Replane

I found a few hours to work on the boat today.  The afternoon was spent planing the strips I ripped last Sunday.  It really made a huge difference and I can't say enough good things about my thickness planer.  It's a well built and accurate tool.

The strips were passed through in sets of 5-7 somewhat in the order they were ripped.  They got a little scrambled after sawing last weekend so I'll need to sort them as best I can.  I used two spring clamps on the in-feed side to help heard them into the planer and built a cardboard ramp from the out-feed to a my work table.  

 Feeding from the garage to the truck.

The strips were passed through multiple times with the cutter head being lowered 1/32 of an inch between passes until they were within a sixteenth of a quarter inch.  A few strips were considerably thinner (guess I didn't do such a good job on the table saw after all) so they'll either be discarded or used in some area where thickness won't be an issue.  

The first set through was organized into four sets of four in order.  I'll need to do this for all of the strips but the rest were just bundled together into sets that were ripped from the same board.  

The markings on the end of the strips are the orientation marks.  The marks on the strip edges indicate length, set number and order.

I'm glad I decided to plane the strips.  The surface is much more smooth and I expect I'll spend less time sanding the kayak in the end.

You can see the grains are matching up nicely in this set.

I'll soon begin scarfing and actually putting the strips on the forms. 

Rip

It's been a busy couple of weeks leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday but I found a little time to dedicate to the kayak Sunday after my family gathering.  My original plan was to scarf the boards together before ripping them into strips but I ended up ripping the boards first instead.

I wanted the scarf joints to be an 8:1 ratio to maximize the glue surface for making a strong joint.  This meant that for a ¾” board I would need to taper the ends 6”.  That’s pretty difficult without proper woodworking tools but I gave it a go.  I tried a band saw but the blade wandered too much.  I tried hand planing but it was inaccurate and labor intensive.   I built a dedicated miter box but the tapered ends were getting damaged.  Wood chisels and a hammer gouged too much and sanding on a belt sander was, well, just a silly and desperate idea.  I needed a better solution.

I turned to the Blue Heron kayak builders forum for advice and got a great deal of positive feedback.  The general consensus was to rip the boards then scarf as needed.  I was also told to not get too lost in the details about the length of the joint as a simple butt joint would suffice.  Some of the builders even leave their strips short then create joints as they apply the strips to the forms.  I had fallen into the trap so many novices do in unfamiliar territory.  I made an assumption that the standard construction method is to use long strips then I set about that course without considering alternatives.  There is always another way to do just about anything so keep your mind open and find what works best in a given situation.

Armed with this knowledge I ripped about a third of the lumber this past Sunday.  To do this I used a 10” Skill cabinet table saw with a Freud Diablo Ultra Finish blade (D0760X).  Any sturdy table saw is powerful enough to cut the strips but the blade is important.  The Diablo is a thin kerf 7.25” blade which helps minimize waste.  I picked this blade because it was recommended by other builders and for $20 I felt it was well worth the price.

 This is the Diablo D0760X 7.25” 60T blade with my magnetic Rigid feathboard.

I marked the ends of each board with two orientation lines prior to ripping.  One line was horizontal and one diagonal.  This helped me keep them in order after they came off of the table.  The only reason to do this step is if you want to matchbook the grain but it’s not necessary. 

I then fed the lumber through the saw cutting each strip proud of ¼”.  The plan was to get close with a little room for error.  Unfortunately the table saw top was aluminum rendering my magnetic featherboard useless.  This forced me to push the board both from the end and the side so that it would stay against the saw’s fence.  I don’t recommend doing this as you can quickly end up with shorter fingers.  Ultimately I ended up with a pile of strips that were slightly variable in thickness.  A few passes through the planer will take care of this problem but using a featherboard would safely yield much more consistent strips without this extra step.  I plan to do it anyway to get rid of saw marks and make a smooth surface on the strips.

 I’ve abandoned the blue painters tape in favor of plastic wrap for keeping the strips organized.  The tape wasn’t sticky enough.

 

I hope to have some time this coming Sunday to plane the strips.  December is going to be every bit as hectic as November and spare time will be a rare commodity!

Plane

It's time to plane the wood.  The weathered and rough surface has to go and the boards needed to be a consistent thickness.  My new Dewalt DW734 thickness planer arrived from Amazon last Monday and was ready to roll on Saturday. 

 I fed the wood from my truck bed through the planer then stacked it on the table in the background.

I started out with the thickest board in the pile and slowly planed it down to 3/4".  I passed the board through, lowered the cutter head 1/64th of an inch then flipped the board and passed it through again.  I repeated the process until both surfaces were smooth and clear all the way across then I planed the same side to remove any blemishes.  I set it aside, grabbed the next board and continued the process until all were complete.

The Dewalt DW734 in action.

Some of the boards were a little warped so several successive passes were needed just to get the surface flat.  I also had a couple of boards that were already 3/4ths of an inch before planing.  I went ahead and fed them through the planer but removed as little as possible.  They'll probably come in handy for the chines where more narrow strips will be needed.  I also edge planed the boards that were previously set aside for scarfing so they're a consistent width.  The black bar across the top of the Dewalt's knife head will lock it in place which prevents snipe.  Very useful.

I ended up with a stack of beautiful paulownia that's ready for the table saw.  I plan on scarfing the boards next then quickly planing them a touch more before ripping.  Right now I'm having trouble figuring out how to taper the ends of the wood to make the scarf joints.  I've tried a band saw, block plane and wood chisels but the 1:8 ratio for the taper is going to be really had to achieve.  You can see a 1:4 taper in the picture below and that's really tough to do.  I have three options to make the taper.  I can carefully saw, chisel and sand each end, take the lumber to a mill work or cabinet maker and let them taper the ends or I can go ahead and rip the boards then make scarf joints on the individual strips prior to putting them on the forms.  Right now I'm leaning towards making the joints on the strips.  It'll mean more work but it's probably the most practical solution to the problem.

 Note the tapered board.  That was done with a hand chisel then sanded on my benchtop sander.

 I love the light color of the wood.  Beautiful grain too!

I'm finally putting the rungs under the strongback mount to use as a storage place for the boards.  They're out of the way but still handy to grab.

Form

After building the strongback I put together a set of spacers for the forms.  This allows me to lock in the form boards without screwing them in place.  Each spacer is precisely 11.5” with the exception of the center locking spacer.  This one is cut into two parts and made to accept wedges so I can snug the whole setup together from the center.  The rest are simply 1” x 4” boards screwed & glued to form a U-shape that slide over the strongback between the form boards.  After they were built I was careful to square up each end with the sander.  None of the spacers are screwed to the strongback.  Below you can see the center spacer with its wedges.  I used pressure treated hardwood because that’s all I had left after assembling the others.  There are 13 spacers in all. 

 

As you can see we here at KudaMuda’s Kayak Shop undergo some pretty rigorous QC by our in-house lab.

The form boards are made from particle board and have little nubs on the outside edge and inside where they slide over the strongback.  I used a file to remove the ones on the inside and my bench top belt sander for the outside (Ryobi model BD4600 4" belt and 6" disk sander).  Once removed it only took a few minutes to slide on the numbered forms and insert the spacers.  The plans include a measurement from the bow end to the cockpit.  In the pictures below the forms are in place but not secured.  I will need some shims for the nose pieces before I can screw them to the strongback and I won’t have those until I rip the lumber.  Everything right now is just test fitted.

 

Note the nose piece for the stern is not in place here.

There are virtually no instructions for the kit.  You do get a few key measurements but there are absolutely no written instructions on how to proceed with assembling the strongback or forms.  They don’t even tell you in what sequence to install the forms.  The only written instruction is an update to Schade’s book which I suppose is intended to be your construction guide.  For the cost of the kit I don’t think including a one page assembly guide would be asking too much.  Just be aware if you do purchase a kit it’s also a good idea to buy Schade’s book.  While it won’t provide specific instructions on what to do with the pile of wood that comes in the box it will give you enough insight to figure it out on your own.

Strongback

If you read my post entitled Delay you'll remember I was concerned about not having supplies delivered in time for the weekend.  When I got home from work on Friday I had three boxes from Chesapeake Light Craft on my doorstop.  After jumping up and down and fist pumping for a few minutes I took the packages inside (I might have done a little Snoopy dance too).  The kit only included a strongback, forms and plans.  Everything was well packaged and in good order.

Yardwork was on the roster for Saturday so today I sorted my lumber for planing and scarfing then assembled the strongback.  Below you can see a thickness measurement.

 

I measured the thickness, width and lengths and matched up boards as closely as possible.  

  

Using blue masking tape I sorted the boards that will be scarfed together.  The slat lengths will be between 20' and 15' after scarfing.  Some boards won't be scarfed in advance.  I estimated the number of slats per board and taped the measurements and slat count on each board remembering to include 1/4" of waste per 1" of width.  Even with a thin kerf saw blade I fully expect to lose about 25% of the width.

 

After that was done I set them aside and brought out the strongback parts.  The finished strongback needs to be 179".  

 

The plywood was cut and keyed to make a box.   The wide boards were 8' (4) and 4' (2).  The narrow boards were sized at 8', 6' and 2'.  There were two of each length. 

  

This is going to take a few bar clamps!  The plywood was laid out and trimmed to achieve the 14' 11" length.  Then I staggered the boards so the butt joints would not line up and weaken the box beam type strongback.  Some how I still managed to have two joints aligned but I reinforced them with a sawdust and glue putty.  In fact most of the butt joints were puttied together.

I used small finishing nails to secure to tops and sides of the box.  A few nails did come through the sides and had to either be extracted and re-nailed or ground down with a Dremel.  The strongback was very straight and strong.  It is now resting clamped overnight.

You can see some short boards on the left of the plywood table.  These are 1" x 4" boards cut to 11.5" lengths and will be used as spacers between forms.  This will negate the need to screw the forms to the strongback itself, make the forms align better and the kit will be reusable in case I decide to make another.  Win-win if you ask me.   

My dad assisted with the strongback.  It was really great to have him help and I hope he continues to do so.  This part really benefited from an extra set of hands and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather have help.  If you're lucky enough to be able to work on a project like this with your father then you are truly blessed.

Thanks dad!  You've always been a strongback in my life and I appreciate all you do!

Guillemot

Since I'm waiting on some supplies I thought I'd take a moment to talk the design.  I'm going with the Guillemot as designed by a boat builder named Nick Schade.  He's put a lot of thought into his kayaks and is a prominent designer/builder in the stripper* world.  In fact he wrote the book on strip building kayaks.  Well two of them anyway.  

After reading up on a few different boats I settled on the Guillemot because it should fit how I expect to use it.  I'm looking for something big enough to cruise across local lakes and paddle around in inter-coastal waters.  From time to time I may want to carry camping gear for overnight trips.  While there are a number of large kayaks that fit the bill this one seems to have a good balance between stability, payload and speed.  Not to mention it's quite beautiful.  As an added bonus Schade's book The Strip-Built Sea Kayak focuses on building this and two other models and since I was planning on reading it anyway, well, the Guillemot just made sense.

A close second for me was the Petrel.  Another model by Schade.  I actually think it's a better looking craft and it's faster but he sacrificed a little stability in it's design.  Since I haven't kayaked in many years and will be retraining from scratch stability was the main factor in deciding in favor of the Guillemot.  So basically it was a coin toss.  Schade has a series of online videos on YouTube I really enjoyed that demonstrate the steps of building a Petrel and if you're interested at all in the process I heartily recommend these videos.

Another boat I really like is his Night Heron.  Again stability was a factor but this time so was size.  The cockpit is small and the total length is a foot longer for rougher waters.  Of the three I'd say this is my favorite based on looks alone.  I'm not trying to say the Guillemot is an ugly duckling (no pun intended) but the Night Heron has a permanent place in the Modern Museum of Art.

Once I had the boat picked out I thought it was important to come up with a basic deck and hull color pattern.  I looked at a number of other kayaks and boats for inspiration and came up with the design below.  I hope it's not overly complicated for my first build but I wanted to mimic the coloration of the Common Guillemot; the namesake for the boat.  The white underbelly along with black decking reminiscent of feathers really appealed to me.

But I'm also considering this one in cherry:

We'll see how it goes.  No need to worry about the finish this early in the game.

The observant reader will notice an abundance of links embedded in this posting.  For the rest of you look again and see if you can spot them.  Enjoy!

* It's probably a good idea to mention that the term "stripper" referrers to any boat built using the strip built method as opposed to skin-on-frame, stitch & glue, etc...  Not what whatever it was you were thinking.

Delay

I ordered supplies including forms and a strongback almost two weeks ago but they aren't shipping until today and one of the tools I'll need early on is backordered.  Looks like at least another week before I can get going unless by some miracle UPS delivers on Friday.  My planned start date was October 15th but it'll have to be pushed back until this weekend at the earliest. My planned completion date is April 1, 2012.

While I have allowed a little delay room in the schedule for unplanned holdups starting late doesn't bode well.  I'm already anticipating a delay in glassing.  The kayak should be ready for fiberglass starting in January but the temperatures may be a bit on the low side.  The epoxy needs to be at 80 - 85 degrees and the room temperature at least 70 to get a clear cure.  Average highs that time of year are 57 so I have a ceramic space heater to make up the difference.  If we have a cold winter in South Carolina then that could push the epoxy application back into February or even March.

The only thing I can really start on is trimming the lumber to size for scarfing so I guess I'll go ahead a do that this weekend.  I also need to work on getting a thickness planer set up.  Oh well.  At least clamps arrived...

Clean

Ahhh.  Now I have a clean garage.  Everything was removed, washed and replaced or stored elsewhere.  I have some space to work!

All of the materials I'll need to start have been ordered and should arrive late this week or early next week.  The lumber needs to be matched up, scarfed, planed and ripped.  I'll probably scarf 2/3 of the wood upfront.  After that it can be done as needed.  Since the boards are various sizes I'm considering cutting them so they'll be a consistent width.  Doing so will make scarfing and planing easier but it'll increase my waste.  I have 36bf of lumber and already expect 10bf in waste just from scarfing and ripping.  The kit manufacturer ships about 16bf of strips so I expect to need at least that much.  If my waste goes over 15bf I'll start to get worried.  I hope to have enough wood left over to build a paddle and maybe a small kayak equipment storage box.

I went ahead and built strongback and form supports ahead of receiving them.  One of the stands is taller than the other but can be reworked as necessary so I have a comfortable work height.  In addition to the two stands I have two folding work tables and two sawhorses I can use.

The lumber on the stands hasn't been touched since I got it home with the exception of the one piece on the left.  I hand planed and sanded a little bit just to get a feel for the wood and see how it looked without the weathered surface.  It's very easy to sand and planing is a breeze.  I still can't get over how light it is.  Amazing stuff paulownia.

I've also received the first construction injury.  While swapping out the rough cut blade on my miter saw for a finish blade I took a nasty gash on the tip of my right thumb.  It's pretty deep but nothing a little super glue can't fix.

My best friend and build partner, Stella, is guarding the garage from the evil cats next door.  Good doggie.

Paulownia

Paulownia is a wood with many monikers. We know it by the western name it was given by Russian Tsar Paul I. He named it to honor his daughter Queen Anna Pavlovna of The Netherlands and it’s often referred to as the princess tree for this reason. In Japan where it’s revered for its beauty it’s called kiri. It was (and maybe still is) customary to plant a kiri tree when a baby girl was born to a household. Years later when the girl is married the tree is harvested and used to build a dowry chest as a wedding present. Another nickname is the phoenix tree which is derived from it tendency to regrow from its own root system after harvesting. In Chinese lore it also has a strong association with the phoenix where the bird is believed to perch only in the finest paulownia trees. The presence of the picky phoenix was a good omen but wouldn’t happen unless a benevolent ruler was in power.

It's a deciduous tree native to China and parts of southern Asia. It’s the fastest growing hardwood often reaching a height of 15’ or more in the first year. Harvesting can take place as soon as five years after planting. For this reason it’s becoming an important tree to the timber industry. While China, Japan and many other countries have been cultivating it for nearly two thousand years North American growers are just catching on. I predict it will become the next big “green” product from the timber industry for its renewability and a slew of other environmentally friendly properties I’ll leave you to discover on your own.

There are many uses for the tree’s lumber including construction, shipbuilding, crafts, musical instruments and so on. The wood is light in color, low weight and has a very high ignition point. In recent years it has garnered the attention of surfers and body boarders. The light wood is well suited for surfing because it’s strong enough to not need fiberglassing like balsawood. Well the same should be true for kayaks. Kayaks do require a layer of glass inside and out for strength and protection regardless of the wood so that that won’t change. What will change will be the weight. The specific gravity of paulownia is about a third of oak and half of pine. Cedar, commonly used for kayaks, weighs about 25% more.

Sounds perfect right? It’s strong, light weight, knot free, renewable, attractive, low in tannins, sapless and resists fire, rot, insects and warping. Great! Finding it in the US? Not so great. I did track down a few retail suppliers but didn’t get any responses to my queries. Luckily I eventually found a small plantation about 40 miles from my house. I called and was told they were closing shop but that they had a few pieces available. I scheduled an appointment for the following Saturday and met the owner on a lovely and secluded farm.

I struck gold. I had my pick of boards and spent a couple of hours talking with the owner who had a wealth of knowledge about the wood and its uses with boat and surfboard building. With my truck loaded and a smile on my face I went home $300 lighter. In the pictures below you can see my treasure. I stopped to take the picture after unloading half of the timber. The total weight of the boards combined is less than 52 pounds. The equivalent stack of cedar would weigh in at nearly 70 pounds. I’m pretty excited to get started but patience is needed. Before I begin I’ve got to empty out the garage…

 

 

Inception

Me:  I’m going to build a kayak.

My friend:  You’re what?

Me:  A boat.  A kayak.  I’m going to build one.

* An uncertain glance from my friend who’s now wondering if I’ve finally gone 'round the bend. *

My friend:  Why would you build a kayak?  Won’t that be hard?

Me:  I don’t know.  Probably.  It just seems like a fun thing to do.

That’s been the reaction from just about every person to whom I’ve mentioned my newfound obsession.  The incredulous looks and shaking heads have been noted and enjoyed.  Often they gently chuckle as a test to see if I’m joking but no I just smile and nod like a refuge from the psych ward.  If I’m really playing the part then I’ll let a little drool escape the corner of my mouth and roll down my chin.  Yup, cuckoo. 

Once satisfied I’m not kidding they always begin asking questions like how do you do it, won’t it leak, what wood do you use and so on.  Usually they’ll stay engaged for quite some time while I share my research.  When they understand the basics of what it takes then it doesn’t look so bad or me so crazy for taking it on.  In fact I’m starting to think everyone would like to build one of their own when they discover it’s a possibility and well within even the novice’s ability.

But why this and not a table, chair or miniature Taj Mahal?  Heck, I don’t even paddle.  Oh I’ve done a little in the distant past but you certainly couldn’t say I need a kayak.  If I wanted to get into the sport I could just go out and buy a one.  Maybe it’s just because I like to keep people off balance as much as possible.  I tend to switch things up as soon as I think too many people have me figured out.  That could be it.  I don’t need more than that to undertake a challenge.

Hmmm.  Of course it could be a mid-life crisis.  I recently turned 40 and God knows I can’t afford a Ferrari.  It would probably kill me anyway so building a wooden kayak suddenly looks like a safe and realistic way to obtain something beautiful.  If you’re reading this then you either know me personally or your search for wooden kayaks brought you here.  In either case I’m sure you’ve at least seen pictures of the things.  They are magnificent aren’t they?  There’s just something about varnished wood that appeals to the eye and when it’s carefully shaped into a useable vessel its appeal is magnified.  But frankly I don’t feel the need to learn how to paint just because I like Picasso.

So what then?  Why have I become so fascinated with a strip built boat?  I don’t really know so I could blame my friends Kenny and Ross who have built kayaks of their own.  About a dozen years ago Kenny put one together from a stitch and glue kit he acquired from somewhere.  That got Ross thinking he’d like one too so the next thing you know he’s working on his own.  Then he built another and so did his dad.  Well the bug must be contagious because I got the itch but unfortunately I was too poor to scratch. 

And so I set aside the idea.  Quietly tucked away it was a seed lying dormant in a fertile field waiting on a little warmth and rain to germinate.  This past July that warmth came as a trip to the beach with my family and friends.  The rain followed with an absolute flood of information from books and the glorious internet. 

It was late in the afternoon of July 15^th when my father, brother, Ross and I relaxed on the back porch of a beach house on Dewees Island.  With cigars in hand and beer in belly we bounced about a number of topics.  I was a bit woozy from the beer so I was listening to the waves and staring off at a distant sandbar.  As I stared and thought about how nice it would be to explore that sandbar but didn't have a way to get there my brother John and Ross were talking.  At some point a single word broke through my listless daze, “kayak.”  Then there it was again, “something something something kayak something something.”  I tuned back in and listened to a q&a session I’ve since found familiar.

John asked, “So, how exactly do you build a kayak?”  Ross replied in detail with my brother eating up every word and responding with more questions.  Then from the foggy recesses of my memory I recalled Ross and Kenny had built kayaks.  I began to remember the urge to chop down a tree and turn it into a floating vessel of my own creation.  It was a good feeling.  While they talked I listened and began to think about building my own then I asked Ross one simple question, “where did you get your kit?”

That did it.  I started researching that very day.  In all I guess the only answer I have is I’m looking for something I can learn about that will occupy my time.  I like to stay busy and my hobbies and interests are numerous so why not a kayak?  Could it be that I’ve been asking myself the wrong question all this time?  Why not?  I have never taken on a project of this scale and I’m a little intimidated but people need to challenge themselves.  And this my friends seems like a challenge. 

I will need to learn a great deal and it’s going to require time, tools, skills and space I don’t have.  From my readings I’ve seen experts take 100-120 hours to complete a boat with novices doubling that.  The tools are few and I can borrow the more expensive ones.  The skills I’ll have to pick up along the way but that’s what a project like this is for.  The space I’ll conjure up from my garage.

The one thing I’ve left out and will need in great supply is patience.  For me that may be the biggest challenge because it's certainly not one of my stronger qualities.  As my dad aptly put it not long ago I must still have all of the patience I was born with because I sure haven’t used any.  Dad's know a lot of truths.  Especially about their sons.

This past weekend I found myself on the back porch of the Dewees beach house finishing up The Strip Built Sea Kayak by Nick Schade.  It was there while picking sand spurs out of my dog’s paws, scratching the odd mosquito welt and staring at the unobtainable sandbar that I decided I’d share my adventure with the world.  So dear reader I hope you enjoy this blog and are inspired to challenge yourself.  I promise not to bore you with any more 1,000 word posts if only you’ll stick around and let me share this part of life with you.

- Pete A.K.A. KudaMuda