End of Season Canoe Build

[BigandSmall]

Here's a few pics of installing the foot braces from before I went to visit family. It's still winter here so there's still no rush for me but I am feeling the pressure to get at it.

When I first epoxied the studs in I used a chisel the next day to remove and any excess schmutz. When I glassed them in I started with another thin layer of schmutz, put the first layer of glass on and worked the schmutz into the glass. The schmutz makes a decent transition from the metal to the wood. I then put a second larger layer of glass on top and wet it all out. I made sure I flattened it more on top of where the metal was. I should have spent a little more time doing that.


The next day I used my scraper to clean away the edges and give it a smooth transition. I used a gasket scraper to clean it up as much as I could around the base of the threads.


After getting it together I see I should have spent a little more time flattening because I don't have any extra thread valley showing on the nylock nuts. We'll see after I finish sand them. I can always take a little off the back of the bracket and use some Loctite on the nut. I see the right side pedal is upside down, I'll correct that when I varnish. Hopefully I got the height right because those are really on there.

 

[BigandSmall]

Gear anchors: I used the Northwater d rings and Vinyl tec 2000 in my Caribou but didn't want the big grey patches in this boat. Instead this is @MarkVK 's spoke anchor I saw here in his beautiful Frej build. He bent it out of an old bicycle spoke and I think they'll be pretty strong for my mild paddling (hopefully). I ordered some 14g bicycle spokes and started bending. They're tricky to make look decent and they're very difficult to clip. I normally use a couple of 100L MEC Scully bags that I bought years ago for a family trip down the Yukon. They're still going strong so I based my anchors around those and my small barrel. I've been tying them off to the Northwater drings but it's a pain tying and untying. For that reason I made my anchors longer (and no doubt weaker) than Mark's to fit buckles through. I ordered some adjustable 3/4 inch buckles and have some rated 3/4 webbing. Hopefully now I'll be able to clip in and out at camp with ease. Tomorrow I'll make them permanent.

 

[BigandSmall]

The anchors went on well. I filled the triangles with schmutz and tried to get a little on the outside so make a smooth transition without an air bubble (easy on the flat). I tried cutting some 2" tape but couldn't get a clean edge or make it look right. I dug around the shop until I found a scrap from a hole saw. Holding the wood over top of the glass and trimming around the outside made such a clean circle I was surprised. I will save a few more of these cutouts in the future to have various sizes on hand. After 3.5 hours the schmutz had hardened enough I could remove the tape and wet them out. The ones that were mounted on the sides I had to keep coming back to and push the glass back down to not have air bubbles since I didn't schmutz the shoulders. I ended up putting a couple of the peaked ones like MarkVK made up front just in case I need them. I also added one to the top of the stern float tank so I can buckle a throw bag up there to hold a stern line.

 

[MarkVK]

Yours are way nicer looking than mine! My excuse is that mine are stuck to the underside of my kayak's deck and I don't think I could see them directly if I wanted to. The schmutz in the triangle is a good idea, as it's otherwise impossible to keep the glass cloth from creating a bubble there. One small note for those who are interested, I also bent circular eyelets with the triangle base to hold my skeg tubing up against the underside of the deck and out of harm's way.

 

[BigandSmall]

I only took a picture of nicest looking one Mark . When I saw them in your build it was an instant "what a great idea" right click/save.

Today I scraped off the edges of the anchors then hit them with some 120 grit on the RO and some 100 under the arch where the sander doesn't reach. I also used the scraper on the foot peg studs where I'd left some excess epoxy around the base of the studs. After that I vacuumed it, wiped it out, tacked it, then made the inside shiny with Epihanes varnish. I'm pretty happy with how the anchors blend in with the wood.

 

[BigandSmall]

It was pointed out to me that I should have waited for epoxy to fully cure on those gear anchors before varnishing, next time.

Today I decided to clean up the wear strips and get the first exterior coat of varnish on before work tonight. These next 5 pics are all taken in the same spot. The first is of the wear strip before I started. The second is after hitting it with the longboard with 180. The third is after the RO with 120 and hand sanding with abranet 180 scraps. The fourth is after 2 warm water washes and a tack cloth. The fifth is after a coat of varnish.

 

[BigandSmall]

I applied the third coat of varnish today inside and out after roughing with maroon Scotchbrite on my RO with interface pad. I then gave it a vacuum, a wash and a wipe before tack clothing. I managed to get the whole inside and out with one 2" foam brush. Normally I use two but I'm running low. It's finally warming up here so hopefully this coat will cure a little faster than the previous ones.

I have a few spots in the varnish where I don't have it completely level. Do you guys think I should use 180grit on the interface pad to level it before the final coat or do you have a different suggestion?

 

[BigandSmall]

Sorry for the delay I had other projects I had to get ready for spring. I also wasn't having success in getting the end caps figured out. I was hoping to get something that looked decent. I spent a day making some wood patterns I was planning to cut out of aluminum. The lower pieces I was cutting and bending to weld to them just weren't turning out though. The way the aluminum gunnel is rounded makes it difficult to get something looking decent. I decided in the end to go back to the original plan of the plastic end caps and to try to make those work.

I started by cutting the caps in half lengthwise then marking each for center and using a hand plane to shave them down. I then put some rake on them planing down the back side so it would clear the tumblehome section better. I broke out the heat gun and re-shaped the nose bit before using 60 grit on the RO to further shave the center line. Once they were close I roughed the inside the taped them up. I used some JB Plastic Bonder and pieces of S glass I cut as well as some 2" tape. I started by rubbing the glue into the crack then laying glass over top and wrapping a piece around the nose followed by another layer over top. Initially I was hoping these might make patters to 3d print from but they didn't turn out too badly. I used a Dremel to grind down any high spots and had to sand the tips of the boat a little to conform to the caps. I drilled holes for some bolts (or black rivets) and one for a lifting eye bolt too. I need to epoxy seal the holes now add a little glass to toughen around the eye bolt.

The caps look ok from a few feet back and seem strong. Hopefully seal things up in a few days then get on that last coat of varnish.

 

[sthwaits]

These look great! Nice solution to the end cap puzzle. I think only you will notice the seam, from here they look professional.

 

[BigandSmall]

Thanks, I debated sanding it out but after testing a spot I couldn't match the finish even with 1000 grit and a pass with the torch. I'm not super happy with them but they look "right" enough to allow me to continue.

 

[BigandSmall]

When I went to do a little glass reinforcing above the bolt I saw I drilled poorly and didn't have room for a washer behind the bolt because I was too close to the float tank. Instead I cut a piece of 1/4" aluminum and will drill and tap it for M8. After I get it threaded on hopefully I'll have enough thread showing to Loctite a nut on there. Getting to this point was a pain, angle grinder, tin snips, then Dremel. I should have thought more about this before I riveted the aluminum on.

 

[BigandSmall]

I drilled an tapped the aluminum chunks then ordered a couple more slightly longer bolts. I then put the last coat of varnish on the inside. After that I sealed the holes I'd drilled and applied a little glass. Once it set some I trimmed it off and pressed the upper loose ends flat. It's not super pretty but it's covered. So close now.

 

[BigandSmall]

Installed the eye bolts then put schmutz behind it to distribute the force. When I riveted the caps on they domed in the middle unfortunately.

 

[BigandSmall]

Took it out to the backyard for a few pictures.

 

[cougarmeat]

There's a line in the movie, "The Edge" (circa 1997) where Anthony Hopkins says, "What one man can do, another can do." I'm not sure he was including the co-star, Elle Macpherson, but then again, considering [spoiler alert block].

That said, there is no way, in what's left of this lifetime, that I could begin to create just a beautiful watercraft. You could be flooded with endorphins just gazing on it. What magic - to have an idea/vision in your mind and bring it into reality. Amazing!

 

[BigandSmall]

Initial impressions after a 8km paddle: (If that counts for much) It's quite stable. There's initial wobble but it hits a stop as soon as you lean it over. The tracking is firm compared to both my Caribou S and my Scorpio HV. There was a brief decent tail wind on our way out and at no time did it want to broach. Wind from the side wasn't causing weather cocking or leecocking while under way. We'll see later in higher winds but I'm pretty pleased with seat placement for an empty boat. Lots of boat traffic with it being May long weekend and I didn't feel a need to put a knee down with the wakes rolling in. It feels pretty efficient, could be the lack of need for corrective strokes? My wife could still walk away from me in her narrow sea kayak but it seems a pretty decent match to paddle together where as my Caribou was a little slower. It was also pretty responsive to edging which was cool. Take all this with a grain of salt since it's "new boat day". Final weight was 51.2 pounds or 23.3kg with everything bolted up and 4 coats of varnish inside and out.

In short I am very stoked with how it paddles. It is exactly what I was hoping for. I am looking forward to getting it into some rougher conditions. I should also note that with the lower sides and tumblehome it makes my 250cm paddle length feel quite good. With my Caribou I had to adjust my stroke a little and I wouldn't want to go any shorter in that boat. Once I get some free time I'll work on the outfitting.

Mike.