Really nice! Welcome to the pod!

Dan

Very nice!  Thanks for posting this.  It's inspiring.

Dave

Dave,

It was always a pleasure talking with you. Your boat is just as I thought it was going to be, absolutely beautiful! Enjoy

Beautiful boat.  I just finished a petrel and love paddling it.  

Is there a conspiricy to make Petrel's dark? I notice Nick's, the CLC demo, and now yours are all dark colors.  I'm beginning to feel like mine doesn't belong.  Just kidding. 

Ed

The color is darker than I was hoping for.  It was the first time I used an alcohol based stain.  Next timer I will really thin it, and build the color more slowly.  The deck is unstained, that is the natural color of the Sapele.  The bottom is the Alaskan yellow cedar with Peruvian Walnut accents, unstained.  I don't know how to roll, so I didn't show the bottom. That will change.  Also, the lighting was awkward, so the photos aren't that good.  

Today I was thinking about how it handles, and I compared it to a Lie-Nielsen block plane vs a HD special, or a quality hand built Italian bicycle, or a high end Nikon SLR.  I have 4 Kayaks, one better plastic, an sit on top for fishing, a Shearwater Sport, and now the Petrel.  They equate to a Honda, a '75 Ford F250, a BMW and a Porsche Carrera. Life is Good.

Hey Dave,

If that's you zip code you're not too far from me (10588). We could get the Petrels together for a play date.

Dan

I am in Warwick.  Send me an email dbartnowski at me dot com.

Beautiful, beautiful boat Dave.

I'm just starting my Shearwater Hybrid and I'm thinking of a CF liner to the cockpit. Any tips or problems with this?

I'd love to see pics of your invisible hatch hold down system which I would also like to do.

Mike

I made carbon fiber-fiber glass padeyes, eyes and hooks to accomodate the shock cord.  The lip is molded from the same carbon fiber-fiber glass.  I am using a thin blade putty knife to open the hatches, but that isn't such a good thing.  I am thinking about drilling and using a soft loop to open the hatches, but am hesitant to drilling a series of holes.  Need to be in the right mood.  On the aft hatch I first put on 4 hooks, but they were too hard to use, so I added two in between, centered, and they is easier.  I just left the others in place.  I made simple wood tensioners, similiar to what is used with tent tie downs, to make it easier to adjust the shock cord. The eyes on the hatches is for a lanyard, but it is another thing I haven't gotten aroud to. I also need to give the undersides of the hatches a coat or two of varnish.

Using the carbon fiber on the interior of the cockpit, I think caused the hull sides to come in after it cured.  It was a battle to get it back to the right width.  Next time I would put spacer battens in place as soon as the epoxy is hard to keep the hull width to spec.  The CF is a little tricky because it is a loose weave and distorts very easily, and doesn't really cut to a clean edge.

CF hooks and padeyes, very cool!

I don't know how to make those so I will probably have to stick to wood.

Is epoxy application to CF the same as for FG ?

Mike