Re: end pours

Posted by Dave Houser on Apr 27, 2004

Since your deck is on, you will not be using dams. Just stand your kayak on end.

The end pours serve four purposes, complete the deck to side seam beyond the end of the shear clamps, make a watertight block to drill through for the toggle handles, add collision strength to the bow, and to provide structure to mount a rudder. If you extend the shear clamps all the way to the point of the bow and stern and find another way to mount toggles you don't need an end pour (except you will want one at the stern if you mount a rudder). I think CLC recommends the end pours because they are so much easier than making the mitered cuts in the shear clamps where they touch.

I run the shear clamps all the way to the end and use a short length of copper tubing for the toggle through hole. Some guys install the suitcase handles CLC sells. (Toggles are better in the surf to allow the boat to spin without spinning your arm.)

End pours can be minimized if you tilt the kayak 45 degrees with one shear pointing down. Pour the unthickened epoxy down the shear clamp between the deck and the clamp. Wait for it to set and rotate the boat and pour a little more epoxy down the other shear clamp. This is not only a neat way to get the epoxy to the end of a leaning kayak it will also seal any interior gaps between the deck and shear clamp.

If your shear clamps stop short of the end and you are doing your pours before the deck glass is on, mask the outside of the seam to keep epoxy from leaking out of the seam gaps where the shear clamps are missing.

In Response to: deck glass by Dave on Apr 27, 2004

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