The point of this blog was highlight the construction of a Nick Schade designed Petrel Sea Kayak. Like the buidling project, the blog has taken on much more meaning than originally intended. The question of "why" has been asked many times. "Why are you writing a blog? Seems like a waste of time." I've been called obsessive and made fun of (in good humor) by casual observers of the Petrel project. I wear the obsessive part well, and proudly I may add. There is an almost inexplicable drive behind this project. The blog is to give some insight to what goes on in my head as things progress. This is going to be a two part entry because I have a lot in my head, and if I don't get it out now, it will be lost forever in the shuffle of life.
As most projects go, there was an inspiration behind this project. The first was the original Petrel I built for the shop. I've been the recipient of countless complements about that boat, but there was a nagging thought that I could do better. There is a relentless drive of seeking perfection, that is always present. There is no such thing as perfect, but there is no harm in striving for it. As long as there is an understanding that perfection is unattainable, sanity can be maintained. The second was watching my good friend Nick Schade, win his class in the Concourse D' Elegance at the WoodenBoat show in 2011. A goal was set to enter this boat in the 2012 Concourse event and see how I would stack up. There was a condition to this goal, I would not sacrifice quality or innovation for the sake of meeting a time line. This was hard. I had to admit to myself, twice, that I would have to pass on entering the judging to maintain my promise to myself. Twice I asked myself, "was I doing the best I could?" and twice the part I was currently working on hit the trash can.
Picking up the project after a 16 month break was not easy. Things had changed, I was tired and motivation was hard to come by. Slowly but surely, the inspiration started to come and the time off was becoming more of a blessing. I had left the project with the two outer halves glassed and waiting for me to return. There was a lot to do and a finite amount of time to accomplish it all. To make it to WoodenBoat, everything would have to work according to plan.
I wanted the deck to be as clean as possible. Flush hatches with magnetic hold downs were on the to do list first. I constructed carbon flanges and hid the magnets in the laminate. The magnets in the lids were hidden too; there are no visible clues as to why the hatches close as ferociously as they do. They need to be functional, so they need to close tightly.
Another nervous moment, cutting the openings. Again no room for errors here and a mistake would be a permanent blemish.
Next up, drilling the holes for the magnets. The lids are 3/16" thick and messing up here would be a total disaster. The drawback to this part, repeating this step 24 times. Lets just say I was ready for a drink by the time I finished this step.
The magnets were epoxied in place and a covering of carbon was applied. Peel ply was used to make this a one step process.
The flanges were formed using the lid as a mold. A generous application of wax was used as the release agent. a sacrificial strip of foam was used around the perimeter, to form the channel for the seal. A layer of Carbon, magnets, Biaxial s-glass and one more later of carbon, rounds out the laminate.
Next up, the deck fittings. Maroske fittings were again my choice. I like the fact that there are no nuts, bolts, or screws. No holes to leak and they are just plain cool. After the layout was determined, I proceeded to drill the holes and follow the same order of operations as on Deb's expedition boat. This time I used Carbon sleeve. The results are affectionately called "High Tech Macaroni".
Now the fun begins...
This is where I start to get a little crazy. I wanted to make a rear bulkhead that was canted to allow for better water evacuation when the boat was flipped. I am not sure where this came from, but the idea came to me that it would be cool if it were canted and curved. What if it matched the pattern on the deck? Some would say I had lost my mind. I knew it could be done, the question was how.
After several half-hearted attempts, I decided to build it as a separate component. Forms were made and it actually was easier than it looks. It was stripped, stained and glassed quickly. Fitting it was a completely different story.
So, this will conclude the first part of the late stages of the build. Things are moving quickly and time is precious. Every second counts and there is little room for error for this boat to make it to the show. Stay tuned, the finish is well worth it and the no compromise approach finally pays off.
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