Kayak Building Blog
End Pour vs End Block
A common question is "what is the end pour good for?" For those who don't know what it is, it originated in making fiberglass kayaks. The boat is stood on end, leaned up against the wall or a try and epoxy is poured into the end. This epoxy fills up the end with a solid chunk of material. This serves a couple purposes.
Meet at the Beach 2012
Once again we will gather to see what everyone has accomplished over the winter. Every year for over 10 years we have been meeting at the beach at Bluff Point State Park in Groton, CT to talk about making kayaks. If you are interested in making your own kayak, just like to look at kayaks or have built your own you are welcome. Bring a boat if you have one, but it doesn't have to be home made.
How to Make a Kayak - Fiberglassing the Inside
I'm using 4 ounce glass on the inside.
The "Dookey Schmutz" Award
Sometime back in the mid to early 1990's I read an article in WoodenBoat Magazine about building an icebox. I just did a little research and found the article. It was "Building a Proper Icebox" by Jim Brown in WoodenBoat Issue #99. You can read the article below. This is where I first came across the idea that a thick mixture of powder and epoxy has a name. What Jim said was:
How to Make a Kayak - Cleaning up the Interior
For me cleaning up the inside of the boat is one of the least satisfying aspects of building the kayak.
How to Make a Kayak - Scraping, Sanding and Fairing and Dust Control
I first scrape the boat with a heavy duty paint scraper. This removes the any glue drips and starts to knock the corners off the strips.
Building the Night Heron Videos
I'm building a Night Heron kayak using cove and bead western red cedar. I'm taking some video as I go. I hope you find the following helpful.
Stripping the deck of the Night Heron kayak using Cove and Bead cedar strips
Like the hull, I used strips taped to the bottom of a bench plane to make consistent width strips with the bead removed. These strips were then beveled to create a tight joint with the sheer strips on the hull. At the ends the sheer strips need to be tapered to meet each other at a nice point.