JEM Watercraft

Taped the inside seams and filleted with epoxy/wood flour mix. Now to start cutting fiberglass strips.



This boat may get done yet! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I decided to push through to the next stage. The weather was to crappy for fishing anyways. I can't believe I just said that. It was in the 60s with off and on rain. Not to long ago I was sturgeon fishing in below freezing temps, and some days in the driving rain with temps in the low 40s (F). How quickly we get spoiled after a week of warm sunshine.

Anyways, I laid the cloth strips. I like to use up the scraps for the underside of the deck. It may end up a little heavier due to multiple overlaps, but it's easier to handle in the wet epoxy/wood flour fillets and it's easier on the wallet.

and wet them out. Now I have a general idea of what the deck will look like.

craiggamesh wrote:I decided to push through to the next stage. The weather was to crappy for fishing

At least you've made some progress - just goes to show that there really is always a silver lining!

This thing's going to look fantastic .

Thanks Bob. I am excited to see how the book matching of the strips turns out. I can't wait to wet out the deck. I think this one is going to be tough to let go. Ah well, a deal is a deal. At least I will be able to see it occasionally. Maybe I can get weekend visitation once a month. This will be the first boat I have built that has gone to someone else. My brother wants me to build him a boat as well.

craiggamesh wrote:Thanks Bob. I am excited to see how the book matching of the strips turns out. I can't wait to wet out the deck. I think this one is going to be tough to let go. Ah well, a deal is a deal. At least I will be able to see it occasionally. Maybe I can get weekend visitation once a month. This will be the first boat I have built that has gone to someone else. My brother wants me to build him a boat as well.

Just make sure you draw up a 'visiting rights' contract to go with each build! Or you could claim periodical QC inspections under the warranty. Then you'd have to take it for a paddle every so often to make sure things were still working right.

I hope you charge appropriately for all that expertise you are building up.

I like your QC routine warranty check-ups idea. I may have to implement that policy. As for charging, I enjoy doing it and it's for a friend so I could never do that. He keeps me out of trouble at work, as well.

Last night, I glued the front and back bulkheads in place. This morning, the future new owner of this kayak came over and we got a lot of work done on it. We both decided to make the three day weekend into a four day weekend. We sewed the deck to the hull. I prefer this method of attachment over the method in the plans. I don't know why, maybe because I am impatient and did not want wait for a sheer strip to dry overnight. I also figured I could save a little weight this way. Couple photos:





It looks fast in the last photo

Once the deck is glassed to the hull, I will cut out the hatches. This will give me access to the inside of the full length of the boat and I will run a fillet of epoxy/wood flour and a two inch strip of fiberglass the full length. I can also finish the end pours.

I hope to get it done by July 1!

Sanded, sanded and sanded. I hate sanding. I sanded the joint between the deck and the hull and removed all the epoxy/wood flour mess. Then, I took a break and went down to a paddle sports "boat" show. A couple fishing pros for Ocean Kayak and Hobie that I know were working their booths so I stopped by to say hi. The Hobie guy and I took out and Adventure Island tandem with the sailing rig. What a blast that was. You can really get moving with those things. However, at $5000, that was probably the first and last time I will be on one. Looks like I need to make some amas for my yaks.

When I got back, I did the saturation coat on the deck of the Okwata. Here is a few pictures:
From front


from back


and side view


Hopefully, I can glass her tomorrow.

Finally glassed her deck. I was just going to overlap the sides 2 inches, but I realized that there would be a lot more sanding involved to smooth out the edge of the glass. So, I let the glass hang all the way down the sides to the bottom of the chine. When the glass cured for a couple days, I trimmed it right along the joint where the bottom panels meet the side. I just have to do a little touch up along that line with some sand paper. You can barely notice it as it is. There are two layers of 4 oz on the side now, but the additional weight is worth the lack of sanding required. Speaking of weight, she came in at just under 40 pounds, so far. However, I will put graphite epoxy mix on the bottom still, and I need 2 fill coats on the side and deck. The combing will also have to be done. I may start on that tonight. I am hoping to finish up at 45 pounds, or less.

Here are a few pictures from various angles.

nice!!!