Fiberglass Kayak Repair

 When things go bad but not to bad, sometimes there is hope. This kayak was left on a dock unintentionally and the wind came up and blew it into the water. The lake then proceeded to rub it lovingly on the shoreline rocks for awhile until the owner was able to pull it out.

The damage ranged from scraping through the gelcoat to holes punched in the fiberglass and the seam between hull and deck popped loose.

After being involved with water in one form or another for most of my life, it still amazes me how much power the waves have and how unforgiving they can be.

The first step of course is to take off all of the hardware and really asses just how much damage there is. in our case here, we didn't find the split seam until the straps were off and we flipped it over to check out the hull.

Next step was to give it a good sanding with 50grit paper to cut the dirt, rough up the gelcoat and see what we had from that point. It was at this point that the rear hatch cover split separated as the adhesive holding it together gave out. All of the cracks had to be ground out to make room for a good bond with fiberglass reinforced epoxy, used as a filling agent, and any loose pieces removed or reattached with epoxy. Unable to reglue the interior of the seam break, rivets were used to reattach the hull to the deck and the joint reinforced with
the fiberglass/epoxy mix.

Final fairing was completed with a fairing compound/bondo mix and sanded to final shape. I am a big fan of duralux marine paint and used Cruser Blue on the deck and white on the hull. The cockpit coaming will be painted black with the same paint.

The fittings were cleaned and polished up with a good bit of armor all, perimeter rope replaced and new bungees attached. New toggles and a couple of buckles that couldn't be saved replaced and this boat is ready to go back on the water!

Paddle with this

 

I really enjoy making the Greenland style paddles. Its real satisfying to take a cedar 2x4 and create something that fits in your hand and begs for the water. I picked up a no.4 bench plane and sharpened it up. The curls coming off the bevels are just so nice! Besides, it makes the shop smell good.

Second Fill Coat

 Just needed a second fill coat of epoxy to give me enough base to sand and fair the hull.... oh boy, sanding time again!

Walk Arround

 This is a cool little walk around the gunnels on the latest canoe..

Decks and Gunnels are done

 The Ash gunnels have a lot of figure to them, pretty sweet actually. With black walnut noses, the fore and aft decks fit tight over the bulkheads and provide a great place to grab on. The seal coat of epoxy was just put on when these pictures were taken and I expect the wood to darken just a bit as it cures. 

The ash wood was sources locally and was destined to become fence boards. With the emerald ash borer in the area a lot of this material will become available.

The next step is to sand down the fill coat of epoxy and get it ready for varnish... then set the seats.

Milling the gunnels

Working on the 17' canoe first to get it out of the way. Today's project was to mill the gunnels and get them installed. I am using some ash lumber a friend gave me to try out, a little different feel than the maple used on previous canoes. The ash is a bit more flexible, easier to bend around the sides, temporary thwarts need to be installed to maintain the shape while the outwales are installed.

Scuppers were cut every 6 inches and are 6 inches wide and a quarter deep, just big enough to get a line through to tie down gear. Inwales were glued in place with epoxy and the outwales were screwed through the hull into the inwales.

still have a few more days on this one, next up is the milling of the decks!
 

Strips n forms

 The forms are all set and the strips have been cut and edge milled.

I use a cove and bead bit from Lee Valley tools to mill the edges of the strips, it makes a nice tight fit between strips and holds the glue well. I used 10 10'x5.5"x1" cedar deck boards to rip 150 or so strips. we will see if we need all of them.

Matched Pair

 The next project in the shop is a matched pair of canoes, one a 17 footer and the other a 12.5 foot solo canoe.

The first step is to set up the forms and get them level, plumb and aligned correctly.

1923 Larson Duck Boat Restoration

 I believe we are finished with this clean up and polish project! I have way more hours into this than I should have put but the end result is worth the extra time.. It will never float again without a layer of fiberglass on the hull, but it will make a sweet wall hanger for the client.

About a hundred years of barn dust and cobwebs, dry rot. An entire quart of varnish went into the wood on the first coat topside. I don't think I have ever seen wood that dry before.

First urethane in 100 years

 It has probably been a hundred years since the last time this boat had any kind of finish on it besides barn dust and rain. Its pretty amazing how fast the wood sucks it up as it gets painted on. No fear of drips and runs on this coat! Now just three more coats and the boat will be ready to flip over and start on the top!

Duck, Duck, Goose!

An interesting project is in the shop. Two Larson duck boats that were built sometime between 1913 and 1920. The Client wants me to clean them up put them back together and varnish them. One will hang in the family's private museum and i am not sure where the other will end up. I am about 40% complete with the first one. I needed to order a new 2" random orbital sander to get between all of the ribs, and of course it got lost in shipping and the store had to send another. Set me back for time, but with a couple long weekends I should be able to catch back up...

Frame Complete

Ok its time for a little fun. The frame is complete for the kid sized kayak, now its time to put something on it to keep it from rotting. I was leaning for a penetrating sealer or wood preservative but this is way more fun.

I am thinking about a tequila sunrise paint job! I have done the base coat in orange and will top it off with sunshine yellow on the front quarter and a bright red for the rear. I'll blend them in through the cockpit area to give some nice transition..

Rehab saga

So the rehab project is a crash and burn, with the amount of rot and decay in the stringer and plywood forms there is not a lot left to work with. I was able to template out the major parts except for the aft form. I will have to wing that one when we get there. Note to self, ENSURE all of the wood parts are sealed/waterproofed before skinning, you never know when a boat is going to be left out in the yard for a couple of years.

What a great opportunity to build another one! The forms are all cut out and the stringers will be ripped shortly. I am using AC 1/2" plywood for the forms and pine stringers cut to 3/4" square and 10' long.

Rehab Project

I built a 10ft skin on frame for a friends kids a few years ago. I wanted to see how a canvas skin over a pine and plywood frame withstood the test of time. I am pretty impressed how this thing held up. It was stored outside in the weather but the paint did quite well. The canvas did start to rot in places due to melting snow and catching the rain. The frame needs a little tlc and the rotten pieces will be replaced. In fact I just might use the parts as a template and build 3-4 more of them. The moral of the story is.... these little boats are tough, but try to keep them dry in storage and not at the bottom of a snow bank.

Moving on

Ok, time for the next project...

Carving a West Greenland Paddle from a cedar 2x4 is a lot of fun and takes about a day to complete. The dimensions are based on how wide your arm span is plus a little for the distance from elbow to wrist. First I hog out the basic shape on the band saw then cut the tapers with a block plane. Sanding follows that and finished up with a few coats urethane...

Done and Delivered!

And it is delivery day! Unfortunately the lake is frozen over and we cant put it in the water today. When spring comes I expect a grand launching...

Final Varnish

Ok here we go with the final coat of spar urethane. The shop is warm and things are drying well, even though I had to put a milk house heater underneath it to trap the warm air inside... It is a challenge to varnish at 50 degrees....
Just a couple final punch list things to do before delivery!

Seat Fittings

Now that the deck and gunnels are installed and sanded, its time to fit the seats and drill for the support bolts. The seats will have 3" risers to suspend the seats about 5" below the level of the gunnels. This will lower the center of gravity a bit and make the canoe just a touch more stable. It will also leave enough room to put your feet under the seat if you care to kneel and paddle.
The punch list is still pretty long but I hope to have a pre-xmas delivery date....

Decks on!

I now have the rough decks installed, glued and screwed in place. With small hand holds to ease lifting.  Next step is to round over all the edges, sand smooth and put on a protective coating of epoxy. The epoxy will also soak into any crack or crevasse and lock everything in place that I might have missed with my joinery.

Grab some thwart!

Ok, not much of a post today. I did manage to finish up the gunnels and carved out a thwart for the unfinished canoe. I ran into a source of 7/8" thick maple and used it to make a substantial, beautiful thwart. Of course it needs to be sanded.... everything needs to be sanded... sheesh!

The final punch list is still a mile long, but progress is being made....