Pygmy Pinguino Hull Prepped for Fiberglassing

Well, it's at least almost prepped for fiberglassing... still have to run some tape along the #4 panels.

But today I reinforced the butt seam and added some thickened epoxy to the ends, all exactly according to the Pygmy manual.

The only thing I didn't do according to the manual is that I don't add a saturation coat to the inside. Wetting it out will fully saturate the cloth and it's an added step. To saturate or not to saturate is the eternal fiberglassing question asked by wooden boat people. There are two strong camps, each with their own reasons. I've just never found a convincing reason to do it as simply wetting it all out in one step has always worked well.

Fiberglassing the inside of the hull is always the trickiest job of the entire project, so fingers crossed that it goes well!

Cheers!

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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...

Pinguino End Pours and Other Jobs

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Next Build: A Pinguino 145

Well here we go on another Pygmy solo kayak build. This time a Pinguino 145 . It's one of Pygmy's most popular boats. It's stable, light, capable of sea touring, and only 14.5'. Here's another nice article about the Pinguino . The picture below is from the Pygmy website ( Pygmy Boats owns the copyright to this image and I make no claim to the image. It's here under fair use policy but will be happily removed if Pygmy requests it to be removed) . A friend of ours has wanted me to build one for her for some time and I finally think I can start to work on it. It should be a great boat for her. She's an active woman in her early 70's. The massive stability of the Pinguino, the larger cockpit, the relatively low weight, and being only 14.5' should work well for her. I'll blog about it here, but I'll also be adding some better pictures to the " Rogue Manual " on how to build one without wires. This boat will NOT have any w...

Wacko Ways to Build a Boat

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