Skip to main content

Almost finished with the Pygmy Borealis Kayak!

I've been busy varnishing and finishing the final details of the Pygmy Borealis XL Kayak! It's almost finished.

Today I did the shock cord perimeter lines and hand toggles. Here's how it looks:








The only steps left are to adjust the seat and install the foam knee braces. I'm taking the maiden voyage this weekend! And... I'm doing it in Port Townsend which is where Pygmy Boats is located!


Aloha!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Annapolis Wherry Spacered Inwales Installed

For the past week (yes, WEEK!) I have been working on the outwales and spacered inwales. The inwales and outwales are such an obvious part of the boat that you really want them to look as good as you can possibly make them. And doing that takes a lot of time and patience.  The spacered inwale kit is an addition to the basic wherry kit. The kit includes the OUTwales, but does not come with INwales. We like the look of the spacered inwales and find that they have some function too for securing things to the hull. They look nautical.    The spacered inwale kit comes with inwale rails, sticks you cut to make the spacers, a replacement breasthook for the bow, and replacement quarter knees for the transom.  They leave it up to you for how long to cut the spacers and how far apart to space them. The manual that comes with the kit is extensive.  I like the look of rounded spaces. No, it's not the normal look of spacers which are supposed to simulate the ribs on a wooden...

Hatches Cut on Pygmy Borealis XL Kayak

I've mentioned many times that I'm doing some steps out of order. It just makes it easier and makes more sense if you can keep them all straight. The Pygmy manual has you wait to cut the hatches until the entire boat is done. It also suggests that you wait to run tape along the inside hull/deck joint until you cut the hatches. However, if you do that then it's a real pain to get the tape cleanly behind the cockpit hip braces. The seat is in the way too. So, here's a better order to do things: 1. While you are installing the coaming, you will have some time while the fiberglass cures on the upper coaming strips. This is a great time to go ahead and cut your hatches 2. Before you install the hip braces, run the hull/deck joint taping step. It's pretty easy to reach most of the joint if you have the hatches cut. 3. Now you can tinker away at installing both the upper coaming strips and the hatch spacers. Easy! Here's side two of the upper coaming stri...