The holidays are now over and boat work resumes. Making any progress was difficult due to the the demands of the season.
After swaying back and forth from satisfaction and pure anxiety over this build, I think I am back in the groove. I counsel people every day, to look at the big picture and not obsess over perceived flaws. Following my own advice is not as easy as it sounds. I said in the beginning of this section, boat building is a thousand acts of perfection. That is true, but there are many more imperfect acts in between. Having faith that everything will work out, is not easy when judging my own work. Sometimes, I wonder if I have set the bar too high. I am finding, as this project progresses, that I should have more faith in my abilities. It is the constant doubt and sweating the details that ultimately drives me to do better. Where will all of this end? I am finding, that this drive inside, might result in my finest work to date.
I learn something from every build. This one, will mark the first time that I listened to that little voice and took a step back. Since getting back working, I have had a few days that everything did not work well. Some of the strips I milled had a strange grain pattern that did not accept planing very well. Finding that out, was the frustrating part. Several hours of work were wasted. The strips we put aside until I could use them on shorter stretches. I managed to shove a splinter clear through the side of my hand. It went through scar tissue from an old injury and the damage was minimal. It was actually quite funny, I wish I had taken a picture. A few days ago, the curse was lifted and things started working again.
So where am I on this project? It has turned a corner, twice. Both sides are finished and the chines have been formed. The keel strip is glued and with some trimming on the stern, it will be finished.
Again, back on the beveling. The chine on this boat is unique. It runs from not having one at the bow, to having a very pronounced hard chine at midships.It then fades into a soft chine behind the cockpit to no chine at all at the stern. What does all this mean? Combined with generous rocker along the keel, it makes for a super responsive sea kayak with maneuverability of a boat that is much shorter. Getting this right is VERY important. I cut the strips down so that the sharp chine could be formed.
A wider strip would not be able to turn this corner, so two thinner strips made short work of this. Left is the strip before and after beveling.
I left the chine strip a little proud. I ran a rabbit plane down this strip so that the bevel would be shared by both strips. Doing this makes the glue joint wider, which will be important when material is removed to shape the chine.
As you can tell, a few clamps are required when building one of these boats without staples. One of our designers at work, Larry Froley, often comments about the use of tape for holding strips. I have coined the term "East Coast Clamps", since Larry is from California.
Here is evidence of my neurotic obsession with perfection. I couldn't wait to see how the boat would look when it was planed, sanded, and faired. So I did a little bit of the side to check my work. The seams disappeared and I got excited with what I saw. I can't wait to do the entire hull.
Time for the keel strips. Right, is a before and after shot of tapering the end. As you can see, my marks were a little off at first. With a little work with my trusty plane, it came together nicely.
What is this? I pulled out my old plane to do some heavier material removal. The small light speck at the bottom of the blade, is the skin off my middle finger knuckle. I always say, there is a little bit of the builder in every boat. Both figuratively, and literally. First blood has been drawn, this is now a proper boat build.
The keel strips are glued together, but not in place. The bow portion is 90% finished but the stern needs to be shaped. I hope doing this as a single piece will be easier. A mistake at this point will not be an option.
As you can see, I love my plane. The shavings pile is evidence of that. My work area was looking pretty bad. A quick sweep of the area was needed. Below, is a picture of what a properly tuned plane can do.You can see through the shavings.
Next installment will be closing the bottom. After that, I'll put some color on the hull and some fiberglass. Then, the part I have been working toward, the deck and Maple strips. That's all for now!
After swaying back and forth from satisfaction and pure anxiety over this build, I think I am back in the groove. I counsel people every day, to look at the big picture and not obsess over perceived flaws. Following my own advice is not as easy as it sounds. I said in the beginning of this section, boat building is a thousand acts of perfection. That is true, but there are many more imperfect acts in between. Having faith that everything will work out, is not easy when judging my own work. Sometimes, I wonder if I have set the bar too high. I am finding, as this project progresses, that I should have more faith in my abilities. It is the constant doubt and sweating the details that ultimately drives me to do better. Where will all of this end? I am finding, that this drive inside, might result in my finest work to date.
I learn something from every build. This one, will mark the first time that I listened to that little voice and took a step back. Since getting back working, I have had a few days that everything did not work well. Some of the strips I milled had a strange grain pattern that did not accept planing very well. Finding that out, was the frustrating part. Several hours of work were wasted. The strips we put aside until I could use them on shorter stretches. I managed to shove a splinter clear through the side of my hand. It went through scar tissue from an old injury and the damage was minimal. It was actually quite funny, I wish I had taken a picture. A few days ago, the curse was lifted and things started working again.
So where am I on this project? It has turned a corner, twice. Both sides are finished and the chines have been formed. The keel strip is glued and with some trimming on the stern, it will be finished.
Next installment will be closing the bottom. After that, I'll put some color on the hull and some fiberglass. Then, the part I have been working toward, the deck and Maple strips. That's all for now!
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