Labr, many thanks for your post,its nice to know I was thinking along the right lines regarding reference lines!
I will hopefully finish off the alignment at the weekend and be stripping shortly !
Cam
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Labr, many thanks for your post,its nice to know I was thinking along the right lines regarding reference lines!
I will hopefully finish off the alignment at the weekend and be stripping shortly !
Cam
Hi Folks,
Did what I set out to do this week.
Forms aligned and set in place.
Cedar milled - GEE, what a mess that was, I'll be vacuuming the garage for weeks to come !! Dont know if I have done enough, easy enough to do more if needed.
Installed the sheer strips on both sides this evening. Couldnt be bothered with a photo, will post next weekend when more is done.
Off now for wine and bed !!
Regards,
Cam
Cam
Its great fun and much better than veg'ing in front of the box!
Last week I finished a Night Heron High Deck and all the sanding, head scratching and cussing at strips, epoxy and varnish that won't behave is all worth it in that first paddle on the water. Its almost a relief to get some scratches on the hull. Some photos attached of the maiden paddle.
I took photos throughout the build and will post them somewhere when I get a chance and send link.
Nick's videos are worth a look when you get stuck.
I agree with some others that cove and bead is a waste of time and good decision on the pull saw.
Some tips learnt the hard way- don't go too hard with an orbital sander, don't use the good "indoor" iron when you need to steam and bend that one strip, tie down straps are great when you need to join the hull and deck and somehow brace the hull when you glass the outside then take it of the form (my hull warped dramatically inwards and I had to put in a brace to widen it to fit the hull).
Have a ball and look forward to seeing your progress.
Sean
Hawko,
Thats a beautiful kayak - well done ! Sure beats vegging in front of a tele !
i am slowly thinking on ideas for the deck, pattern wise, could you do me a big favour and post a piccie of the deck area ? Also the kayak on the wall in the photos deck looks stunning too, any chance of a photo of that one ?
Regards,
Cam
Some time ago, somewhere Allan Newhouse posted a photo (or more) showing some of his deck designs. Thes are mostly done with straight strips and just a few curved ones but are spectactular in appearance. It would be worth looking at them too.
I went searching but can't find any of the pics either here or on the Blue Heron forum.
If we ask nicely he may direct us to them.
PAGING MR NEWHOUSE............PAGING MR NEWHOUSE.........:U
Thanks for the endorsement Bob.
I have been away from home visiting grandchildren and competing in a couple of kayak races, so I haven't spent as much time on the forum as I usually do.
Here are a couple of links that I think illustrate the sort of deck pattern that you are describing.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f269/childs-kayak-164255
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f269/childs-kayak-164255
http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB...php?f=6&t=2418
http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB...php?f=6&t=1520
As you can probably see, the small child's kayak featured in the first thread is a miniature version of her parents' kayaks. Mine is similar.
Is that any help?
It was a help to me - it pointed me to the right time frame in my search for the photo I was thinking of. It's on this page and shows a significant portion of your fleet.
http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB...=1367&start=30
Cam, this photo also shows how you can get interesting deck patterns with few curved pieces. The light and dark areas were roughly joined in an S shape then a constant width slot was cut to allow fitment of a thin strip between them. The S shaped strips and the outer 2 strips each side are the only curved strips on the deck.
Attachment 313474
I think that the contrast between light and dark is what gives the most effect.
Cam
Thanks.
The one on the wall is my first -a 12ft wood duck hybrid. The hull is marine ply stitched and glued with the deck stripped with WRC and Huon Pine. I made this one for fishing in lakes and rivers so put a fair size hatch held down with magnets and some rod holders built in. I also mixed up some polyurethane foam (man that stuff is wild) so I had floatation at both ends. Its been a great boat to get away for a few days fishing down the coast.
I went a bit silly with the deck of the Night Heron as I wanted some curves. I cursed this decision many a time while stripping as sometimes there was too much pressure on the strips and they would split. I then got into steaming and used a little violin plane (?) to shape those more difficult pieces. The strips are also WRC and Huon Pine. I haven't got around to putting in a hatch as I recon that a bag with rope on it will do the job and is more of a play thing for the kids and I.
Sean
Gee, the title says it all !!
Those yaks are awesome !! Thanks for the ideas, I think I'll settle for just finishing this one ! They are a great excuse for building more yaks though!
thanks heaps for the ideas,
Cam
G'Day Folks,
Just an update on progress.
Have started stripping the hull, works progressing well, a few snags found and learned from.
I am using hotmelt glue rather than staples as I wanted to avoid the staple holes - this might not be the best decision for a first kayak (there will be more :U). I wrapped a layer of masking tape around the forms so as to avoid the glue sticking too well to the rough surface of the particle board, the tape not the glue is pulling away from the forms where the bend gets strong. Judicious use of small nails helps here, LOL !!
Solution for the deck will be to wrap the forms in gaffer/duck tape so as to avoid this, althought the deck does look to need very little in the way of twisting. Advice please from those that have done it - will this work ?
Must admit to being concerned as to how easily the forms will come out, I know a shearing blow works to "crack' the glue - so fingers crossed !!
Have been bevelling the strips with the plane, this works well and I think its worth missing out on the bead and cove stage of milling the timber. The next one will be done the way Nick Schade does it, no/minimal hotmelt and lots of clamps.
LEARNS - My garage floor isnt level and I have to move the strips around to get the plane to bite all the way along
Scarf joints are easy using the belt sander - thank god for CA glue !!
Next stages are to complete the hull, plane and sand it then glass it before removing the forms and glassing the inside. Then flip the strongback over and start on the deck. I will buy some contrasting timber, Pawlownia, for a few accent strips on the deck, not decided on the pattern yet, will decide as I do it probably.
Attachment 314100Attachment 314101Attachment 314104Attachment 314103
Regards,
Cam
Wow, a lot of progress there in a short time!
Are you doing scarf joints on all strips? I only did them on the sheer strips and butt jointed the rest. As long as the joints don't line up next to each other this is OK.
I tried all sorts of things to hold the strips down. Ended up using small nails through timber pads on the deck and wished I'd done the hull the same way.
I notice a few shadows along strip edges. This indicates that the strips are not perfectly aligned and this is something to avoid as you can only sand/plane the surface down to smooth it - too much and you could be light on for thickness.
If your strips are of varying thickness then it is more important in my opinion to line up the inside edges. The reason for this is that I did not do this well enough and sanding the interior smooth is much more difficult than smoothing the exterior.
One thing that helps hold the strips in alignment is lots of small plastic clamps that bridge the joint as shown here:
Attachment 314121
This was the rubber band phase (which came before the nail with timber pads phase) but you can see remnants of the fishing line and map pins phase. Did I mention the clamps and bendy wooden slats phase?
Keep up the good work. :2tsup:
Thanks for your input Labr !
I hadn't thought of bridging the gap with clamps, I'll go to a cheapo shop on the way home and buy some. I've been using masking tape, which is ok but not strong enough where bends and twists exist.
Cam
Hey Cam,
Make sure there is nothing at all that can hold the finished hull to the jig, not even masking tape, as it can be a right pain to remove the jig even with nothing holding it in place. Not sure where you are using this hot melt glue, but make sure none of it gets onto the strip and the jig.
Richard, the hot melt glue is a technique that replaces staples or nails. From memory I think it is used by Nick Schade (Guillemot) and Rob Macks (Laughing Loon). The idea is that hot melt glue has a somewhat brittle interface with the forms/strips so the forms come loose with a sharp rap sidways.
I dabbled with it and found it either didn't hold the strips well enough or pulled splinters out of them when knocking the forms out. That could have something to do with the glue as I vaguely recall that the right type is important.
G'day folks,
Just a quick weekly update.
Stripping proceeding well, am stripping up one side only now till I reach the centreline, about four more strips needed, then cut it through and plane down to the centreline. Then complete the next side!
Have changed work work method a bit, instead of scarfing three strips into one before fitting it to the hull, I now scarf the strips but fit them individually, gluing the scarf joint as they are fitted. This allows me get an easier and better fit when bevelling the strips.
Regards,
Cam