Beveled the Borealis Panels

Yesterday I beveled the #5 and #4 panels on the inside edges where they will eventually meet.

ALTERNATIVE STEP FROM THE OFFICIAL PYGMY MANUAL: The Pygmy manual suggests using a rasp or such to do this. That is probably good advice, however I used a router table.

To do so you have to 1) have someone help you, 2) have a lot of room (roughly 34'), and 3) be damn careful.

I got the router set up outside my garage near the end of my long work table. Then carefully adjusted a 45 degree bit with a roller on top to just the right level. To make sure I used some of the scrap 4mm boards that come with the kit. The top of the panels ended up barely meeting the roller.

My wife helped me and she carefully held the panels such that there wasn't much stress put on the main middle seam (remember I'm only putting fiberglass on the inside of the panels and not the outside). Then we slowly ran each panel through the router table. It did a fine job in most places but there were a few spots that I had to then go over with a rasp and clean up. But... no big mistakes or gouges! Phew!

In the picture below you can see that it did a pretty nice job... at least in that stretch.

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The Rogue Manual

I've posted about this earlier, but thought it might be good to post it again for anyone who may be interested. I've started to write a manual of tips and tricks for Pygmy solo kayak builders. It covers the taping method, so that your boat doesn't have hundreds of holes all over it. I'm on version 2 now. Version 2 covers several other tips and tricks from myself and from others as collected over time. ATTENTION : Use the manual at your own risk! The only person responsible for any mistakes or problems with the building of your boat is you. Always use the official Pygmy manual that came with your kit. Only do those tips and tricks that make sense to you. If something in the manual doesn't sound right to you, then don't do it! Neither I, nor Pygmy Boats, nor anyone else except YOU is responsible for the safety of your boat and the quality of your build. It's in very rough draft form right now, but if you'd like to read it, please send a $10 donat

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The "Rogue Manual" - A Supplementary Manual for Pygmy Kayak Builders!

I've mentioned a few times that I'm writing a supplementary manual for Pygmy kayak builders. It's currently up to 30 pages with lots more to go. About half of it is dedicated to the "strapping tape" method of building a boat and not using wires and holes. The rest is other techniques, tips and tricks that many builders have used over the years. If you want Pygmy kayak building tips and tricks then hopefully this will be the place to go. Here are the first few sample pages: The cover: The Table of Contents and first few pages: Rogue Supplemental Manual Table of Contents Those are the first eight pages of the thirty page manual. I'm sure it will be larger by the time I'm finished. Let me know if you have ideas of what should be included, or what you think of the manual so far. Thanks! Aloha!

Wacko Ways to Build a Boat

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