Build because you want to build
Don’t build just to save money. If you aren’t interested in the building process you’ll be swearing at every mistake, and you won’t be satisfied with the final product.
The homebuilt aircraft folks – who spend hundreds or thousands of hours on a project – are very clear about this.
JEM has plans for a boat shaped
bookcase to practice on.A good idea if you are concerned about your skills.
Yikes
Well, you made me feel better about my mistakes, none of which affected the function of the finished product. I was positively anal about measuring the epoxy components and adhering to the curing temperatures. But I do feel for you. Ack. Did you check www.kayakforum.com for suggestions on removing the uncured epoxy?
Take the bad taste away by building another one?
Cool
Whatever the practice item is, it’d better have an inside as well as an outside to glass, because that’s the toughest part. Some curves and sharp chines to wrap the glass over would be good, too.
West Systems has an epoxy trial kit. I didn’t get it but sounds like a good idea.
Inside is not such a big deal
After all the stories of doom and gloom regarding glassing the inside of the boat, I was quite apprehensive at that stage but it turned out to be no big deal at all. I got a bit creative and used some binder clips to hold the glass in place as I wetted it out – worked like a charm.
Here’s a picture:
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/building/displayimage.php?album=1&pos=32
Dan
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com
beautiful
Wow that is a really beautiful boat.
I’m ampped
Seriously,
You guys have given me a lot of encouragement and answered all my what if’s. I really appreciate the info. Right now I’m thinking about the Tern, but I do want to check out some of the the other smaller companies that offer precut kits.
I like the T-day dinner anology!
-Tom
After I learned on the first piece of
cloth on the inside, I turned the boat on its side so I was glassing a mostly horizontal surface rather than a vertical one.
Not when taping deck to hull
That’s the big deal. (Laying on the regular glass before joining the deck and hull is no big deal, because everything is still exposed.) Even with hatch holes cut out, it can be a very long reach to the bow and stern ends. Might not be a big deal with a 14’ Tern and long builder arms, but it’s a pain with longer kayaks (see numerous posts on this subject at kayakforum.com.) Meanwhile, your head is inside sucking up epoxy fumes.
Given how people screw up lesser tasks, downplaying this one is not a good idea. There are various ways to minimize the nastiness of this part, but none of them is nearly as easy as working on exposed portions.
At least the kit includes…
bulkheads and hatch hardware! Also, a big chunk of minicell to make a foam seat, deck rigging, etc. While I chose to buy a commercial footpeg and rail system and a commercial backband, the Merganser kit cames with all the stuff to make a complete kayak.
Why the doom and gloom?
Pikabike wrote:
“Given how people screw up lesser tasks, downplaying this one is not a good idea.”
Painting a picture of imminent failure and hardship is not doing anyone any good – it seems a bit insulting if you ask me. Glassing the inside is not a big deal if you think things through first.
Regarding attaching the deck to the hull; I don’t know if you noticed, but my boat is twenty feet long and applying the tape to bond the deck and hull was not a harrowing experience. Yes, I did have to think it through – and by using the method explained in the Pygmy manual it wasn’t the least ackward thing in the world that I’ve ever done but it certainly wasn’t all that bad. If you prepare in advance and have supplies at the ready, it’s not an undaunting task.
The bottom line is that if you are the type of person who likes to build things, and you have an aptitude and desire for it, then you’ll enjoy building your own kayak for sure – and you’ll enjoy paddling it afterwards. If you’re not the type who likes to work with your hands and can’t solve problems and overcome hurdles on the go, then it may not be for you.
I’ve seen a lot of kayaks built by first-time kit owners that turned out quite nice.
Dan
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com
definitely doable
I’ve build several boats, one from a kit and the rest either from plans or offsets. They’ve turned out just fine. Everyone responds to building differently, so part of the experience is figuring out whether you are the patient, hard to fluster kind, or whether you are like me and know you will get uptight at various points and will eventually run out of new and unique obscenities to describe your feelings about the building experience.
My advice would be:
- Relax and don’t take it too seriously
- Make sure you understand what you are supposed to do at each point.
- If you don’t understand something, ask the kit company for advice or post your question on one of the builders’ bulletin boards. Allow plenty of time for answers.
- Assume you will make mistakes.
- Bear in mind that if you can screw it up, it can be fixed, and no mistake is fatal.
- It’s best if you aren’t up against a deadline. If you beat the deadline, the rest of us will get voodoo priestesses to put weird hexes on you. If you miss the deadline, you will not be happy. Enjoy the process and take the time to get everything right. You’ll be glad you did when you are through.
Here are a few examples of boats I’ve muddled my way through. If I can do it, anyone can:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/171970088/204616489WxIVJS
http://community.webshots.com/photo/133354146/139137466AcBDxp
http://community.webshots.com/photo/133354146/139137785vctUCO
http://community.webshots.com/photo/133354146/139137932FipTqP
http://community.webshots.com/photo/400333983/401923194WBRtTM
If I can do it anyone can . . .
really never considered myself a wood worker and this is my first boat .
I heard somewhere that Pygmy QC was the easiest to build. (got the full kit for the XL model)
made lots of mistakes - concealed them all
customized the boat a little with a large cockpit and hatch in the bulkhead.
http://photos.yahoo.com/bdayspringhopper
not done yet - just put on my second coat of spar varnish
any way . . go for it! (very satisfying)
- springhopper
Don’t agonize, organize.
Sage advice c2g and a fine fleet of boats that you have there!
I spent two months completing my first build, a Pygmy Tern, and consider it to be my penultimate DIY project. I could have finished sooner but didn’t want to rush the job for fear of messing something up. Sure there were a few obstacles along the way, but nothing that couldn’t be overcome. I can’t stress enough how important it is to familiarize oneself with the construction manual and its sequences before continuing and throw any ideas out the window of completing the kit in the time that Pygmy suggests in its brochure.
My Tern looks great to me, but likely far from being considered a show piece when seen by a trained eye. That said, the overwhelming pride and joy that I felt as I took to the water for the first time was the real prize at the end of the build.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/429538800/452789541zpWlli
Am I missing something?
According to my construction manual for the Arctic Tern, the inner sheer seam only requires to be taped from the front of the deck reinforcement plate to a point aft of the cockpit as far as one can reach. From what I understand, most of the stress occurs around this area of the cockpit. Nothing is mentioned about taping the full length of the seams to the stems.
Are there different requirements for Pygmy’s other kits?
when did you buy it?
I recall it was around $780 or so,and now it’s $900
must be
the Coho instructions I had from 7 yrs ago had tape from bow to stern on the interior of the sheer seam.
Not so three years ago.
Three years ago…
– Last Updated: Sep-21-05 10:27 PM EST –
when I built my double, the instructions were to run tape from stern to bow along the inside shear seam.
Dan
http//www.westcoastpaddler.com
*****
You can fix any boat…
– Last Updated: Sep-22-05 12:02 AM EST –
This year I bought an older Arctic Tern. It had no bulkheads, hatches, seat, minimal deck rigging, several bubbles in the glass and terrible varnish. The reasons I bought it were that it weighed 33 lbs., the hull was true and no black spots (mold).
It is now 43 lbs. and ready to go camping..
http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ekimiklk47ty.jpg
