces.

Starboard hip brace. Slot for back brace webbing.

Brace epoxied and held in place by weight.

Strapped kayak to 2x and leveled.

SS footmans loops. West marine $6 each. eBay 10 for $10.

Back brace webbed to hip brace. I ‘ll add foam to hip later.

Decided against carbon or glass loops. Was ready to paddle.

Loop added to shaped cedar block for back brace aft. Note breathing hole in bulkhead.

Bearers made for 2 kayaks. Heavy webbing is clothed in flat PVC hose.

Missing wheel cover. 1 kayak loaded.

U bolts w/ plastic hose to protect rails.

And here are the true maiden voyage photos. I took a paddle across Knotts Island Bay. You could likely walk across in all honestly, but that would be a different adventure. Boat tracks wonderfully, has good reserve buoyancy, and save for some minor seat adjustments, the 2.5 hr cruise was fantastic. What a reward after the build. Such a perfect day with such a lovely boat. I’m guessing on the cruising speed, but I think 3.5 – 4 kts can be readily maintained. Winds were at 5 kts, humidity was low, and sky was only clouded enough for majesty.

early morning guest

long view

shore edge

ready to ride

1/2 way across Knotts Island Bay

grasses mid bay

waited. looked both ways.

duck blind

blind eye view

Pearl’s

local yacht club

nice collection of buildings I thought.

Well, I had expected to be done in June. Life got me off schedule for a good month. As I’ve said, there isn’t much to report on loads of varnishing and sanding, but I do have a few items to share:

1. I got Minicell from Joe at Redfish kayaks and carved away at the seat. It started as a 4x16x24 block. A Japanese saw and rasp (sure form) made decent work out of it. I used fore and aft forms from the build to interpolate the rough cuts. I plan on securing it to the hull by Velcro strips for ready adjustments until I’m familiar with the boat.
   

   Fitted foam.

   Note drain channel in center.

   Scraps and tools.
2. Toggles for the latigo leather deck lines (cut from a belt strip to 3/8″ width) were laminated from yellow pine and mahogany and sanded to shape then varnished 4 times.
   

   sanded

   drying

   toggles installed
3. Paddle keeps at the ends of the boat were installed. I think the loose leather tied at the ends will be easier to push the blade under.
4. Final pass of clear silicone sealant glued in the bulkheads. I placed a small hole dead center for breathing between compartments. The dry time was forever (4-5 days) so I used a lamp to speed things up.
   

   silicone glow

   Moth over kayak
5. It is good to have a 9 year old boy to install the foot pegs. I just couldn’t reach the forward bolt to save my life. He slithered in to hold peg frame against hull while I tighter bolts on the outside.
6. Back brace is sanded, glassed, and shaped. Foam and strap slots need to be added. I still haven’t decided on any hip braces which are preferred for rolls (that I’ve not attempted).
   

   inside face glassed

   
   At 230 hours, I’m pushing to splash this baby Sunday afternoon even if a few details remain like hip braces. Yeah! Yeah!

Not much to report other than wet sanding, varnish, wet sanding, varnish … you get the idea. The weather has been quite humid and I think it caused a bad result on my next to last coat. Add to that there may have been some microscopic moisture present that pushed the varnish away in a few places. I hurried the past coat and paid for it. So, … more sanding. I’ve decided to wait for cooler temps in the morning for this last swipe of the brush.

Sanded and waiting for last coat …

While she waits, I ordered some Minicell foam to carve a seat and cushion the back brace I glued together this afternoon. A stiff piece of paper was taped under the aft end of the cockpit and a pencil line was scribed a good inch from the rear and as close and 1/2″ on the sides. This template was taped to some scrap OSB and 2 sides were cut out to make the form. Crude but effective. More pics and details can be found here from earlier braces.

new brace glued up.

Determined to use the yellow pine and some mahogany scraps, I copied the “theme” of the cockpit coaming. We’ll glass both sides after some sanding and shaping, contact glue an inch of Minicell and varnish the rest. Instead of fiberglass strap eyes, I may use stainless. This is where we stand at 219 hours.

Had the best sort of paddle yesterday afternoon: downstream and downwind. After 5 coats of varnish on the new boat’s hull, I needed inspiration for the final stretch. A lazy river trip down the James was the answer. It also proved a few things to me:

1. our back braces were close to perfect save for some vertical adjustment needed to position the brace an inch higher.
2. the wood slatted floor boards were not comfortable enough for hours on tails. Surprise! A pad must be added.
3. nothing is slipperier, stickier, or oozes more than river mud. Getting our boats too the water without falling and/or getting stuck was a bit of a trick. Thankfully the islands we stopped at later were mostly sand. The recent high water had dredged all kinds of sludge up the banks. Boat ramps were useless. We had to find a bank where the grass gave enough traction to the water’s edge.

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After 5 days of varnishing, it has almost become a ritual. Early in the AM I have hauled the boat out of the garage to wet sand drips, sags, and errors with 320 grit. I find this doesn’t remove too much varnish and the water keeps the finish cool enough so it does not peel off the hull. Doing this outside doesn’t spoil the cleaned garage. A squeegee pulls off the water and then the boat goes back into the garage. Thankfully the damp weather has kept the dust down. I have been spraying the floor down, wipe the hull with denatured alcohol, and make 2 passes with a tack cloth. After the dust showing in the first coat, I rigged a plastic tent over the boat.

Tented boat.

A couple tips that took me awhile to absorb:

1. Start on the hull. This allows for practice before the more obvious deck work.
2. Taping along the shear leaves a clean line to work from the hull to deck. Typical masking tape worked fine.
3. Thin the varnish. I added a cap of thinner to about a cup of varnish. This dramatically improved the flow.
4. Use quality foam brushes. Wooster makes a good 3″ one. Smooth and no hairs in the finish.
5. Lay on the varnish parallel to the keel down to shear. The stroke perpendicular to the keel down to the shear and finally stroke parallel again into the previously wet area. This helps level the coat and eliminate runs. Stick with 12″ – 18″ length portions to avoid having the finish skin over.
6. Allowing the varnish 24hrs to dry helps harden it enough for light sanding.

By the 5th coat I felt I had gained some competence. There are a few sags there, but hard to detect.
Now on to the deck and accessories.

Shine from 5 coats.

Bow

Mid section.

Well, as usual, things don’t look so bad the morning after. I’ve maybe 8-10 sags/drips in the 1st coat of varnish. Despite my best vacuuming, washing, and cleaning of the garage floor and later wetting the floor a few hours prior to varnishing, there is dust trapped in the finish. I must back up and comply with the Master’s instructions (VaclavStejkal’s One Ocean Kayaks) and place a plastic canopy over the work, try a little thinner, and see if I can locate better foam brushes (not all wood handled ones are the same). If I haven’t touted it before, Vaclav’s Building Manual is a valuable resource I’ve in my “boat” library now. Clear instructions with good photos make it very worthy, … if you heed the advice.

First coat.

Marked sags.

She certainly passes the “6′ rule”. Perhaps I’ll back up further …

I broke down and sanded the hull by using the RO sander with 120 grit. I was quick and avoided any potential cutting through to the fiberglass thankfully. I followed that with a wet sanding using the medium foam block. Any residual scratches are gone in the first coat of varnish. Hand sanding just got too tedious.










The few sags in the finish are marked for light sanding before the next coat.

Began the dreaded sanding phase today. However, I purchased a few foam sanding blocks that really make the job easier. These readily conform to the curves and can be used to wet sand. These happen to be 3M products. I highly recommend them. In fact, they made the process almost therapeutic. After only 2 hrs of sanding, the boat is ready for varnish. I bought a gallon of RAKA epoxies’ “Last N’ Last” in gloss. Only 2 quarts may be needed, but Interlux or Petit spar varnish cost twice and this LNL varnish has had good reviews. It comes in semi-gloss too. I’ll get a couple quart cans to preserve the excess.

Fine, Medium, and Coarse foam blocks.

So, since the garage has been washed down, I sanded with the blocks, a bucket, and hose on carpeted saw horses. In all, as pain free as it could be. I think the ROS would have made matter worse and potentially tear through the epoxy too fast.

The Fine block is perhaps 220 grit, Medium 120, and Coarse 80. I used Coarse and Medium at this stage. The Fine may do well for the varnish work.

Up close after a water rinse.

She shines.

I’m not sure I’ve owned anything this beautiful. Sure there are wonders like combustion engines, automobiles, and computers, but for for pure elegance suited to purpose, I can’t think of better around our abode. Jay Babina has captured some gorgeous lines.

Next up: a quick sanding of the interior. We are now at 202 hours of labor.

fore deck’s beauty.

I’ve been away from my dear boat for far too long. She has patiently waited in her cradle, alone in the garage. Too many distractions of late have stopped any progress of note. Setting up a new business has dominated my time. However, we did sneak down to the nearby “members only” lake for a “swim”. We trespassed, and despite the protest of a policing neighbor “member”, we quickly took a dip. It was ever so brief, but I now have a report. The kayak’s motion was steady, graceful, straight and effortless. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised how well the strong turn of her bilges provided good secondary stability when heeled.

There is still much finish and accessory work yet to be done (seat, back rest, deck lines, toggles, and much varnishing), but … wow … what a lovely craft she is and deserves a proper name. Suggestions are welcome. I simply couldn’t resist a taste of future paddles today. Had it not been for the lake patrol, I might have stayed out there for hours, just me and my boat. What a delight.

And here are two rough videos with some herky-jerky camera action. We will do better on the true maiden trip.