Kayak Build, Part 9

We finally finished the painting, and have almost finished all the small parts! It is true that the last 10% is 90% of the work.



Little J helped do the final painting steps, which took about 3 weeks longer than anticipated. We ran into problems with the easypoxy on the combing for some reason, and had to sand it off. There was a yellow film that appeared and was fairly tacky, so not once, not twice, but three times it needed removed and sanded down to the wood. Even the final coats also would not setup properly in a few small places and is still a little tacky in places. I have a feeling this winter will be sanding and refinishing the combing all over again.

One thing Jordan also helped (and picked) was the red tie-down bungie cords. I am not sure I am totally sold on the color combinations he chose, but it was his kayak, so he got to pick. He is lobbying hard to name it "The Scurvy Dog", so I really hope to change his mind!

The Hatch:

The hatch is still not quite finished yet, but we did get the magnets all epoxied in, which seems to hold it down fairly tight. I talked a little about it in Part 4, but actually didn't know if it would work until I got it all built.

Here you can see we put 10 magnets around the hatch, each inset into the deck and epoxied/fiber glassed over them:





On the hatch, we ran into problems and had to cut some reliefs in the stiffner and then re-stiffen it with a camber to match the deck, finally just epoxying the magnets right on top of the wood. I will have to finish the hatch with an epoxy spread, and then paint it all white to match. Ultimately we will tie the hatch down with a bungie inside, just in case it the magnets let lose and it comes off.



It was actually a pretty tight fit, and I needed to put a knife in to pry the it off and break the magnetic seal. To finish the hatch we will either need to put a pull hole in the hatch, or a knob on the top to help open it.

Still to do:

• Finish the seat for Jordan, as it needs to be adjustable for his small height.
• Splice the ends of the rope together where the carry points are (I just tied them in a knot for now).
• Talk Little J out of naming it "The Scurvy Dog" and into something more, er, normal.
• Still some touch-up paint that needs done where the white bled through the tape.
• Install a water bottle holder. Yes, Little J has insisted on such an addition.
• End-pour, and if needed, some floats inside for buoyancy.
  

It is good enough for now to take it for the inaugural spin this weekend at the lake, then it will be packed up and will head up to Hornby Island for the remainder of it's life.

Next post will be Part 10 of the Kayak Build, and hopefully my last (for now). Then I will have to covertly figure out how to build a SUP....