Aethyr

Launched!

Actually I was wondering how long I should let it dry before putting it in.

And the last coat is on!

Looks like I developed a slight bend at the very tail end of the boat. Hopefully a light lean will fix it. Here is coat #2 on the bottom drying: And from the back (which isn't stitched as nicely, at least up close and personal like I took this): I mentioned it in another thread, I am using Rustoleum Marine Spar varnish which is an oil based polyurethane which is supposedly UV/Salt Water/Mildew resistant, and expands/contracts with the weather (perhaps more flexible?) from Lowes at $12/quart.

This stuff is suppose to be very mildew/uv/salt resistant.

No stain, just clear. I kinda expect it to be slightly yellow/brown looking at the *cough* drips *cough* on my coaming.

I am planning on using Rustoleum's Marine Spar Varnish Anyone have any experience with it? Also, how much do you think you need for a 16 footer?

Front turned out MUCH better than the back. I figured better to practice on the back first..

Didn't get any pictures of sewing on the coaming. Here is the start of the whip stitch: Looking down the front of the kayak. Get to see my foot pedals and the interior of the coaming: Down the back of the kayak: A little more whip stitch: And the front done:

I took a weekend long blacksmithing class last year. Made some coat hooks (basic forge use, basic hammering/shaping), 6" iron ring (practice forge welding), chisel (tempering) and 1 project of your choice. I picked blacksmithing tongs (giant pliers). I like the idea of knife making and decorative ironwork.

Back half done sewing the straight stitch: Around the stern I am still not 100% happy with it. The entire back half could be re-stitched. As my wife said, it looks like man sewing to her: Front half complete: I swear the tiniest wrinkles show up like crazy in the pictures. It should stretch out all the wrinkles once I am done ironing it. Also I got a few new toys at the house to play with: as well as One friend had a forge but no anvil, and another friend an anvil but no forge. I generously offered to store them both at my place!

Link to Curlew Buildlog Part 1 Link to Curlew Buildlog Part 2 Part 2 took me through building the frame and a laminated coaming. Not shown is the floor boards and rail/foot pedals. Skin is starting to go on! Fabric is pinned to the centerline with pushpins. Sides pulled taut and pinned up as well. Here is the front. Some of the fabric has been trimmed down: And the back half I used the spring clamps as glorified pins to pull the fabric tight around the frame. After I used the spring clamps, I pulled out the pushpins and tried to remove any slack possible. The back part around the curve going horizontal to vertical has some slack fabric that I am not sure how I am going to remove. I am going to sew up to there and hope it works itself out by then. I have finished up the foot pedals and I am waiting for the varnish to dry before buttoning up the front half. I am also working on drilling the sew holes on the coaming. before starting the actual sewing part. I hope that I can get this into the water in a couple of weeks!

There is a good place for Baltic Burch plywood in Kalamazoo if you are on this side of the state: Elenbaas Hardwood. They also had clear WRC in 16' boards that they ripped for me for no extra charge for stringers. The WRC was special order, arrived the next day.

http://foldingkayaks.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4272

Unfortunately the forum software doesn't let me bump up my old build log. So here is the old link: Curley build log. To sum it up, I have built the frame, tied everything up except the floor boards. I built the mold for the coaming. Then summer came along and life got busy. Now that I have a bit more free time, I am starting the kayak project again. First layer I don't think I got enough glue in the first joint, since the glue didn't overflow like it did on the second layer. You can see the butt joint with the 2nd layer on this second picture. So far I haven't had to use a heat gun to bend it, just enough clamps.

Make scale models for displaying at events/fairs/etc. 12' kayak make into ~12" kayak? so people can get a feel for various models.

http://techpur.com/internet/google-internet/how-to-add-connect-google-plus-to-twitter-and-facebook/ Describes how to repost from G+ to Facebook and Twitter at the same time.

Also, may want to ask on G+ and not here, cause if they are exclusively G+, they aren't going to respond on the forums

P.S. I found you via Blue Heron's forums if you are trying to figure out which sites are worth keeping up with. I also read Guillemot Kayak forum regularly as well.

I am following you on G+, the RSS feed from your blog, and the forums. If I post feedback, it is generally going to be where there are the most users commenting on it, which is generally the forums. The nice thing about G+ is I have a circle of boat builders that I publish my updates to, and I get my boat-building "fix" from. Basically it is Frank Hagan's circle posted here: http://messing-about.com/forums/topic/7680-google-boat-building-circle/ + added you as well. It won't hurt me at all if you stop doing the G+ republish of your posts, you just may want to list the other places you post your updates to in your farewell to G+ post so anyone that only got updates there can find you again. Personally I would keep the republish option going (you can have programs that will push your update to Facebook, G+, Twitter (as a link) at the same time you publish your blog post). If you are really into it, I am sure you can have it do your forum post as well, though that might require a custom built script add-on. Your feedback will just be scattered into several places, but you will get more coverage. So I would turn on email-updates so you get notified of which place you got a response on to track your feedback better. Most people (85+%) are lurkers, so even if you are getting 0 feedback, that doesn't mean they aren't reading your posts and potentially buying your plans/materials. I personally wouldn't buy an involved kit from a company that doesn't have regular content aka blog/forum/very active Facebook or G+ community. It would feel like they are in it for just the $$$ and not offer much after-sales support without the content. Whether the potential for additional sales and/or feedback is worth your extra time checking multiple sites is completely up to you. Whether you are as busy with your business as you would like or are starved for work would play a big part in that decision.

Everything is all tied up, except the floor boards and coaming. The big box store's selection of maple has alot to be desired. My neighbor several doors down runs an amateur saw mill in his pole barn that is bigger than my house, in his retirement. Haven't talked to him since we moved in, going to have to go knock on his door. Reading woodgears.ca has gotten me interested in sawmills, so it will be a fun trip if I can get him to show off. Will making the coaming larger to make it sit on the frames in front/behind of my seat be any problem? I was thinking of lashing the coaming to the frames to prevent it from moving until I strap it down. Or should I peg the stringers back on as suggested?

I haven't made the coaming yet, perhaps I will oversize it an inch...

Thanks! Went out and bought 8 2" C Clamps. Quick question, is the center deck stringer suppose to lay flush to the frame? Or overlap some? I cut it flush, but now I am doubting myself.