Sometime around March 5, 2010 – The last posting showed a photo of the pieces of the hull ready to be joined together. Said photo was accompanied by a commentary about hundreds of hull holes, half as many wires and my shenanigans aimed at distracting me from my fears about poking so many holes into a vessel that needs to be waterproof.
Well, 264 wires have been placed into 555 holes (for those who can’t help but play with numbers when they see them, “why isn’t hole:wire::2:1 ?” some of the wires went through 3 holes, the third being the temporary braces that help to create the hull’s initial curvature). But I am getting ahead of the process.
Since the last posting, we received another snowfall of about 8 inches, our neighbor, Arlin, turned 80, and a lot of wires and planks of mahogany were joined. The Philadelphia area was already into record territory before this snowfall. So, time was spent digging out again. In many cases this is the only time I see some of my neighbors during the winter, so it usually turns into a series of updates over the snow blower throttle. On occasion, I pick up a shoe-fly pie made by Arlin's wife Esther as a 'thank-you" for digging them out. This was one of those occasions. I guess I can rationalize eating the delectable calorie-laden preparation because of the exercise I have just done.
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The snow rode in on winds, creating drifts that gently twisted, reminding me of the curves soon to be formed in the planks that will form my kayak. This drift hung around for several days before surrendering to the warming rays of March. I was able to get Bobbie to pause and smile in a pose under the drift. It warms my heart to know that she trusts me.All tolled, this storm brought our total to about 3 feet of standing snow with mounds piled as high as 6 feet, 15 to 20 feet in large parking lots.
Back to matters of kayak building...
Having read and reread the next set of instructions, and feeling confident, I located my 1/16" drill bit and wire cutter and began drilling and "stitching" the hull together. The first 2 pieces to be joined make up the center of the hull, called the keel - though there is no protrusion from the plane of the hull. This was an important moment of truth. A few nights ago, while laying in bed, mentally rehearsing the assembly process, I realized that a small error while joining the parts of the keel planks could result in a significant problem.
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You may recall that each plank that makes up the 16' hull was created by joining two 8' pieces. A small error of 1/16 of an inch at the joint would be exaggerated over the 8 foot length beyond the seam and a gap of 1/2 inch would result. Do that to both halves of the keel planks (in opposing directions) and you have a one inch discrepancy. Do that to both planks in the same direction and your boat looks like it has a case of peyronie's disease. Not good at all. To add to my heebiejeebies, this thought did not occur to me until after the joints were hard and fast. I hoped I had taken the appropriate care when I initially jointed the boards.
As it turned out, the two pieces fit together like they were made for each other. This view shows the wires in place, though not tightened. A critical eye sees that the gap is consistent along the entire length of the seam. Consequently, when the wires were tightened, the keel straightened up like a conservative getting the latest view on how to think from Rush.
Looking closely at the tips of the planks, you can barely discern the curvature at the end. When these tips are brought together, the shape begins to rise gently from the plane of the keel and begins to form the bow of the boat.
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As soon as the keel and two neighboring pieces are wired in place, temporary braces are added to help pull the sides of the hull up, forming the cavity of the hull. At this point, the craft is very wobbly and unstable and probably shouldn't be called a craft at all. As each successive piece is added, it looks more and more like a kayak, though flimsy.
More than one onlooker has looked askance at the wood and expressed doubt about its seaworthiness. However, the wood is only there to provide shape and beauty (the wood grain is 100% visible after the clear epoxy coating) the fiberglass and epoxy will provide the strength.
Soon, more epoxy will be measured, mixed, and massaged into the cracks to make the shape more durable and it will be on to the next lesson.
