Cockpit Coaming on the Pygmy Borealis XL Kayak

Started off today by installing the hatch "lips" on both the bow and stern hatches. First I measured and cut the lips so that they would fit and then I epoxied them in place.

Then I worked on the cockpit coaming. The upper strips were epoxied on yesterday and looked great this morning. So my first task was to round-over the inside edge with my router. It went really well. Just go slow and take your time!

Here is what it looks like as you go...

I followed the router with some 100 grit sandpaper to even it all out and to remove a few burn marks.

Then I measured and cut the hip braces. I had already fiberglassed them last week so all I needed to do was cut them to size on the band saw and then fine tune the fit using my stationary sander. I'm installing my hip braces about 3/4" aft of where they say to install them because I'm so freakishly tall. Hopefully I'll fit okay. Remember that I also moved the foot peddles forward about an inch.

I tacked the hip braces in place with some epoxy and then later added some thickened epoxy with the leftovers from the next step.

Then I added a sealer coat of epoxy to the coaming. First it will fill the weave on the upper strips, and secondly it will seal the inside edge wood. I let it soak in while I added thickened epoxy to the hip braces, but then wiped off most of the epoxy that was on the bare wood. It was starting to sag and I would have had to have sanded it all off anyway. This way I can only lightly sand and will still have essentially the same amount of epoxy. I'm also going to add epoxy filler later and eventually paint it, so it will all be okay!

I will add more thickened epoxy as well as tape strips to the hip braces later. They are only tacked in for now.

The Pygmy Borealis XL kayak is getting really close to being finished!!

Aloha!

Comments

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 Hull Painted

If you haven't yet, please read my previous post regarding amine blush and primers. After thoroughly washing the hull with water, and then priming, I was now ready for top coating. I used Interlux Toplac Plus in Matterhorn White. What a great paint! OMG... this stuff seems to have magical properties! I've never used a paint that does not sag or run, even on vertical hull sides. Of course, you have to roll on a light coat with a foam roller, but even with a thin coat like that, most paints would still have runs. This one doesn't! And you don't need to tip it either! Just roll it on and walk away. It gets better too... you don't have to sand after each coat! As long as you roll on a second coat after 16 hours but before 3 days, you don't have to sand. Nice! I did three coats in three days with no sanding between coats. There's a slight bit of orange peel, but most of the surface issues are due to my poor surface prep instead of orange peel. To be honest, ...

Waterlog Surfboard Build, Part 2

Since my last post I've made a lot of progress. I've completed the rails and the landing strips. Here is the chine log being epoxied in. By the way, I'm using epoxy for much of this. I ended up using Titebond III for most of the rails because they didn't have a lot of force on them and I could get them clamped down quickly (Titebond III sets quickly). But for anything that has any stress on it, I'm using WEST System epoxy that I have left over. The nose strips had to be steamed. Read the manual for how to do this. It works well enough. For the landing strips (the 'lands'), I'm doing the "alternative" method that is shown in one of Grain's tutorial videos . I'm running the outside one out the ends. It worked out well and I'd definitely recommend you do it instead of the convoluted approach they say in their manual. I would expect that at some point in the future that they make this the primary way to do it and change their m...

Search This Blog