Joining the deck & hull

These pictures ended up in reverse order. Before joining the hull and deck I used a 30" sanding board with 50 course paper to level the sheerline on the hull and deck. This was recommended by Joe in the plans and works really well. Then I sealed the edges of the hull & deck with 2 coats of epoxy just in case anything is ever exposed. They fit together much easier than I expected when my son Ben and I taped them together. It was great to step back and finally see what looked like a kayak nearing completion.Here are the tools of the trade for joining them together. Small brush, brush on the end of a 4 fts stick and flashlight. I soaked the roll of 2" glass tape in epoxy and started it in the middle of the coaming and rolled them to each end. It really worked well expect on the first one where I didn't measure exactly how much I had on each end and ended up with to much on one side and to little on the other. I was able to simply bury the extra in the ends and add an extra roll on the other side. Live and learn.

Here are the rolls of tape ready to put into a yogert cup of epoxy. Laying the kayak on it's side works very well and I didn't have a problem sticking my head into each hatch. Here is the kayak taped with the inside completed. Next steps are to strip off the tape, clean off any glue, sand or plane the edge, add filler to any cracks and repeat the process on the outside. Now I'm getting anxious to go paddling.

Hatches

As many before me have reflected, cutting two holes in a beautifully finished deck is somewhat of a daunting experience. The template from Redfish provided the exact dimensions of the cutout. I used masking tape to then go over the line and reline the masking tape. This prevents any splintering of the wood and keeps the cut clean. I used a 1/16" (or smaller) drill bit to make a few holes in order to get a cut started. If I could do this over again I would do it differently either with a Japanese bonsai saw or a Dremel - neither of which I have right now. However, once thru I used a fine tooth saber saw blade to widen the cut and then used saber saw with a fine tooth metal blade to make the cut.

I decided to follow the Redfish directions on the hatch stops and used cedar strips. This is a view from the bottom. It took about 90 1 1/2" strips on the rear hatch put down with thickened epoxy. It was a challenge to figure out how to clamp this down without it moving and I didn't do all that well. Ben advised me to used a sandbag, but, since I didn't have one I stuck with clamps and small strips. I found that once the epoxy was setting up was the best time to clamp it. These strips got cut from the other side to provide a 1/4" lip for the hatch to rest on. Then another set will be placed under these that will provide a resting strip for the neoprene weather stripping.

This is another view of the bottom of the hull with the hatch. The hatch has two sets of hooks that will connect to an under the deck bungie to provide tension from the bottom. These are made of mahogany and will be epoxyed. The little piece in the middle has a hole through it for the bungie and will provide a permanent hold to keep the hatch from falling overboard or in the sand on the beach. This type of hatch hold down keeps extra webbing and latches off of the deck.

Here is a view of the hatch in place from the top. It should be held down tight enough with the bungies from below and the neoprene weatherstripping to provide a good watertight seal. At least thats the plan. I will need to provide something to grab in order to open the hatch. Some use a little wooden ball on top, others a small piece of webbing. Not sure yet what I will do about that.