GPStick

Went for a paddle today. Surprising how easy she maneuvers with the long keel line and minimal rocker. Comfortable too.

Thanks, Paul

OK, photo on grass. All that is left is the deck line behind the cockpit and 1 surprise that is in shipping. Test paddle coming up Sunday.

WOW, Great! Thanks.

Good, the hull has almost 2 weeks now what with 1 coat per day. Putting on lines now and painters. Then the rub strips. BTW, how did you anchor the tubing to the floatation bags? The valve is easy to find but the connection to the bag isn't.

No, stick with the iron. Even that needs to be kept moving but not quickly. I have used the heat gun on nylon and the last time almost lost the skin. This material is not as tough. The iron will work really well, just have to find the touch. And you'll see it when you do.

WOW, I can finally upload some photos. The shrinking went very well. At first I wasn't sure but I just slowed down the iron and let it heat a little more. First time I have done this without wetting out the fabric before ironing. I will admit to a few holes in the stitching by being too aggressive with the thread. Will have a better feel next time. Have the Lexall on hand. Need it for the hatch rims anyway. Holes are melted for the deck rigging and hardware is on the workbench. Finally made a paint decision but you all just have to wait. Went ahead and installed the seat back. Did a variation on the book as I just wasn't content with screws. Found a type of T nut with out teeth and thru bolted. Used the caulk to seal up. My rope lip looks pretty good to me. Like the black so all deck lines will be black. It was easy to do and I decided not to attach the seat back to the rope like I had originally thought. Just a shot of the skin shrunk out.

I wanted to upload some pic's today but can't. I'm in waiting mode now. Need the paint and a final decision on my color. Try tomorrow.

Had a couple frustrating parts but all in all, yes.

Things are looking a little better And the stern should turn out pretty well

I finally got the stern stitched. Today I worked off and on with the rope stitch. Got past the bow hatch and 2/3 rds to the bow and then pulled it back out and am trying again. Maintaining uniformity is not going well. Hoping to do better tomorrow.

Considering that Jeff sent his sinus stuff north to me (at least that's my story) I'm pleased with the progress. The bow is laced up and I'm back to the stern stem. But my forearm muscles are screaming trying to squeeze the fabric together and I need more than i have to work out the compound curves at the stern. Did anyone else have trouble there? If I lift, pull and squeeze too much there are wrinkles on the top, if I don't they end up down the back. I've pulled the lacing out twice and I'm done for today.

T That hasn't been working out all that well this winter. I did cut some 3" holes in the back hatch plywood and then weighed them. 4.6 oz. So I quit and went back to sewing. The stern hatch arrived today and it fits in my cutout.

Well, that is a thought. The rear hatch is a bigger piece too. Yes, went with the 1/2" as it was stiffer. You said you had to reinforce for flex with what you used. I didn't catch that you had mover the hatch forward another space. Thinking about how to cut some holes with the cloth in place. Stitched up to the bow hatch now from coaming.

No, I carved that myself. I had purchased the foam from Redfish several years back to use and never done it so... I had done one from the foam from Kayakfit but this was better material. It isn't hard to do

Here is another didn't get one outside so this will have to do. Was proud of the way my seat turned out.

Paul, Same thing I did. I wasn't expecting that high a number and I'm perplexed.

Sorry, I forgot. Curlew. You used slats for seat and I used plywood. You didn't install hatches either. Checked the numbers 4 times. Only using bathroom scale but should be right or close.

My frame is done and oiled so I thought I'd check to see how much it weighed. 29# with the coaming and my thighbracing nested on the seat planks. I'm going with hatches on this frame so I have additional plywood there. How does that stack up with others?