JEM Watercraft

A hard travel cover for the Freedom.
A while back I made one from nylon and the wind tore it up , so after putting on my thinking cap , I figured out a way to beat the system. I have been accused of thinking out side the box .....No, I will not mention his name , It's for Matt's protection......... My answer to the problem is called Left Over FIBERGLASS.

Cover the cockpit with plastic and then some glass. I ran a string from the front to the back over the open area in the cockpit to help hold the glass up and keep it from sagging



Then run some string around under the pins to pull it into the sides. This makes it fit under the top rail of the cockpit , against the sides and then out along the top of the kayak. Forming a C which a bungee cord can be used on later.



"C" Clamps can be used to hold it snug after the pins are removed. .



The string did not pull the back in because I wanted it to fit flush with the top of the coaming , this way it will slide over it when the cover is put on the boat. One of my tie down straps goes over that when it is on the vehicle.



Remove the clothes pins and epoxy the cover. I added a 2nd sheet of glass for more strength.



When it is set , remove it , trim the waste off and you have a cover , I will use some bungee cord around it for safety's sake. Right now it is getting some more epoxy because of the sanding I gave the edges.



A snug fitting , custom made , travel cover out of left over material for the Freedom. Water proof and almost bomb proof , this one I will not worry about blowing off when traveling from Florida to Canada for some paddling.
The Freedom has been camping an paddling on the Rivers and Lakes here in Florida , even out in the Gulf of Mexico and providing a lot good times. A little later this year she will be in the Canadian wilderness.

Chuck.

G'day Chucky,

Tis a stroke of genius mate. Well done.

Great idea Chuck. If I ever build a kayak I'll make one of those even if I have to buy the materials.

lncc63 wrote:Great idea Chuck. If I ever build a kayak I'll make one of those even if I have to buy the materials.

No Need to purchase it..... You would have the stuff to make it after making the boat , nothing more then left over glass and epoxy. It does not need to be perfect , just wind and rain proof to keep the elements (weather) out of the boat when traveling.

Have a few more ideas ....... Will post some pictures when it is done. It is done now , I just want to twink it a few notches. If I never tried it then I would never know. Nothing venture nothing gained or loss.

Chuck.

One of the ideas was to paint it since it is nothing but fiberglass and epoxy in place of using varnish. This will keep a lot of the suns rays out of the boat and protect the fiberglass and epoxy.

I used the Krylon Fusion which adheres to fiberglass.



For ventilation I drilled 4 1/16th holes at the front of it where the water will run off but let the cover breath with the changes of temperature. What water , if any , that would get in the boat will be an infinitesimal amount if any since it is on the higher area where the water will not puddle before running off the cover.

Looks like a cloth cover but it sure is not one.

Chuck.

Very cool Chuck.
Have you tested it on the boat at highway speeds yet?
I think I remember one of the higher end kayak companies (Epic maybe, maybe not) had a fiberglass cockpit cover that secured around the coaming and had a lock, to keep it in place, and the stuff stored in the cockpit, in the cockpit (if you know what I mean).

DM

haven't tried it on the road as of yet...... Just thinking that with a bungee cord around it and the strap over the back when the boat is on top of the Jeep it will not go anywhere.

The reason for the wood doweling over the back , where the back of the coaming is and the rear bulkhead is located will keep the tie down strap from moving or sliding off of it and to help to secure it.

I have pushed down on it really hard and it does not want to move , putting it on and taking it off has to be done a certain way or forget it....... it will stay there. I made it with to tight of a fit but in this case the tighter the better , which is what I wanted. A custom made and fit cover for that boat.

"O" the front strap also goes over the front of the cover when the boat is on the Jeep.......... The bungee cord is just some cheep insurance that it will not go anywhere.

Like our boats , we make them the way we want them , the paddles and all of the rest , even travel covers.

Chuck.
PS. I am sure it would be there without anything holding it in place , it fits that good.

On the boat ( The Freedom ) the center wants to dip a little when pushed down on it by me.

I was thinking of running some epoxy fillets at an angle to stop it but since I have some fiberglass tape , that will be added to the center area on each side to stop that flexing, with the epoxy fillet and wood flour. Got plenty so why not use it.. From back of the front crease in a < formation.

Was thinking of adding some wood strips but the curve in it makes that idea not to sound or feasible.

As I said this is a work in progress and I will get it right.

Chuck.

Not sure if you're talking about the cover flexing or the boat itself? I'm about to start my build, so if I need to add glass to the boat bottom, now would be the best time to find out.

Lee

PS nice travel hatch

Was thinking of adding some wood strips but the curve in it makes that idea not to sound or feasible.

As I said this is a work in progress and I will get it right.

Chuck.[/quote]

We here at the editors' board would like to apologize for allowing that comment get past us. We're strictly a "stitch and glue" site. References to strip building are just too high fillutin' for the likes of us!

Lee