Ridin' the Roller Coaster

When the decision was made to open Turning Point Kayaks,  I was mentally prepared for the roller coaster ride ahead. Or so I thought...While the dips are larger and scarier than I ever imagined, the highs are bigger and more rewarding than I could have pictured. It's an ever changing up and down between anxiety and elation. It's a huge gamble, and a huge passion. My supporters are growing and I struggle with my humility, largely because I can't believe this is really happening. But it is.

As work continues on the Petrel Play Plug, I got some good news. On my recent visit to my Orthopedist, I was finally cleared to paddle. The fracture is still visible but there was enough progress in healing to turn me loose. It will be sore for a while, but I can certainly live with that as long as there is salt water spraying me in the face.

The Shop is full of "Plays" now. The plug, the Black boat aka "Lucifer" and a customers boat. One of the first few Petrel Play kit boats built, is in for a skeg retrofit. Given the tight quarters, this one will be a bit of a challenge. The customer was having trouble with control and after trying a Play equipped with a skeg he had to have one too. Another Project is arriving next week, so I am predicting a very busy month ahead.

Now, the Petrel Play plug. It is progressing very well. The boat has some really nice lines and is, aesthetically speaking, the polar opposite of it's kit sister. Whereas the Play SG is very utilitarian in it's appearance,  the new composite version mimics the Petrel heritage with flowing lines and a hull shape meant to perform. The stripping process went smoothly and relatively quickly. I am used to building a boat with tight fitting joints and matching grain patterns. It's been a struggle to let that go and just strip the boat shape and get on with it. The fairing process and surfacing primer will hide any evidence of my skill once applied. The most important aspect has been making sure the designed hull shape is correct and symmetrical.

Once everything was sanded smooth, a lot of decisions needed to be made. Hatch placement, hatch size and lastly, will it have a day hatch. After much deliberation and measuring, the placement was set and it will have a day hatch. Rather than cutting the recesses from wood, I decided to use a technique that car audio fabricators have been using for years. The recesses would be formed using fleece fabric saturated in resin. The stretchiness allows for compound shapes and will make a nice smooth recess. Flanges were held in place and the fleece stretched and fastened to the deck. Once saturated with resin and cured, the flanges were removed and excess cloth trimmed.

Centering the flange before adjusting the depth

The supports were hot glued in place

Fabric is stretched before resin is applied. The flanges were waxed to allow removal

Trimmed and ready to be sanded flush

Day hatch getting the treatment

All recesses are now cleaned up and ready for a skim coat of filler

A few final details are all that remains before the hull and deck are joined permanently. Foam forms were cut, again to ensure that the hull retains the correct shape. I want to keep the plug light, so that it can be easily moved without needing a chiropractor afterword. The skeg control pocket was one of the final pieces to the puzzle. The skeg box will get a "locating pocket" and the long road to construction will be complete.

On the interweb side of things, the website continues to grow. We now have t-shirts available for sale! Another important tid bit of news is thet both my Petrel and Petrel Play SG (the black boat) are for sale on the site. As much as I would like to keep both, I already have boats stored in two locations and I'll have my own personal Turning Point Petrel and Petrel Play very soon. I already have the concept in mind and they are going to be special. I also have a new Instagram account. Were having fun with this. With all the GoPro footage, there is no shortage of cool still shots. Some are pretty funny too.

It's hard to imagine that the Play is a huge step closer to reality. I planned the build in my head over and over. Obsessing over details both large and small.  While working at CLC I would counsel customers not to sweat every little detail. I've not been following my own advice, but for good reason. I want Turning Point Kayak to be the best boats I can possibly build.