benhardt57

I hope it works out for you, but this approach is surprising when the title of your post is "lightest coating". I'm thinking it ends up heavier than Rustoleum. -Ben

I'm really glad to hear how things turned out. Get well fast Jeff!

Really nice looking kayak! Can you describe the fabric you used? "COVID-19 changed every thing: " Actually it was the forced lockdowns that has done the most damage.

Looking good! That looks like a heavier fabric than what I used. Have you used an iron to tighten it up yet?

It would be a LOT easier just to order a set of plans. -Ben

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Maybe because I had some on hand, I settled on paintable caulking. Using a caulking gun I forced it down and inside the damaged fabric. Then using a putty knife I smoothed out the area making it flush with the surrounding area. After a day of cure time, then 3 coats of Rustoleum you can't even tell it was damaged. And it doesn't leak!

I assume the average age of your customer is increasing every year. Building a kayak (or anything for that matter) requires too much attention span for your typical young person these days.

The surface of the ramp was very rough, coarse asphalt. I suppose for better traction. It looks like a high point created a 3/4" dimple, cutting through the paint and damaging the fabric, though not a clear through hole. I had nearly an inch of water after 45 minutes of paddling.

I messed up. Last night, down at a boat ramp, I hopped in my kayak too close to the edge of the water where it was too shallow. The attached picture shows what happened. Now I need to know the recommended repair method. Can you guys help me out?

I messed up. Last night, down at a boat ramp, I hopped in my kayak too close to the edge of the water where it was too shallow. The attached picture shows what happened. Now I need to know the recommended repair method. Can you guys help me out?

I'm curious to know where you placed in the race, how many were in it, and what was the winner's time? - Ben

It would be a little easier to tell if your laminated beam was in your pictures. But regardless, are you aware that the top surfaces of your two beams end up flush with the top surface of the laminated beam? I haven't looked at the plans for a while, so I don't recall if they show notches, but that's how I did my Shortshot.

Hi Jason. Welcome aboard! I built a Short Shot during the winter of 2016. At the moment, I don't have time to say a lot, so I'll respond with some quick answers and maybe others can chime in too. 1. Buying the kit will not exempt you from 'wood working'. But the wood is soft and easy to cut. Also, it's a simple frame to be covered, not a grandfather clock on display so it doesn't have to look perfect. 2. I paddle on the Hudson River too, but up around Albany/Troy so I don't see a lot of waves. You should be fine though if you're experienced in those conditions. I recently paddled several yards from the edge of a calm lake and jumped in the water just to see if I could get back in. I did no problem. 3. I'm a little taller than you and about 20 lbs heavier, but I don't carry much on board with me. She tracks just fine. 4. Your size 9's should fit just fine. 5. I don't have a spray skirt and I haven't rolled my Short Shot. Someone else will have to answer that one. Good luck! - Ben

Does anyone else see a red bearded pirate paddling the red boat in the bottom picture? Oh, btw, I like your Ravenswood.

This idea may or may not help. I guess it needs to be verified. I built my Short Shot back in winter 2017 using loose weave polyester and three coats of Rustoleum. Because I had so much water coming in after just minutes, I added another coat of paint. It seemed to help a little, but was far from satisfactory. This past May (2018) I decided to add another coat, but with an emphasis on filling in the pores in the fabric. With a mini-roller I liberally applied paint to about 2 square feet. Then with a folded microfiber towel, I rubbed it in with a circular motion as if waxing a car. Lastly, I smoothed the area with another pass of the roller. I did this for the entire bottom of the boat. Saturday I took her out for the first time since last summer and was very satisfied with the results. Of course now I have five coats of paint, so did the trick actually solve my problem? Would this problem have been solved sooner if I tried this procedure back on coats 2 and 3? I may never know. I'd like to hear from anyone that get a chance to try it and has success. - Ben

Cool! Looks good. I thought it was always summer there in SoCal.

I agree. Those are the conclusions I came to also.

Interesting. Last summer I started thinking about sail catamarans, and whether there were kits available. I googled them and wasn't able to find any SOF versions. I would really like to see one if such a boat is practical.

I carried a circular saw with me to the warehouse when I bought my plywood. I had determined that a cut right down the middle would work for me. For insurance reasons, though, they insisted on making the cut for me. I don't know which boat you're building, but for my Short Shot, I cut out all of the frames and three coaming rings, and still had some left over material. I ended up not using the rings because I decided on building a laminated coaming. If you are careful when laying out your patterns, you should have no problem at all making the 5x5 work. One more thing. There's really no reason to use your nice Baltic Birch plywood for making your strong back brackets. Any wood you have laying around that's adequate thickness should work. Have fun!

While we're on this topic, I have a question about loosening fabric. I built my Short Shot last February to April and thought the skin (8 oz) turned out well. I got out and paddled her a few times during the summer and then put it away in the basement when it turned cold.........since I don't have a need for hunting baby seals. Now the skin seems to be relaxing. When the weather warms up again, will setting the kayak out in the sunshine fix the problem, or will I need to use a heat gun on it?

Very nice!

Measure all your brackets to their back face. Then fasten the coresponding frame front faces to them. Front face to back face. That's how they share the same planes. The relation between the end of your strong back and the end of your kayak is not critical.

I recommend investing in a pair of scissors. Just kidding. I guess your jagged edges were from your jig saw.

Denis, I was about at the stage you are when I decided to ditch my plywood rings and build a laminate coaming. No regrets. If I build another kayak I'll do the same. But Jeff is not exaggerating, it's a lot of work. A lot of the effort was because it was my first, though. You would need to make the necessary fixtures and buy a lot of clamps unless you already have them. It wasn't essential to radius the corners, but I wanted to. That required the purchase of some new router bits. Good luck! - Ben

Oh by-the-way, your FROG looks great!