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After 150 hours and four months I put it in the water. Paddled beautifully. And I have the photos to prove it.
And then the usual lawn shots.
I added loops on the bow and stern with fiber rope that I learned from my surfboard making. Could have come out better but it was a good first time experiment. Will do it again on the next boat.
First time with photos so hopefully they come out on the post
Tom
7 replies:
RE: New WD12H Floats!
Tom,
GREAT LOOKING KAYAK !!!
Very very nice. We have a WD12 hybrid and we love it. You will find that it paddles just as good as it looks.
Whats next ? A full strip build maybe ?
Lou
RE: New WD12H Floats!
Nice one Tom. It's fun to see how many Ducks are coming ready lately. Any chance of more details on the grab handles?
Welcome to the fleet,
Laszlo
RE: New WD12H Floats!
Thanks for all the comments. She coasted nice and smoothly. I think the graphite epoxy bottom makes a difference. Plus I launched from a wooden ramp and there should have been plenty of scratches on the bottom but I saw nothing when I picked her up. The black did start to turn to gray as expected but that is something to cleanup and reapply in the off season. Next time I may do the graphite as a waterline. This time I just epoxied it up to 1 in. above the chine. I think it would look better in the water with it as a waterline. Though it would be harder to line out.
The hand graps are made from fiber rope. Basically long strands of fiberglass. You can buy them from surfboard shops where they do repairs. The rope is mainly used for putting the fins on. You tack the fin in place, then soak the rope in epoxy and wrap it around the base of the fin. It's better and lighter then using a fillet. You can also find leash loops made with it instead of the plastic plugs. I soaked about a 1.5 feet of the rope in epoxy, then squeezed the excess epoxy out. Then twisted it to keep it together and set it in place using packing tape to keep it there. You need to fan out the ends to distribute the load. Ideally I should have put them in place after laying the glass and before putting filler coats on. That way I could have hidden the fanned out areas but I did this as an afterthought. I didn't want to sand it too smooth in that area because it would cut into the strands and lose any strength it had. I then wrapped them in twine to give that nautical look. They are only about three fingers wide. I made them more for padeye use then handholds. I think they would have been too big and obstrusive if they were big enough to put your hands through. But I may try bigger ones next time depending on the design. Not sure how long they'll last but I figure if they crack or break or I don't like them, I can just cut them off and sand it flush.
RE: New WD12H Floats!
Nice strip planking! Did you think of the configuration? Is there any place I could find examples for designs to follow?
RE: New WD12H Floats!
Some of the desgin is dumb luck but most of it is from looking at tons of pictures from this site and many others to get an idea of what you like and don't like and what you have the skill to do. I try not to do the same thing twice. On every project you should try to do something different or add in a small detail that you haven't done before and raise your skill level. I recently did a dovetailed compass box for a friend. Next time I will consider doing dovetails but add inlays or different joints. Not because I've mastered the past skills but because I want to learn new ones. Next kayak I may try herringbone pattern. I'm already thinking about getting Resolute plans for a full stripper or plans for a Grey Seal sailboat. Either way I should think about selling what I already have to pay for the future builds.
RE: New WD12H Floats!
» Submitted by Flats - Sun, 5/8/11 » 1:13 PM
Let me try that again. Not sure why I'm getting doubles