In This posting:
1 AHHHH!
2 Why did I not think of this before?
3 Bulging (again)
4 Working with epoxy
5 The TOOLS!
7 Thanks
"AHHH" I shouted as I placed the last small triangular shaped "strip" on the aft deck section of the deck - completing the laying of the cedar strips.
"WHAT'S WRONG" my wife shouted as she came running, thinking that I had probably severed a finger on the band saw.
2 Why did I not think of this before?
After I lifted the hull from the strong back and started stripping-up the deck, I found I had nowhere to support the clamps etc. when clamping the strips in place.
I then consructed a "overhead" strong back that could be used to jam the clamps against. This also afforded the facility to use notched planks that could be clamped to the strong back and these notched planks could be clamped at any angle to ensure a perfect line-up of the strips. This should have been done right from the start. Would have saved alot of time.
3 Bulging (Again)
The following photograph shows the severe extent of side-ways bending required of the strips on that aft section of the deck
At this time I did not want to use narrower strips and had to taper the ends of the strips somewhat and saw "kerfs" at certain distances to accomodate the side-ways bending. These kerfs will have to be hidden with a veneer graphic afterwards.4 Working with epoxy
A couple of weeks ago my brother-in-law , Dr Charles Crosby who is an expert in laminates/composites, aerodynamics etc, warned me about the health hazards when working with epoxy. I forgot what the names of the illnesses are but found the following quote on the web:
"I have seen symptoms occur in 2 ways. One is your throat and lungs mainly from the fumes can be sensitized. After being away from the epoxy for months I can come in contact with the fumes and get a constricted throat and windpipe almost instantly and it will last for weeks. A friend of mine has a major problem with dermatitis on his skin. He comes out in a mess of red raw rash all over. He has gradually got worse despite long breaks from epoxy but is now wearing a full air supply suite (in the tropics) to do any epoxy work, or employing someone else. When he gets really bad he goes to sea and spends as much time as possible in the sea water. He reckons this helps heal it all up ready for the next dose. You have to be dedicated to put up with, or as I prefer, be bloody stupid."
Scary stuff, indeed. I have been wearing latext loves ever since Charles spoke to me.
5 The TOOLS
What would one do without brothers-in law! My other brother-in-law (Daniel de Vos) gave me these spoke planes - ideal for planing the edges of the strips as mentioned in an earlier postng
6 Next
The cockpit area. The cockpit does seem excessively wide presently but if the viewing panel was to be utilised, one's knees need to be out the way as far as possible.
The Stealth Evolution is a fully enclosed "sit on top" kayak and therefor has a failrly low profile. I may have to raise the frame around the cockpit slightly to prevent too much water splashing over the sides
7 Thanks
It has been a long process to reach this stage and I want to thank the guys at Stealth Performance Products mainly Bruce, for their advice and allowing me to use their elegant design.
Also Mick Clarke Mick Clarke (http://www.kayakfishingsa.co.za) for his encouragment and the fact that I stole the picture of the pink Evolution from his web site
Time spent so far :115 hours
Present weight: 13 kg
Wow looking very very nice
ReplyDeleteMick