Hatch installation

Began to form the fiberglass lips needed to install the hatches.  I'm taking an idea from Ross Leidy's site, described in the construction notes for his Whiptail kayak (see link to Blue Heron Kayaks).  I've decided to use a KajakSport 10" round hatch on the foredeck and a Valley (10" X 19") oval hatch on the stern deck.

The picture below was taken from my first effort to fashion a mold for the stern lip.  It's pink insulating foam conformed and fared to the underside of the deck, then wrapped in duct tape as a release for the 6-8 layers of fiberglass that I will build up to cover it.  I may take another stab at it since this one is not quite shaped to my liking.

Coaming lip

Finished laying out the coaming rim  on Friday. sanded and started to glass it today (Saturday).  

I filled in the curve for the thigh braces by shaping some 1-1/2"  wide strips left over from the build, then made a laminate of five 1/8" wide strips around the oval, "steaming" the strips by wetting them down and applying a heat gun.

  

At the front of the coaming, where the curve is too severe, I followed a tip from Nick Schade's book to avoid the curve, evident in the picture below.

Nearly spring. more progress

Lots of sanding, lots of glassing, and now the basic hull and deck are done.   Used four ounce glass on the deck, six ounce glass on the hull, RAKA slow epoxy.  For strength, doubled the glass along the keel and under the football on the outside of the hull, under the cockpit inside, alongside and behind the cockpit on the deck, and under the hatches.  I shaped two small triangular dams from the cutout for the cockpit, then in lieu of an end pour dammed and filled the tip of the bow and stern a distance of perhaps four inches, using a runny putty of sawdust and epoxy.  I also added a fillet of putty along the bow and stern, having removed the internal stems earlier.

Next I turned to the cockpit and hatches.  I've decided to template the coaming from my NDK Explorer and reproduce it in strips and laminated veneer.  The pictures  show it halfway done.

   

While building up the coaming lip, I'll be thin king about next steps.  I purchased two VCP oval hatches, but am having second thoughts about using them both, as the foredeck may be better suited to a smaller round hatch.  I was going to use Jay Babina's technique of fashioning a wooden ring to mount them, but will probably use Ross Leidy's instructions (from his Whiptail...nice looking design), shaping a mold from builder's foam, then fabricating a fiberglass insert.

Stay tuned.