Those are bottom panels, not side panels?  They don't have sheer clamps now attached to them?  In any case, it looks like you've got significant misalignment.  I would try to separate the scarph joints, and realign them.  The standard method is to apply heat.  If you use a heat gun, use a low setting and don't hold it too close to the wood, because it's easy to leave scorch marks on the plywood.  Go slowly and give the heat time to penetrate deeply into the scarph joint.

If they actually are side panels, with sheer clamps recently attached, I'd be tempted to see if the epoxy is still soft enough so they can be easily removed.  If they can't, you could try taking them off with heat.  But if that doesn't seem feasible, the only solution is to try to fair the lower edge with a stiff batten, and hope for the best.  Good luck.

They are bottom hull panels, the side panels with the sheer clamps attached came out perfect so I was a little shocked when I saw the problem.

 If I use heat to seperate them I need more epoxy to glue it back together, or will it still be tackey enough to just realign the joint?

Thanks,

Jason

Jason you will definitely need to use fresh thickened epoxy.  The mating surfaces will probably need the old epoxy removed also.  To clean them up I'd start with a carbide scraper (a regular scraper will work too) and then switch to sanding.

While you're at it, you might also want to check that your other scarphs are correctly aligned, because that's very important.  The plans &/or instructions probably show how to do that using a taut string as a reference.  Before you reglue them it's good to have a system in place so the panel sections don't slip out of alignment when you squeeze the epoxied joint together.  I like to tack them to the work surface with small brads, but clamps also work well, depending on your setup.

Got them cut apart and re-glued last nght, t worked like a champ, all lined up now. I had it nailed down but I guess not good enough the first time. Used clamps and blocks screwed to keep in it line.

Now time to drill holes and start stitchin, see if I can make it look like a kayak!

Thanks

Jason

Jason, it'll start looking like a kayak VERY soon (well, at least a canoe, till the deck's on).  If you start on a Sat morning you'll have a wired hull by Sun afternoon, I'm sure!

If it's not too late, you might consider using the zip ties instead of wire.  I used wire, ran out twice and broke lots of my twisties along the way.  I used zip ties on the ends (after my second supply of wire exausted) and they're MUCH easier to put in/tighten.  Also, they'll pull right out of epoxy fillets, whereas wire isn't as friendly in that department.

Good luck, and keep posting pics - love to see the progress,

Larry

Unfortunately it is too late, stitched it together to day and tabbed it up so I could pull the wires out before I did the fillets. I had the same problems with the wire, ran out with the two coils that came with the kit and had to go buy another 25ft of wire and then broke a few while tightening it down. It was a long day working on it but well worth it. Hopefully I'll have the inside expoyed and fiberglassed by the end of the day monday. We'll see how many BBQs I have to attend.

All sorts of new pics posted

 http://picasaweb.google.com/107267314409083170158/Chesapeake17Build?feat=directlink

Anymore advice? I'm all ears, it's been quite fun.

Jason

Jason, that looks great (and eerily familiar!).

No advise, but you can see a similar build at this post: http://www.clcboats.com/forum/clcforum/thread/5940.html

It's the log I kept while building my 17LT. 

Enjoy, and keep taking / posting pictures,

Larry

Thanks for the post, I followed lit last year while you were building it, I really enjoyed it. I have it book marked now for reference.

I pulled out the wires last night and taped up the inside to do the fillets and glass the interior. I was real nervous waiting for the epoxy tabs to fail and the whole boat sprung apart making me start over, but thank goodness it did not. :)

I hope to get to the fillets and glassing tomorrow morning.

Where I am currently at:

Knitron,

Your last pics/link didn't post.  That said, thanks for the kind words vis-a-vis my "log."   I pulled the entire thing out into a word document and might make a small manual from it later.

I took my boat out today for the second time... she's extremely easy to paddle.  I'm still quite anxious about tipping over (where I am there's no bank you can pull over to for re-entry, leaving only a wet re-entry option - quite challenging!), but am starting to think that as long as I don't do anything wierd/wild, she'll cruise along at a nice clip, stable as can be.  Lots of fun on the water, you'll be happy you built yours. 

The only down side to having it finished - taking it out - is that EVERYONE stops you and askes if you built it.  Then they tell you how beautiful it is.  At first, it's a great compliment; but after a while you find yourself telling the same story over and over and over again!  I love the compliments but I'm gonna have to come up with a shorter story-line for those admirers, it's starting to cut into my paddling time!  (haha, just being fescetious).

Look forward to the final product, and your first paddle report.

Larry

Did the whole inside today in one step. That was a lot of epoxy to mix up. Got all the fillets in, taped, and glassed the cockpit today. Took a good 4hrs luckily my wife lets me work on it so long :)

Updated pics posted.

http://picasaweb.google.com/107267314409083170158/Chesapeake17Build?feat=directlink

 Jason

I got the hull sanded this morning and hoping to glass tonight, but not sure if I'll have the time.

 looking at yesterdays work it turned out good, but I had a question about the glass tape. The edges of the tape seem awful rough and I was wondering if anyone else had this problem and if they sanded it down a little to smooth it out? i was thinking of taking some 80 grit paper and sand the edges to take the bite out of it. In the cockpit it is no big deal cause the fiberglass cloth that covers it.

Thanks, Jason

Jason,

I remember that glass tape as having a sewn or finished seam on one edge.  I had to go with 4" wide (no 3" when I ordered it) and if I recall, in some cases I cut the edge off prior to using it.  In other cases I did what you suggested, 80 grit and an orbital grinder/sander to smooth it over. 

Your fillets look great in the pictures..., using the blue tape probably added some time but the extra effort payed off in spades!  I skipped that option and wound up with wide, uneven fillets.  Again, looking very good.

Glassing the hull will be easier than the cockpit - convex surfaces seem to be easier to control epoxy runs / spread more than concave, like the cockpit.  Will go fast, but you'll again be surprised in the amount of epoxy you mix up.  I bought dollar-store plastic measuring cups and mixed 3/4 cups (1/2 resin to 1/4 hardner - MAS) at a time.  A good amount for that kind of job.  When I taped my inner seams I mixed up a cup and a half and by the time I got to the last seam, my cup went exothermic (I think that's it) and burnt my brush to a black cinder... thought I was gonna need a fire extinguisher!!!  Good luck; remember, less is more.

Look forward to continuing pics.  Have you decided on a paint/varnish scheme yet?

Larry

I got the hull glassed last night, took 2 1/2 hrs, 1/2 hr was just laying the glass out straight. Then cutting off the extra then ahcing to smooth it all over again. It was easier to glass the outside than the cockpit, A lot less frustrating too. Got a late start and was up till 1AM.

On the varnish scheme I am planning on doing a graphite bottom and varnishing the rest, too many concrete boat docks around here and too little beach, some of the slow moving rivers are rocky too. 

Thanks for the help and info.Time to flip it back over and work on the inside again. Need to geet rid of those rough edges.

Jason

Should have new pics up soon.

Finally back from a family reunion and able to get started again. I sanded off the rough edges inside and did another layer of epoxy before I left, i also got the extra fierglass on the bow and stern for abrasion resistance.

Deck beam is installed, didn't use the screws in it, make a quick jig with a stick wrapped in wax paper and a couple clamps, turned out real solid.

More pics have been posted.

http://picasaweb.google.com/107267314409083170158/Chesapeake17Build?feat=directlink

Got the deck attached last night with the help of my wife, thank goodness too, it went rather quick, abou 2 hrs. Had a couple of complications but nothing I won't get over. The deck in one spot barely met with the sheer clamps. I will fill it in with a scrap piece of ply. Most likely I will end up running a stripe along the deck edge to cover up some of the mistakes, but all in all. I like it, finally looks more like a kayak than a canoe!

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HrSSUR17Rcg0e5RwqQPlmQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Av7SyVePGr0/TEC3puKNn-I/AAAAAAAAAaM/TpEtFix4pOU/s400/100_1016.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/107267314409083170158/Chesapeake17Build?feat=embedwebsite">Chesapeake 17 Build</a></td></tr></table>

My mess up

Jason

Well that didn't work, here is the link to my mess up

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HrSSUR17Rcg0e5RwqQPlmQ?feat=directlink

 Jason

Got the cockpit combing on tonight and hatches cut. I wish I had more clamps than I do, atleast stronger ones, the pipe clamps don't really cut it for that much force. I made it work though. Getting a whole lot closer to the finishing stages of the kayak. Hopefully I can get the hatch covers done this week. Got too many reunions to deal with. I'l have t post updated pics.

Jason

Great build thus far. Amazing how similar it looks to mine at the various stages. 

Here is a link to my build.

 http://picasaweb.google.com/dcgralnick/Chesapeake17LTDell?authkey=Gv1sRgCLaHzZuZxf_KsgE&feat=directlink

Dan-Fl 

Thanks for the link Dan, I agree there are a lot of simular pics. I like the fire engine red, looks good.

Spent a little time of the boat tonight, got the hatch covers all glued up and coated the hatch stiffiners in epoxy. Did a dumb move and stuck my head in the foward hatch to make sure I got epoxy everywhere I needed and when I pulled my head out, you guessed it got all sorts of epoxy in my hair. Didin't manage to bad between the shampoo and vinager to get it out though.

Got the boat out of the garage and into the yard for some sun. Couldn't keep the kids out of it. I can tell you the deck doesn't even flex from 25 pounds of pessure. My son kept walking from bow to stern and sitting in every whole as he did. I finally got it off the ground, and he was still trying the climb on it.

 Tell me what you think

Jason

Finally back to it again, done with the family reunions till next year, back to the boat. Spent a few hours doing some sanding. I reckon I have done about 6hrs and still have a good 3 more to go for my finish sanding. Got the hull finished sanded and did graphite tonight. Did 2 coats and it came out clean and real nice. The coats were put on about 4hrs apart. But the first cost was still setup so well you would have thought I put it on 10hrs ago. Pealed the tape off about a half hr after the second cost since it had set nicely. Tape came clean off with a good line. The bugs decided to land on it though so I will have to clean them off tomorrow after it is setup. Most of them are still live just their feet are now permanetly glued to boat. 

Here are some more pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/107267314409083170158/Chesapeake17Build?feat=directlink

Jason

Been making more progress, got the the sheerline painted with the graphite, looks sweet. It should protect the edges of the deck like a rub rail should. Well here are some pics.

knitron,

That looks awesome!  The graphite really makes the bird "pop!"

When is launch date?

Larry

I'm hoping to have it's first launch this next weekend, Aug 6th and 7th, I need to clean shop and get ready for varnish. Hopefully I will get that done tomorrow morning so I can start varnishing tomorrow evening.