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Kayak/Boat building

us Online Enginears

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Kayak/Boat building
on: December 11, 2022, 02:39:17 AM
Anyone here like building boats? I have been on a bit of a kick over the last couple of summers. So far I made a plywood canoe, two foam core kayaks, and most recently an 8 foot sailing dinghy.  Throughout the process, I was really devoted to developing a building method that utilized foam sheets, and what is called poor man’s fiberglass. It is basically using layers of cloth and wood glue/paint instead of fiberglass and epoxy. It is labor intensive, but forgiving and light on tooling. Here are some shots of one of the yaks. 
 
 
 
 

The best part is it ends up being light enough to easily carry to the shore or dock and launch wherever I want. I am a sucky fisherman, but have used this one extensively to explore my closest lake and rivers.


us Offline MadPlumbarian

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #1 on: December 11, 2022, 02:49:32 AM
Nice work, you should make a camper where you make a dingy that sits on top and makes a roof, there’s a few old school teardrop style campers out there that have a little row not on top..
JR
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As I sit on my Crapper Throne in the Reading Room and explode on the Commode, thinking, how my flush beat John’s and Jerry’s pair? Jack’s had to run for the Water Closet yet ended up tripping on a Can bowing and hitting his Head on the Porcelain God! 🚽


us Online Enginears

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #2 on: December 11, 2022, 03:00:56 AM
Nice work, you should make a camper where you make a dingy that sits on top and makes a roof, there’s a few old school teardrop style campers out there that have a little row not on top..
JR

That would be sweet! I think I remember seeing one at some point. My first pmf project was actually a camper shell, so I think I could pull off a standalone camper. Heres a poor shot of it.
 


us Offline MadPlumbarian

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #3 on: December 11, 2022, 03:24:45 AM
That would be sweet! I think I remember seeing one at some point. My first pmf project was actually a camper shell, so I think I could pull off a standalone camper. Heres a poor shot of it.
  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]
Nice, here something like this,
JR
"The-Mad-Plumbarian" The Punisher Of Pipes!!! JR
As I sit on my Crapper Throne in the Reading Room and explode on the Commode, thinking, how my flush beat John’s and Jerry’s pair? Jack’s had to run for the Water Closet yet ended up tripping on a Can bowing and hitting his Head on the Porcelain God! 🚽


us Offline Farmer X

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #4 on: December 11, 2022, 05:49:06 AM
I've never considered building a boat, but I have briefly worked with composite material. It was quite messy. Your 'yak looks pretty dang good! :tu:
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us Online Enginears

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #5 on: December 11, 2022, 06:17:40 AM
I've never considered building a boat, but I have briefly worked with composite material. It was quite messy. Your 'yak looks pretty dang good! :tu:

Thank you, it turned out very functional, but a bit rough around the edges. Quite fun to have all the small incremental steps to complete.

 I used to work with carbon fiber and a special epoxy that had a very nasty curing agent called Ancamine Z, we semi jokingly called it liquid cancer. Like you said, it gets messy and doesn’t seem to matter how careful you are. The smell, mess, and PPE really put me off the entirety of epoxy resin.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2022, 06:24:02 AM by Enginears »


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #6 on: December 11, 2022, 11:56:43 AM
As anyone who enjoys kayaking (and you will find many threads about it here, almost all started by me!) I have always considered making my own as well.  I thought about starting with something like a Chesapeake kit or maybe making a mold of my current fiberglass boat, a 17 foot fiberglass unit. 

I like the idea of sticking with fiberglass or carbon fiber etc, but as you say, the materials are quite unpleasant to deal with. 

I sanded my fiberglass boat down many years ago to do some repairs and between the fiberglass cloth and resin mess I was quickly disillusioned on the romance of boat building!

Of course, I was also doing it outside in 40C weather and there is a permanent imprint of tiny squirrel feet where one decided to jump on the boat before the resin was completely dried, but that's just character IMHO!

I'd very much like to see more about your builds because that looks very interesting.  Also, the truck setup looks great and I'd love to see more about that too!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Online Enginears

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #7 on: December 12, 2022, 02:52:34 AM
As anyone who enjoys kayaking (and you will find many threads about it here, almost all started by me!) I have always considered making my own as well.  I thought about starting with something like a Chesapeake kit or maybe making a mold of my current fiberglass boat, a 17 foot fiberglass unit. 

I like the idea of sticking with fiberglass or carbon fiber etc, but as you say, the materials are quite unpleasant to deal with. 

I sanded my fiberglass boat down many years ago to do some repairs and between the fiberglass cloth and resin mess I was quickly disillusioned on the romance of boat building!

Of course, I was also doing it outside in 40C weather and there is a permanent imprint of tiny squirrel feet where one decided to jump on the boat before the resin was completely dried, but that's just character IMHO!

I'd very much like to see more about your builds because that looks very interesting.  Also, the truck setup looks great and I'd love to see more about that too!

Def

When I originally became interested in the boats I had my eye on a few Chesapeake kits, mainly the passagemaker dinghy. I eventually decided I was not prepared for it, financially or otherwise. Like trailering, garage etc. are all up in the air.

Making a mold of your current boat is a good idea, I probably would have tried that if I had a kayak to start with. I got onto the stitch and glue method because of the availability of plans and ease of building. I built my kayaks on my porch, so they also acquired some of that environmental character. For my dinghy it was the dead of summer so I stuffed most of the process in my small shop/shed.

Here are some construction shots of the dinghy.
The basic shell.
 
A shot of some layering and the addition of the supports/floatation chambers
 
 
Some of the sheets/layers being added to the supports
 


us Online Enginears

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #8 on: December 12, 2022, 02:56:54 AM
Additional shots:
The HDPE (blue) support and transom, and the wooden blocks used for the oar lock connections
 
Bottom of the boat is a piece of plywood painted and glued before being glued in with sheets
 
 
Oar lock holders are pipe glued into the wood blocks and covered with sheets and glue
 


us Online Enginears

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #9 on: December 12, 2022, 03:00:55 AM
Final shots of it shaping up.
 
 
 

This whole method yields a rough and utility kind of quality that is easily repainted or repaired. There have been people to take the finishing process to the extreme and get a very commercial grade look, but it is a lot of extra hours.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #10 on: December 12, 2022, 11:05:13 AM
That is amazing!

Are you not using a vacuum to pull air bubbles and help the epoxy impregnate the fiberglass?  That was one of my big hesitations was trying to hook up a vac bag, but if it isn't necessary then that makes the whole process a lot more appealing.

Def 
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Online Enginears

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #11 on: December 12, 2022, 03:25:28 PM
That is amazing!

Are you not using a vacuum to pull air bubbles and help the epoxy impregnate the fiberglass?  That was one of my big hesitations was trying to hook up a vac bag, but if it isn't necessary then that makes the whole process a lot more appealing.

Def

I don’t use the vacuum bag technique on these, although you could. Bagging would make it have less voids and be a stronger laminate, but the setup time is pretty long.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Kayak/Boat building
Reply #12 on: December 13, 2022, 01:45:15 AM
Good to know, from someone who has actual experience!   :tu:

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


 

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