Cutting Out the Hatches and Using All Our Clamps

After spending half an hour on Monday and Tuesday applying epoxy to the deck, this afternoon we cut out holes for the hatches, then applied the cockpit coaming spacers and the hatch stiffeners. About 2 hours of work today.

Total Construction Time: 40.5 hours

In the News

The legal news has run their story. It's on the front page of the Detroit edition on Friday, today in Oakland.

You can find it here:

http://www.legalnews.com/Oakland/common/ShowFile.aspx?typ=editorial&FN=296914-1.html

Glassing the Deck

Following up on yesterday's sanding, today more sanding with finer grits of paper, followed by covering the deck with fiberglass and applying the first coat of epoxy on the deck. Two hours of work makes it look like she's ready for maiden voyage. (She's not).

Total Construction Time: 37.5 hours

Trimming the Deck

After two days off for Christmas Eve and Christmas, yesterday we filled in some of the small gaps between the deck and the hull. About 1/2 hour of work. Then today we turned the boat over and trimmed off the overlapping deck. This was followed by planing a radius where the deck and hull met. We then sanded the deck down with 80 grit sandpaper. Finally, we glued down a compass rose onlay on the center of the foredeck and filled in a few remaining gaps. 2.5 hours of work.

Total Construction Time: 35.5 hours

Attaching the Deck

As we were running low on epoxy, we took yesterday off. After re-stocking thanks to Jim G., we fitted the deck tonight. It did not go smoothly. The aft section went on okay. The bow half proved trickier. We got it on, but not without a struggle. I think that we will be able to recover but it was a grueling 1.75 hours of work.

Total construction time to date: 32.5 hours

Finishing the End Pours and Tidying Up

The end pours leaked quite a bit, so we had to top them off today. As this would not take a lot of time, we cleaned up the room a bit. When we took up the tarps and swept up, the place looked like it was ready for the New Year's Eve party. Then we laid the tarps back down and finished off the end pours. 1.25 hours work today.

Total Construction Time to Date: 30.75 hours.

Sanding the Interior, Drilling for Footbraces and End Pours

In anticipation of fitting the deck, today we sanded out the rough edges on the interior of the boat. Then we drilled holes for the foot braces. This involved putting boat on the floor and having Rick sit in it. It seems pretty solid. After laying strips of fiberglass where the foot rails will go, we poured thickened epoxy into the ends. About 1.5 hours work.



Total time to date: 29.5 hours.

Planing the Shear Clamps

After another coat of epoxy in .5 hours on Wednesday, today we trimmed the glass, turned the boat over, fitted the deck beam and began planing the shear clamps. 3.5 hours of work (mostly by me, as Rick did not feel competent wielding a plane.)



Total Construction Time: 28 hours

Epoxy and a Photo Shoot

The hull requires at least 3 coats of epoxy over the fiberglass. This is to fill in the weave in the glass to a level where it can be sanded smooth without cutting into the fibers. This means only .5 hours tonight and the same last night.

We had a visit from John, the photographer from the Oakland/Detroit Legal News. Rick was at a function for Legal Aid & Defender recently and met an interested writer. Look for it in print soon.

And since there is now a picture of a person on the blog, Rick has a message for his army buddy.

Total Construction Time: 24 hours.

Glassing the Hull

After sanding the hull down with 80/100/220 grit sandpaper, we draped it with fiberglass and then applied unthickened epoxy. About 3.5 hours work.

Total construction time to date: 23 hours.

Sanding Is Fun

The folks at clc repeat the mantra "sanding is fun" throughout their instructional manual, video and website. Tonight we found out that while it may not really be fun, it was not as bad as expected.

First, we flipped the boat over and removed the tape and stitches from the outside of the hull. Then, we smoothed over the seams, and evened up the ends with a combination of file/saw/surform/plane/hammer and chisel/sanding block & orbital sander. The orbital sander is connected to the shop vac which did an amazingly good job of not filling Rick's living room with dust. Finally, we filled in the low spots in the seams with more epoxy and wood flour. 3 hours of work.



Total construction time:19.5 hours.

Inside Is Done

Tonight we trimmed the glass from the cockpit, put a second coat of epoxy on the interior and loosened the wire stitches in anticipation of trimming them off. One hour of work today. Next we begin sanding the exterior of the hull.

Total Construction Time: 16.5 hours.

More Glassing

Tonight we filled in the seams in the cockpit with an epoxy/wood flour mix, laid down fiberglass tape over the seams and then glassed in the whole cockpit. About one hour of work.

Total construction time: 15.5 hours.

Yesterday, no work on the boat. I did actually get in a kayak at the pool in Ann Arbor for the last RSCK pool session of 2008.

Saturday I lost my phone with the photos of the boat, so here is a before picture from tonight.

First Fiberglass Goes On

After masking off the keel and chine seams we filled the seams of the bow and stern compartments with epoxy and wood flour, covered by fiberglass tape and then a layer of unthickened epoxy. Put in 3 1/2 hours.

Total construction time: 14.5 hours.

Fitting bulkheads and fairing the hull

Tonight we put in the bulkheads and aligned the hull. Not much progress to the naked eye but a solid 2 hours of work as the bulkheads required substantial trimming and the hull is ready to be fixed solid with epoxy and fiberglass.


Total construction time: 11 hours.

Looks Like a Boat

After picking up some wire after work, (18 gauge as described in the instructions is slightly thicker and harder to work with than the wire provided with the kit) it was back to stitching the panels together. Some adjustments to yesterday's work was necessary to eliminate the "bubble" in the side panel seen in yesterday's image. We also needed to do some work with the plane to adjust for a slightly misaligned scarf joint in one of the keel panels. After 2 1/2 hours we have something that looks like it could float some day.



Total construction time 9 hours.

Taking Shape

Today we began joining the panels together and it's starting to look not entirely unlike a kayak. We put in about 2 hours. Had to stop "stitching" the panels together with copper wire because I cut the lengths too long and we ran out. I will need to pick up some 18 gauge copper wire before construction can continue.

Total construction time: 6.5 hours.

First Blood

Rick sustained the first construction injury tonight when cutting PVC pipe for clamps.

We then used the clamps to secure the shear clamps to the side panels. Took about 1 1/2 hours to clean up shear clamps, cut the new clamps and secure the shear clamps to the side panels.

Total construction time to date 4.5 hours.

Construction Continues

Today we glued together the deck and the shear clamps. Put in about an hour.

Total construction time: 3 hours.

Kayak Construction Begins--Saturday 11/29/08

Yesterday Rick and I began construction on a Chesapeake 17 LT in Rick's living room. The first steps were gluing together the side and bottom panels. We put in about 2 hours. The fruits of our labors are pictured above.

Total hours of construction: 2

Peche Island

Put in at the usual Belle Isle spot. Sun was shining, air temp about 50, water 63. Paddled up the water department channel and out into the river between Belle Isle and Peche Island. As I approached the light, I noticed an armada that appeared to consist of a dragon-style boat and 6-8 kayaks heading from the island to the Detroit side of the river. I was too far away to attempt to join up, so I got out of the wind on the Windsor side of Peche and paddled up stream. In a little cove across from the Windsor Yacht Club, I saw 5-6 Herons, 5-6 Egrets, many ducks, geese and cormorants. Got back into the wind and waves on the lake side of the island and ran back to Belle Isle on the Detroit side.

Saturday on the River

Put in at the DYC at about 10:30 a.m. Paddled downstream to tri-centennial state harbor to check out Detroit's waterfront from the waterside. On the way back upstream hugged the Detroit shoreline until across from the DYC and ferried over to the island. Then paddled up through the channel by the waterworks and back down the outside of the island. Beautiful day sunny with temps from 56 to 72. The wind was strong from the east, which made the upstream paddling a little tough. Next I hope to either get to Peche Island or to run the river from Belle Isle to Trenton or Grosse Isle.

Sunday in the Pool

Sundays mornings the Raw Strength and Courage Kayak Club holds pool sessions at the NCRB in Ann Arbor. I used to go to these sessions my freshman year at U of M in 1984-85 and then dropped out of whitewater paddling for 20 + years. Started back with the club last spring. Went out this morning and paddled little plastic boats in the swimming pool for a couple of hours. The roll is progressing but far from pretty. Brought the Lil' Joe and tried out one of the club's new playboats, a wave sport t-3 (I think.)

October 4, 2008

Just back from a kayak circumnavigation of Belle Isle in the Detroit River. Air temp in the high 50's water temp in the low 6o's. Partly sunny with wind blowing downstream at 10 knots or less. No waves to speak of. Put in beside the Detroit Yacht Club. Paddled upstream on the Detroit side and down the Canadian. Only paddle craft in sight. Passed by the freighter Michipicoten headed downstream at the upstream tip of the island. Saw many cormorants & canada geese. Paddled alongside a muskrat for a while 10 yards off the port side by the DPD Habor Master station. Finished with some bracing practice off the beach and a roll at the takeout.