Welcome to the forum! What part of the country are you in? May have some bearing on recommendations for shops etc. Joining a club is definitely a great way to get into sea kayaking/touring. I’ve been paddling (admittedly on and off) for over 20 years. I started sea kayaking about 2 years ago. There’...

May well use something similar myself yet! Have you bought plans? They include versions for different hatch options. Double-checking whether a 3mm build is viable first. I’m still toying with building Nick Crowhurst’s Vember but the extra length when building without a garage is not something I’m o...

May well use something similar myself yet! Have you bought plans? They include versions for different hatch options.

Rear hatch recess assembled and the outer tacked to the ring. Definitely the fiddliest job so far. Despite all parts being cut bang on to the plans the outer rim was too short by about 10mm so the two ends didn’t meet up. A bit of primary school maths and some block plane action sorted it out eventu...

Thanks for the info Damo. I’ve been opting for the recommended method of glueing the plans (spray mount) directly onto the ply and cutting them out. It’s a shame to sacrifice the plans but I don’t trust myself to transfer them accurately. Some of the deck parts for this boat are quite intricate and ...

The 4mm is definitely much stiffer than 3mm as I have a sheet of that for some of the deck parts. It’s like thin card in comparison! I’m very pleased with the hull. I expect as suggested by Nick that the thickness and length of the panels has more than a little to do with it. I’ve been really impres...

Thanks Beryl. I’ll bear that in mind. I’ve had a play about on some scrap but I think I’ll commit some more materials to a larger test panel and actually give it the full treatment - pigmented epoxy, cloth and clear epoxy, fill coat of clear epoxy, varnish. The hulls going to be sheathed in cloth al...

Hull wired up,tacked with CA glue and wires removed ready for filleting. I’ve strung it up out of the way for now so I can get the deck parts cut out. Pleased with how the hulls come out. The stems were a bit tricky and have some slight gaps but otherwise it’s all pulled up tight. https://media.ukri...

Looking at that again has almost convinced me it’s got to be black!

If anyone’s interested here’s a link to the Joey Schotts two part build blog for the black Petrel Play SG

https://joeyschott.blogspot.com/2015/01 ... stuff.html
https://joeyschott.blogspot.com/2015/01 ... uff_6.html

The epoxy is as painted on, not smoothed or polished yet... https://media.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/uploads/81267/1595510945128-1919.png https://media.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/uploads/81267/1595510945212-2925.png Some silica was added to thicken to paint-like thickness. The weave was hidden with one c...

She looks pretty enough to me - I'd definitely leave her in wood as that's a lot easier to keep looking good than a painted hull, as scratches disappear into the wood pattern. Also, whatever you think is wrong with your scarf joints will look like a feature once they're covered in gleaming varnish....

Finished work a bit early today and managed to reach a milestone moment this evening. Hulls nearly stitched together. Finger and thumb are a bit sore now so that’ll do for today! There’s going to be a lot of pulling, pushing, prodding to get the seams tight but it’s great to see it starting to take ...

We were in a similar situation to you a few years ago. We bought two different sea kayaks. It was a good move as it gave us a chance to figure out what we wanted from a boat. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting two the same. As it happens we do now have two of the same but it won’t be for much l...

A good review of different flares including laser and LED from PBO here-
https://www.pbo.co.uk/gear/led-laser-fl ... sted-36341

A bit more progress. Two sheets halved and scarfed together, hull plans glued on and made a start cutting bits out. Our garage is 18’ long. This kayak is 14’ long. Not sure I’d want to try building anything longer in there! https://media.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/uploads/82049/1593971975671-6745.png h...

Have you tried a c-tug with the sandtrakz wheels? I’ve got the standard c tug and it’s pretty good but still sinks in soft sand/shingle

https://railblaza.co.uk/collections/c-t ... akz-wheels

Sweep first?

Well it’s a start. Woods here and I’ve made a bit! Part of the rear hatch recess. Thought I’d try cutting out some fiddly bits before filling the garage with floppy kayak.

This is a great book written by a member on here but if you’re a novice you should really go with more experienced paddlers.

nickcrowhurst wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:59 pm

https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/ ... ur-pigment
It's good stuff. I use it.

Small pot ordered for trial!

ive Just ordered all the materials for the hull/deck - ply, glass, resin, fillers etc. Hopefully it’ll all end up resembling something like a kayak. I’ve ordered all from Fyne boat kits. May have been able to save a bit shopping around but not having done this before would rather order from them. Th...

Thanks Jim, looks interesting. From reading Joey Schotts blog it seems he stained his panels black before assembly and then touched up any damage bits before coating with epoxy/glass and then varnishing. It does seem to give a nice deep shiny finish!

Great, thanks Nick.

Anyone know a source of epoxy compatible wood stain/dye? I’m tempted to copy the black Petrel Play SG built by Joey Schott....

Many thanks, Pedro. I expect your Petrel Play is nearly complete :) I met Nick Schade, the designer, a few years ago at the kayak show, Canoecopia, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He's not only a highly skilled designer and builder, but he seemed to be an all-round stand-up guy. Keep on sawing! (Superglue...

I know nothing about back problems but I’d like to wish you a speedy recovery.

Would thickened epoxy not do It?

Maybe a club near you would do what used to be a one star kayaking course over a couple of weekends. I did one in Plymouth years ago and it was great. Maybe a birthday present?
https://www.brighton-canoes.co.uk/links.htm

If they won’t listen to any other advice the one thing they must do is carry a means of calling for help on their person - not in their kayak. A lone paddler had a lucky escape down here a few weeks ago as he was spotted by someone looking out of a hotel window clinging to his upturned boat. He’d be...