[DustyMark]

Just Had to Sit in the Kayak!

It Fits!
This is the stage of the build where you get a very good idea of the boat's fit and comfort. I placed some shoes under the hull to support it and Mary and I sat in it to discover paddle and feet clearances.

A section of roof rake makes a good paddle simulation in tight quarters! I'm thinking that I'll paddle the kayak solo at a position 48" back from the inside edge of the front coaming. That will leave room for my anchor rig/rod holder board for fishing behind me and my fish cooler. This is a position that should be good for fore and aft trim.

Tandem paddling will require me to scoot forward about 10" so Mary doesn't knock me in the shoulders on each paddle stroke! My rudder pedals have 13" of adjustment so that will work out well.

Plan for the Cockpit
I plan to make two removable spray decks that will seal off the large cockpit from heavy seas. These will follow the approach used by folding sea kayak manufacturers. I'll make two coaming rings for each spray deck that fit the expedition neoprene spray skirts we use with our triple kayak. Each of the coaming rings will be fastened to a cross bar at the fore and aft position that is secured to the large coaming of the kayak. This will provide a safe means of independent entry and egress from the kayak. I'll sew a custom vinyl deck that will be sandwiched between the coaming ring assemblies and sealed with vinyl cement.

Since we have two different positions for me, depending on what we're doing, I'll make two decks. Deck One will be for tandem paddling with my seat set back at 38". Deck Two will be for solo paddling, sailing (tandem or solo), and me taking the dog out for a paddle with my seat set back at 48". Mary won't be able to paddle in this set-up, but we need to have our weight back further for proper trim with the force of the sail in the bow.

Here's the dog's cockpit attachment. I'll use this as a form to bend the coaming rings to the right shape so that I can use this assembly in either our triple kayak or the new Wood Duck!

Next
Fiberglass the hull.

 

[DustyMark]

Fiberglassing the Hull

Fitting the Cloth
After a nice five-day camping trip, it's back to building the kayak! I listed my kayak on Craigslist and have a "nibble", so I need to get this one done…

With the hull sanded and vacuumed, the four-ounce fiberglass cloth is draped over the boat. The extra is trimmed off the bottom to within about two inches.

Darts are cut at the transom to make a way for the cloth to wrap around this complex shape.

Fold over to cut the other dart.

Transom darts complete and ready for epoxy. Darts are cut at the bow as well.

Applying Epoxy
With everything cut, epoxy is applied to soak the fiberglass cloth. The idea on the first coat is to wet the cloth. Subsequent coats will fill the weave of the cloth. A boat finished with varnish or painted with a finer paint will likely require a total of three coats of epoxy to fill the weave. I'm hoping that my kayak will be filled "good enough" for strength and waterproofing after two coats.

I pour the epoxy on the flat parts and spread it with a Bondo spreader. It's easier to apply the epoxy with a brush on the vertical areas and then spread it.

Applying epoxy to the first side of the bow dart.

Working the second side over.

Looking better.

Almost there. The brush comes in handy at dabbing the dart down.

Final touch-ups are done with the spreader.

Bow dart is done.

Next
The epoxy will be green cured this evening and I'll trim the excess fiberglass from the bow-to-deck seams with a razor before applying the second coat of epoxy.

 

[DustyMark]

Applying Second Coat of Epoxy to Hull

Prep Work

The epoxy is only green cured and it's pretty easy to trim off the excess fiberglass with a razor.

Oops! I trimmed a little bit into the wood here. No problem, it will get epoxy over it.

Here's a close-up of the weave after the first coat.

Applying Second Coat
The fiberglass takes way less epoxy on the second coat. I use the same techniques as on the first coat. Squeegeeing the epoxy well will cut down on your sanding later.

Here's the weave after the second coat of epoxy. Four-ounce cloth doesn't have a real aggressive weave. I'm satisfied with this level of fill for my "utility build" and won't apply a third coat of epoxy to further fill the weave.

Hatch Cover Stiffeners
The hatch covers are pretty thin and need a piece of plywood to stiffen them up.

Here's a hatch and its stiffener. NOTE: The thicker plywood underneath is not part of the hatch…it's simply a clamping base to ensure the hatch cover remains straight during clamping. I failed to do this when building a skeg box on my wife's kayak and it has a permanent/troublesome twist in it…forever!

This hatch cover is epoxied and ready for clamping.

Both hatch cover stiffeners epoxied and clamped. They'll be cured enough to remove the clamps in the morning and fiberglass the hatch covers at the same time I fiberglass the deck.

Next
Fiberglass the deck.

 

[DustyMark]

Fiberglassing the Deck

Same Process as Hull
After the hull epoxy was green cured, I scraped and rasped the drips and ensured the hull to deck joint was clean to accept a layer of fiberglass cloth across it. Fiberglassing the deck follows much of the same process as the hull.

I taped the hatch ledges to avoid extra sanding, rasping or scraping.

The fiberglass cloth is draped over the deck and trimmed so that it overlaps the hull a bit.

Cloth is trimmed for the hatch covers.

View of the bow after fiberglassing.

Close-up of the hull-to-deck seam. You can see some fiberglass strands that I'll have to deal with later. A scraper will remove them pretty cleanly.

I'll let the deck cure for about eight hours before applying the second coat of epoxy to fill the weave.

Next
Cleaning up the hatch openings and applying a second coat of epoxy to the deck.

 

[Redoak49]

Fiberglassing the Deck

Same Process as Hull
After the hull epoxy was green cured, I scraped and rasped the drips and ensured the hull to deck joint was clean to accept a layer of fiberglass cloth across it. Fiberglassing the deck follows much of the same process as the hull.

I taped the hatch ledges to avoid extra sanding, rasping or scraping.

The fiberglass cloth is draped over the deck and trimmed so that it overlaps the hull a bit.

Cloth is trimmed for the hatch covers.

View of the bow after fiberglassing.

Close-up of the hull-to-deck seam. You can see some fiberglass strands that I'll have to deal with later. A scraper will remove them pretty cleanly.

I'll let the deck cure for about eight hours before applying the second coat of epoxy to fill the weave.

Next
Cleaning up the hatch openings and applying a second coat of epoxy to the deck.

I enjoy the updates and see how you build this boat.

 

[DustyMark]

Fiberglassing the Deck

Same Process as Hull
After the hull epoxy was green cured, I scraped and rasped the drips and ensured the hull to deck joint was clean to accept a layer of fiberglass cloth across it. Fiberglassing the deck follows much of the same process as the hull.

I taped the hatch ledges to avoid extra sanding, rasping or scraping.

The fiberglass cloth is draped over the deck and trimmed so that it overlaps the hull a bit.

Cloth is trimmed for the hatch covers.

View of the bow after fiberglassing.

Close-up of the hull-to-deck seam. You can see some fiberglass strands that I'll have to deal with later. A scraper will remove them pretty cleanly.

I'll let the deck cure for about eight hours before applying the second coat of epoxy to fill the weave.

Next
Cleaning up the hatch openings and applying a second coat of epoxy to the deck.

Thanks! Building one of these kits is quite satisfying…glad you're enjoying following the process.

 

[DustyMark]

Cleaning Up Hatch Openings and Applying Second Coat of Epoxy to Deck

Cleaning Up Hatch Openings
The hatch openings have four layers including the deck, hatch spacer, drip ring, and hatch sill. There was glue sueeze-out that I couldn't reach to clean up when it was wet and also the layers didn't line up perfectly. All this had to be cleaned up by a combination of scraping and sanding…a tedious process.

Stern hatch before epoxy.

Stern hatch after epoxy.

Bow hatch before epoxy.

Bow hatch after epoxy. These openings will receive a second coat of epoxy when I install the coaming ring.

Applying Second Coat of Epoxy to Deck

With the epoxy green cured (about eight hours), I trimmed the fiberglass cloth from the hatch openings and the cockpit with a razor. I also scraped the fiberglass cloth frays before they got to final cure.

Here's the boat after two coats of epoxy applied to the deck and the hull. I'm happy with how it's turning out. I sold my fishing kayak today, so I'm kicking the project into high gear to finish this replacement. We also have guests arriving in eight days, so I need to get the kayak done and finish the guest bedroom…nothing like a deadline!

Next
Attaching the coaming ring.

 

[DustyMark]

Attaching the Coaming Ring

Lots of Clamps
The cockpit is 84 1/2" long and 20 1/2" wide…that took a lot of clamps to attach the coaming ring! The coaming ring is made up of two spacers and the actual coaming ring. This stack is glued with epoxy thickened with silica. The plan calls for mixing it to a mustard consistency. I made my batch a bit thicker to fill gaps better and it worked well. The danger with going much thicker is that you could lose adhesion and it could require more clamping pressure.

View of the first coaming spacer at the bow with epoxy applied for the next layer. Notice that I failed to remove the CNC nibs. That's no issue on cockpit side since there is easy access with a file, but the nibs on the other side are going to require some chisel work…oops!

View of first coaming spacer at stern.

View of second coaming spacer.

I used all of my mixed collection of 46 small clamps, that I've acquired over nine previous boat builds, to complete this task. The deck is a three-dimensional shape, so the coaming layers must be coaxed into position and lined up as evenly as possible as the clamps are applied. My wife was out kayaking and I ended up doing this solo. My haste made this more of a challenge, but it's done.

I used my finger to squeegee glue squeeze-out into the inevitable gaps formed between the layers, especially at the bow with its compound curves. Even on a varnish-quality build, this is hidden by the shadow of the coaming at normal viewing angles. The plan calls for an epoxy fillet under the coaming to increase its strength. Much of this fillet is formed by the squeeze-out from the assembly. I may add more after the clamps are removed and I can flip the boat upside down to form it in a more controlled manner.

Next
Clean up the layers of the coaming assembly, form a radius on the inside edge, and fiberglass the coaming.

 

[DustyMark]

Fiberglassing the Coaming Ring

Filing
There was quite a bit of filing to get all the layers even on the coaming ring. I used a Nicholson #49 rasp that was the perfect tool for the task. I've got grinder wheels from chair making that would do a quicker job, but doing it by hand was a more controlled and sure thing.

I sweated out my clothes on this job!

Stern coaming after filing.

Bow after filing.

Routing
With the coaming layers evened up, it was time to route the top edge with a 3/8" round-over bit.

The routed edge came out nice and even. I then used an 80-grit disc on my random orbit sander to touch things up and round over the bottom edge. This is the area your legs rub against while paddling.

Fiberglassing

Fiberglass cloth cut on a bias of 45 degrees drapes over complex shapes quite well. I ordered extra cloth to be able to cut nice long strips for this and the extra coaming rings I'll produce for the spray deck.

The cloth frays less when cut on the bias. That's a bonus!

The inside angle is sharp, so I used two pieces at the bow.

Stern after fiberglass.

Bow after fiberglass. The coaming turned out nice.

Next
Apply second coat of epoxy to various parts and sand the kayak.

 

[htl]

Fiberglassing the Coaming Ring

Filing
There was quite a bit of filing to get all the layers even on the coaming ring. I used a Nicholson #49 rasp that was the perfect tool for the task. I've got grinder wheels from chair making that would do a quicker job, but doing it by hand was a more controlled and sure thing.

I sweated out my clothes on this job!

Stern coaming after filing.

Bow after filing.

Routing
With the coaming layers evened up, it was time to route the top edge with a 3/8" round-over bit.

The routed edge came out nice and even. I then used an 80-grit disc on my random orbit sander to touch things up and round over the bottom edge. This is the area your legs rub against while paddling.

Fiberglassing

Fiberglass cloth cut on a bias of 45 degrees drapes over complex shapes quite well. I ordered extra cloth to be able to cut nice long strips for this and the extra coaming rings I'll produce for the spray deck.

The cloth frays less when cut on the bias. That's a bonus!

The inside angle is sharp, so I used two pieces at the bow.

Stern after fiberglass.

Bow after fiberglass. The coaming turned out nice.

Next
Apply second coat of epoxy to various parts and sand the kayak.

Beautiful project and love the blog!!!

 

[DustyMark]

Fiberglassing the Coaming Ring

Filing
There was quite a bit of filing to get all the layers even on the coaming ring. I used a Nicholson #49 rasp that was the perfect tool for the task. I've got grinder wheels from chair making that would do a quicker job, but doing it by hand was a more controlled and sure thing.

I sweated out my clothes on this job!

Stern coaming after filing.

Bow after filing.

Routing
With the coaming layers evened up, it was time to route the top edge with a 3/8" round-over bit.

The routed edge came out nice and even. I then used an 80-grit disc on my random orbit sander to touch things up and round over the bottom edge. This is the area your legs rub against while paddling.

Fiberglassing

Fiberglass cloth cut on a bias of 45 degrees drapes over complex shapes quite well. I ordered extra cloth to be able to cut nice long strips for this and the extra coaming rings I'll produce for the spray deck.

The cloth frays less when cut on the bias. That's a bonus!

The inside angle is sharp, so I used two pieces at the bow.

Stern after fiberglass.

Bow after fiberglass. The coaming turned out nice.

Next
Apply second coat of epoxy to various parts and sand the kayak.

Thanks again. This one might be tough to paint flat green!

 

[DustyMark]

Sanding the Boat

Running Out of Epoxy
I'm at the very end of my epoxy and will need to supplement with a different brand available locally. That twist nudged me to sand the boat and possibly use the remaining epoxy for touch-up after sanding. The kit contents completed the build. It's the extras like the Dynel rub strip and hip braces that make an extra purchase necessary.

This photo shows the irregularities in the epoxy finish even after a good squeegee with a spreader. The 80-grit disc knocks it down quite well. I'm thankful for the good dust collection of this tool since I'm sanding the kayak in the future guest room!

Hull-to-deck seam scuffed up to show what needs to be feathered.

Progress made at feathering the joint. The goal on sanding is to remove excess epoxy, but not cut into the fiberglass weave. When feathering a joint, you obviously need to cut into the weave to blend it in. Four ounce fiberglass cloth is a challenge to sand as it doesn't hold much epoxy and it's easy to sand through. Edges are especially challenging and the build plans recommend hand sanding the edges. I've got a good feel for it and just dial back my RPM and used a more worn disc when working the edges. I only sanded through in one spot on this boat…

Half the hull sanded.

Photo shows transition from completely feathered to almost feathered.

Hull sanding complete. This photo shows the one spot I sanded through the fiberglass. I'm adding a strip of Dynel to the keel, so I won't need to fix it separately. Dynel is a very abrasion resistant cloth when soaked with epoxy. This is often applied to the bottom of canoes to make them more durable. I applied a strip to my skin-on-frame rowing shell and it's held up to some serious abuse.

Punch List
There are lots of little things to complete at the end of a boat build. Today's punch list included, 1) Applied second coat of epoxy to hatch openings, under deck lids, and on coaming ring. 2) Applied fillet under the coaming ring. 3) Sanded the kayak.

The coaming ring seems awful thin, so I followed the kit instructions and beefed it up with a fillet underneath. I used silica as a filler since it makes a smoother fillet, if done well. Silica is harder to sand than wood flour, but I made a special spreader and it turned out real clean. I shouldn't need to sand the fillet much, if any.

Next
I'll depart from the plan and fit hip braces to transition this boat from a "recreational" to more of a "performance" kayak. The hull is a great design. It's the wide-open, loose cockpit that degrades it to recreational status. My modifications should make the boat straddle both categories…

 

[DustyMark]

Apply Keel Rub Strip

Change of Plans
Well, the kayak build has moved back out to the garage. I'd planned to install hip braces today, but I needed to make progress on the guest bedroom, so I applied the keel rub strip instead.

I found West System epoxy at a local marine supply today! I used this on my first two boat builds from plans back in the 90's and it's good epoxy. Due to COVID-19 supply chain issues, my kit didn't come with dispensing pumps. I was able to purchase pumps for the new epoxy. That makes life easier for mixing up smaller batches since you just do one pump of each.

Dynel Cloth
Dynel feels like heavy t-shirt material and soaks up a lot of epoxy.

The objective is to soak a lot of epoxy into the cloth to build up a tough protective strip on the keel. I cut the strips ahead of time and soaked the first layer in a flat container.

After applying the first layer, I quickly laid the second strip on to soak up the extra epoxy before it dripped off. This worked well.

I cut the cloth on the bias for the tight turns of the bow area. It laid down nice without any wrinkles.

I thought about trimming a neat line in the cloth with a razor at the green cure stage, but decided to remove the tape and just feather it a bit with a sander after it cures since I'm painting the entire hull green anyways.

I applied more epoxy after this photo to soak the cloth even more. The cloth literally swells as you add more epoxy; it's a lot different than working with fiberglass. I had to come back later to squeegee some drips, but I now have a nice, thick rub strip consisting of two layers of Dynel heavily soaked in epoxy.

The kayak is protected well from keel scrapes.

Next
Fitting out the cockpit.

 

[htl]

Apply Keel Rub Strip

Change of Plans
Well, the kayak build has moved back out to the garage. I'd planned to install hip braces today, but I needed to make progress on the guest bedroom, so I applied the keel rub strip instead.

I found West System epoxy at a local marine supply today! I used this on my first two boat builds from plans back in the 90's and it's good epoxy. Due to COVID-19 supply chain issues, my kit didn't come with dispensing pumps. I was able to purchase pumps for the new epoxy. That makes life easier for mixing up smaller batches since you just do one pump of each.

Dynel Cloth
Dynel feels like heavy t-shirt material and soaks up a lot of epoxy.

The objective is to soak a lot of epoxy into the cloth to build up a tough protective strip on the keel. I cut the strips ahead of time and soaked the first layer in a flat container.

After applying the first layer, I quickly laid the second strip on to soak up the extra epoxy before it dripped off. This worked well.

I cut the cloth on the bias for the tight turns of the bow area. It laid down nice without any wrinkles.

I thought about trimming a neat line in the cloth with a razor at the green cure stage, but decided to remove the tape and just feather it a bit with a sander after it cures since I'm painting the entire hull green anyways.

I applied more epoxy after this photo to soak the cloth even more. The cloth literally swells as you add more epoxy; it's a lot different than working with fiberglass. I had to come back later to squeegee some drips, but I now have a nice, thick rub strip consisting of two layers of Dynel heavily soaked in epoxy.

The kayak is protected well from keel scrapes.

Next
Fitting out the cockpit.

Heavy duty I think,
Having never worked in this type project before but I have had a couple a boats and lived on the rivers of Alabama for 8 years so know you got to protect those parts that will be hitting the shore quite often..

 

[DustyMark]

Apply Keel Rub Strip

Change of Plans
Well, the kayak build has moved back out to the garage. I'd planned to install hip braces today, but I needed to make progress on the guest bedroom, so I applied the keel rub strip instead.

I found West System epoxy at a local marine supply today! I used this on my first two boat builds from plans back in the 90's and it's good epoxy. Due to COVID-19 supply chain issues, my kit didn't come with dispensing pumps. I was able to purchase pumps for the new epoxy. That makes life easier for mixing up smaller batches since you just do one pump of each.

Dynel Cloth
Dynel feels like heavy t-shirt material and soaks up a lot of epoxy.

The objective is to soak a lot of epoxy into the cloth to build up a tough protective strip on the keel. I cut the strips ahead of time and soaked the first layer in a flat container.

After applying the first layer, I quickly laid the second strip on to soak up the extra epoxy before it dripped off. This worked well.

I cut the cloth on the bias for the tight turns of the bow area. It laid down nice without any wrinkles.

I thought about trimming a neat line in the cloth with a razor at the green cure stage, but decided to remove the tape and just feather it a bit with a sander after it cures since I'm painting the entire hull green anyways.

I applied more epoxy after this photo to soak the cloth even more. The cloth literally swells as you add more epoxy; it's a lot different than working with fiberglass. I had to come back later to squeegee some drips, but I now have a nice, thick rub strip consisting of two layers of Dynel heavily soaked in epoxy.

The kayak is protected well from keel scrapes.

Next
Fitting out the cockpit.

We found some ducks in flooded timber last season and had to "make a run for it" to cross a lot of the dead falls. With a flat bottom Royalex canoe that was no big deal. This will make that a lot less cringe-worthy on a plywood boat with a keel!

 

[DustyMark]

Spray Deck Frames

Designing at the Bench
I've been mulling over the design of the spray decks in my head for some time and today I began to construct them with 1/4" Baltic birch plywood. The beauty of this wood is that the glues are outdoor capable. I don't use it below the waterline, but I've used it for years successfully above the waterline. I glue parts together with polyurethane construction adhesive and finish them with marine varnish. This is enough protection for these type of accessories that get wet, but then are dried.

I had a fiberglass cockpit cover from my triple kayak that I traced for the outside shape of the new coaming rings. I then came in 1 1/2" to form the inside edge of the coamings. This photo is of the tracing of that inside edge after I cut it. Here I'm going back out 3/4" and this became my master template for the coaming ring spacers.

This is a photo of the coaming ring that will fit our current spray skirts well.

View of the tandem spray deck frames. Each frame will be clamped/bolted into position in four spots. I'll sew a large cockpit cover out of vinyl that will attach around the perimeter of the cockpit with 1/4" bungee. The edge around the coaming and the deck frame will receive vinyl cement and the coaming ring will sandwich the vinyl cover between the deck frame. This should keep water from seeping between the layers. I chose to make these spray deck frames from separate pieces of plywood so that the entire spray deck could be folded and stored in the back of my truck.

Close-up of bow spray deck frame.

Close-up of stern spray deck frame.

Next
Cut the rest of the coaming spacers and laminate them to the coaming ring.

 

[DustyMark]

Solo Spray Deck and Coaming

Decisions Made
Today I made decisions on how to configure my solo spray deck. I set the seat back 13" from the tandem paddling position. I chose this distance since my rudder pedals have 14" of adjustment. I'll have the pedals all the way forward for tandem paddling and and all the way back for solo paddling. I also decided to make a new dog cockpit attachment rather than retrofit the one from my triple kayak. This allowed me to make the rear spray deck opening the rectangular shape of the dog cockpit. This would also make for great cargo access if we were to use the boat for overnight camping in the Apostle Islands.

The overall length of this spray deck will fit in my truck box, so I made it from one piece of plywood.

Coaming spacers and rings laminated, but not glued to the spray deck. I used polyurethane construction adhesive to glue up the coamings. The rings are glued while clamped to the deck so that they take the gradual curve of the deck.

The rear spacer is made from a single, 3/4" piece of Baltic birch plywood. I had some left over from my teardrop camper build…nice stuff!

Tandem spray deck coamings and spacers cut and ready for lamination tomorrow.

Next
Tomorrow I'll fit cross beams to the spray decks, start devising clamps to hold the spray deck to the main coaming securely, and laminate the coaming rings for the tandem spray deck.

 

[DustyMark]

Tandem Spray Deck and Clamps

Second Spray Deck…Same as the First
The process for building the tandem spray deck is the same as the solo.

I dug into my bigger clamps in order to clamp the stern coaming ring at the same time as the bow.

I drilled a hole in the stack when dry fitting and used silicon bronze nails (leftover from a previous build) to line up the layers during glue-up. This helps to minimize drama during the glue-up.

I cut the nail flush after removing the clamps.

Clamps

This is a close-up of a clamp that holds the spray decks in place. A 3/4" piece of plywood is glued and screwed in place to line the spray deck up with the coaming of the kayak.

A 1/4" threaded insert is screwed into that plywood and provides the means for the 1/4" thick by 1" wide aluminum clamp to grab hold under the deck.

I used a 5/16" nut as a spacer; the 1/4" bolt turns freely through it. This provides a pivot point for the clamp to adjust to the angle of the deck. I've cut aluminum spacers, stacked washers, or even glued in extra wood on previous clamps, but this was a lot less work and likely more effective.

Close-ups of some of the clamps on the solo spray deck.

Photo of the cross beams, alignment blocks, and clamps used on the solo spray deck.

Trying it on for Fit

It was time to try the boat on for size and also try the fit of my spray skirt on the new coaming ring.

It's a good fit!

Copper has good small boat manners and he hopped right into his place.

I'll build a removable 8" extension to contain him better and also keep out Lake Superior! I'll top that off with a custom dog spray skirt. When Copper's not on board, I'll cover that opening with a bungeed cover.

Mary gave the boat a try also.

Feathering the Rub Strip

I didn't like the way the edge of the rub strip turned out. I also sanded through the fiberglass in a couple of spots adjacent to it. Since I had to fix those bare spots, I opted to feather the joint with epoxy thickened with silica. It looks a lot better now.

Next
Fiberglass the coaming rings, sand and varnish the spray decks.

 

[DustyMark]

Amine Blush Setback

Small Disaster
Amine blush is a residue that forms over epoxy as it cures. It must be scrubbed off with hot, soapy water before proceeding with another coat of epoxy or paint. Future coats won't cure properly over amine blush. Non-blushing epoxy hardener is available at extra cost.

Feathering the rub strip turned out to be a bad idea. I selected regular hardener when I bought my replacement epoxy and should have purchased West System's special, non-blushing hardener. All of Chesapeake Light Craft's kits ship with non-blushing hardener. I thought I had done the rub strip with my last bit of non-blushing epoxy…not! All the epoxy I applied last night to feather in the rub strip was only partially cured overnight. I knew my mistake right away. I had to scrape and sand every bit of epoxy off that I had applied last night. That took over two hours working at a steady pace.

I'll toss the blushing hardener and purchase non-blushing hardener before I use anymore epoxy. It's simply not worth the hassle dealing with amine blush. These kind of mistakes are unfortunate, but not devastating.

Next
Install the foot pedals.

 

[DustyMark]

Rudder Pedals and Foot Braces

Time to Drill Holes Through the Hull
Installing rudder pedals and foot braces meant drilling a total of eight 1/4" holes through the hull. You want to get them right the first time. I positioned seats where they go and we both sat in our positions and experimented with the best pedal placement.

We installed the Keepers foot braces for the stern cockpit first. I drilled a 1/8" hole initially and screwed the braces in temporarily to test the fit.

Once confirmed, I drilled the 1/4" holes.

I bedded all the holes in 3M 5200 Fast Cure Marine Adhesive caulk. This is real good for through-hull fittings.

Installing the starboard bow rudder pedal assembly. This is for the Smart Track Rudder System, which is a toe control rudder.

Epoxy Disaster Update
I applied unthickened epoxy along the entire length of the keel rub strip to seal up a few spots where I went through the fiberglass.

View of keel approaching the transom.

Next
Fit hip braces.