JEM Watercraft

Hi,

I'm up to my elbow in my first attempt at a kayak, the Cape Fear. It seems to be going moderately well at this point. A couple of questions came up about finishing steps

I was wondering if anybody has tried to add a colorant to the final coating of epoxy and would be willing to pass on thier experince? Something along the lines of iron oxide...like the stuff they use to color cememnt. I've heard of people adding graphite but I was thinking it would be nice to add some sort of uv blocking pigment. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Second...I've found a nice design for a seat to put in this thing but I don't seem to be able to find any do-it-yourself foot braces. Again any input people have on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Troy

Coloring epoxy: Can be done with inexpensive pigments made exactly for that purpose. Any company that sells the epoxy should have the color pigment as well. There isn't any sort of filler that is a UV inhibitor. You'll still need to varnish or paint the hull. The exception to that seems to be graphite when mixed to about 20% by volume. But I don't think you'd want your entire kayak covered with that.

Footbraces: Those are bit more complex. You could rig up a foot bar that adjusts to multi positions. But fabricating your own footbraces is a toughy. I don't know of any plans out there for them. Maybe someone else will chime in with a link.

Troy,

I have some white pigment I bought from System 3. It is epoxy resin. After the first saturation coat on the glass inside my kayaks, I add a thin coat of white epoxy. This reflects light well so I can see up under my decks easier. i do not add bulkheads or cut hatches, so I like to see if something got left in a stem end. I whiten the entire inside.

Troy

I did the ... almost ..... very thing you are asking about to the Swamp Girl I made ....but with color , the UV protection is the varnish I used.
I Purchased the color pigment from Larry Steven's at RAKA and did the outside of the Girl with it. The color is in the epoxy (three coats) so it will never wear off unless it gets down to bare wood.
As I said the UV protection is in the varnish I used.

The bottom of it is graphite and epoxy.............

To save space on Matt's forum here is a link to the article and some pictures.

http://www.neilbank.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=673

Chuck.

Oldsparkey wrote:Troy

I did the ... almost ..... very thing you are asking about to the Swamp Girl I made ....but with color , the UV protection is the varnish I used.
I Purchased the color pigment from Larry Steven's at RAKA and did the outside of the Girl with it. The color is in the epoxy (three coats) so it will never wear off unless it gets down to bare wood.
As I said the UV protection is in the varnish I used.

The bottom of it is graphite and epoxy.............

To save space on Matt's forum here is a link to the article and some pictures.

http://www.neilbank.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=673

Chuck.

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for the response.

So to be sure I understand what you did. You put on three coats of green epoxy and then varnished over the three layers of green for uv protection.

Sounds like a good idea

Thanks again,
Troy

Kayak Jack wrote:Troy,

I have some white pigment I bought from System 3. It is epoxy resin. After the first saturation coat on the glass inside my kayaks, I add a thin coat of white epoxy. This reflects light well so I can see up under my decks easier. i do not add bulkheads or cut hatches, so I like to see if something got left in a stem end. I whiten the entire inside.

Thanks Kayak Jack....good idea, probably makes for a nice look too

Troy

Epoxy saturated the wood let it sit over night , lightley sanded it then put on the glass and after that sat over night I filled the glass weave with the three coats of epoxy with the color added to it.
Lightly sanded it and then two coats of varnish (Capt. Z Spar)

Chuck.

If using the color/pigment, be sure to mix a batch and apply a complete coat to the entire hull (don't do one half, mix another batch, and then do the other half.).

That way your color won't get mis-matched.

If it's a little different shade from coat to coat, no big deal.

One other point left unsaid so far - don't bother to varnish below the water line. Varnish is soft, and no need for UV protection there.

Maybe, draw a pictue of a sexy looking fish on the outside bottom of the boat? That would attract lunkers.