Let me add...

Posted by Robert N Pruden on Aug 21, 2007

"20. After I have stitched y kayak, I will take a LOT more time to ensure that EVERYTHING is true and fair. Along these lines I will use a few more copper wires for the bow and the stern. "

I used as many wires as necessary to ensure that the bow and stern were tightly bound regardless of how holey they might have looked.

"18. I will be more careful with my fillets. I believe good ones are narrow and neat. Mine are wide and SLOPPY! (New Tip Found on Forum: I will use making tape around fillets to make this a reality)"

I used a piece of okhume plywood shaped to the size of fillet I wanted. I laid out the thickened epoxy along the seam then scraped it with the shaped "tool" and got really nice fillets. The diameter of the shaped end of this tool reflects how thick the fillet will be. You won't need to use masking tape with this method.

"16. Once I put the fiberglass tape over my fillets, I will do a better job of ensuring that the tape is TRULY flat."

You can use that shaped tool to press the tape into the fillet. A stiffer bristled brush works well for this as well.

"14. I will NOT trim the excess deck with any form of power saw."

That is what 60-grit sand paper is for...works very quickly

"12. I will not cut my hatch openings with any form of power saw. Unless I have LOTS of practice!"

A very good quality jig saw allows you to make very straight neat cuts. The cheaper jig saws are not weighted so they are harder to control. I spent $$$$ on a good Bosch jig saw and man, it is one sweet tool to use.

"10. I will coat the cockpit section edges with un-thickened epoxy before installing."

Always wet out raw wood before using thickened epoxy. The raw wood will suck the epoxy out of the thickened mix, causing a weaker bond.

"7. When varnishing, I will work from a seated or kneeling position when possible to get my eyes closer to the work surface to better track my work."

Very good lighting helps when varnishing. Looking at the finish from different angles allows you to see the spots you missed, and the runs.

"1. I will SLOW DOWN!"

With experience, you will be able to build faster while doing a much better job. My first kayak took 4 months to build. The next one took me three months. The next one took 14 days (simpler form but same length as other two). each successive kayak was nicer than the previous.

In Response to: My First! Lessons Learned by Tim Clark on Aug 21, 2007

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