Scott rolling the "Neytiri" Night Heron

Scott recently launched the “Neytiri” Hybrid Night Heron… in a local pool.  Oh well.  It IS winter in New England.  He posted a few videos on his blog. Below is an except:

I finally got Neytiri over to water today – too bad it was chlorinated instead of salty!!  However, since the water temps in Long Island sound hover in the 30′s right now, maybe this was a good thing!!

Any kayaker with a new boat knows that there comes a time when you just have to know – can I roll it or not?  Very important question that begs an even MORE important answer – and in my case with Neytiri – a big YES!  A major relief for me – as I intend to put myself into situations on the water when things are going to get a bit out of control and I will flip over, so getting back to good old breathable air will be imporant!

Now, I haven’t rolled a boat in many months, so this weak looking “angel or butterfly” roll isn’t very impressive, but it does mean that as I start to practice more then my roll will get that much more solid.  So DAN, good job and will ensure I drink a sip of single malt tonight to celebrate.  Thanks!

Neytire: Compass Recess and Hatches

Work from 11/7/2010 – 11/13/2010

With the deck ‘glassed inside and out attention turned to some of the outfitting.  A recess for the compass will be installed.   The hatches will be Beckson deck plates… but with twist. Most sea kayaks are outfitted with a compass for navigation.  The easiest is to just mount them directly to the deck.  On a curved deck you need a  flat spot to mount them.  That would be the easiest thing to do on this project.  To reduce the spray from water hitting them, it’s nice to recess the compass.  Ordinarily I would make my own, either out of wood or make a foam mold and cast one out of carbon fiber.  My customer showed me a neat product made by Valley Sea Kayaks (aka Valley Canoe Products): it’s a fiberglass compass recess made for the popular Nexus 70P compass.  It’s the same as they mold into their commercial composite kayaks and meant for retrofits in composite kayaks (they say it not work on a plastic kayak).  It has a black gel-coat and looks to be laid up with fiberglass mat and polyester resin.  It sure is beefy and heavy (I forgot to weigh it…).  We could only find it at the Kayak Centre in Rhode Island.

Naturally, the VCP recess is designed for the curved deck of a VCP kayak.  The spot I had to mount the recess  is dead flat.  So I took out the trusty belt sander and sanded to fit the underside of the deck.   I took a rubbing of the inside perimeter and use that as a pattern to cut out  the hole in the deck.  I tacked the recess in place some hot-glue and the bonded it with epoxy.  On the inside I added a few layers of 3.12 oz glass to the perimeter.  The opening was sanded smooth with the recess.

A layer of carbon fiber twill cloth was then laminated onto the entire recess so that it would match the proposed carbon fiber deck fittings, coaming, recess and deck and hull trim.  That ended being a interesting endeavor.  The compass recess has some very tight, compound curves which I knew would be tough to cover.  I first rough sanded all the gel-coat to give it some “tooth” then I brushed on a thin coat of epoxy. After curing for a few hours, it was very tacky.  I took an over-sized piece of carbon fiber and press it down into the lowest part of the recess.  Working my way up the sides the carbon fiber was pressed to fit the curves.  The tacky epoxy generally held it place long enough for me to wet it out with fast-cure resin.  There were a few places where the fabric was being stubborn and kept trying to lift off the recess.  So, as it cured over the next couple of hours, I would check it on the lamination and rolled out any air bubbles that developed.  It was a real trial in patience!  After it had finally cured I trimmed off the extra fabric and sanded it even with the deck.  I’ll fill in the weave when I fill the glass of the exterior.

The hatches are pretty simple: just Beckson screw-in deck-plates mounted to the deck.  As long as you don’t need a large hatch (the biggest is 8″ round), they’re superb.   They’re water-tight, easy to use, and are quick to install as long as you have a flat deck.  They are also made in Connecticut, USA!     Just cut a hole, seal the edges and surface mount.  I’ve used them on the last two Black Pearls, on the “Nereida” Njord, and on the “Elsie” CT-18.  The white BP and “Elsie” had lids that you snap in and pry out.  The fore deck was modified specifically to accept a flat deck-plate.

Except that would be too easy!

We did discuss surface mounting the deck-plates, but after they were covered with carbon fiber and put in carbon fiber recesses.   It would have looked sharp and would have really dressed up the plain, black ABS plastic deck-plates.  Ultimately we decided on another mounting method I had used successfully for the “Nereida” Njord’s day-hatch: Use them as the basis for a flush, wooden hatch.  A hole is cut like before but the cut-out is kept and bonded to the deck plate’s plastic lid (don’t forget to cut out the finger-holes).  The mounting ring is then bonded with thickened epoxy to the INSIDE of the opening.  I drilled some holes in the mounting ring to lighten it and to for the epoxy to bond to.  When the lid, now covered in wood, is screwed back on it ends up being flush with the deck.  If done correctly, the grain on the lid should line up with the deck when screwed to full tightness.  Later on, the wooden lids will get clear-coated separately from the deck.

There are more pictures from the build in the Portfolio, specifically pages 5 and 6. If you want a peek at what’s coming up for future posts, check page 7.

Next up… not sure!   Either the deck fittings or the coaming.  Both are complete.  Either way, I’ll write about both by the end of the week.

Neytiri: Plywood Bulkheads

Work from 11/5/2010 through 11/7/2010

Some builders use foam…  I like solid wood bulkheads.  I think they strengthen the structure, especially in areas like the back deck.  A wooden bulkhead is also a necessity if foam footbraces are used.

When possible I like to install my bulkheads before I join the deck to the hull.   It complicates joining the deck to the hull (I have a slick solution to that little issue…) but they are SO much easier to install.

On most plans the designer includes templates for the bulkheads.  You just cut them out and slap them in.  Not so on this project.  I needed to make customer templates for a variety of reasons.

First the sheer line was lowered and the deck was redesigned = new templates.

Second, for footbraces, the plan was press fit a few layers of minicell foam against the front bulkhead.  The paddler braces off of those.  To adjust the location of the footbrace, just add or subtract pieces of foam.   The front bulkhead was moved closer to the cockpit so less foam would be required.  Moving the front bulkhead = new templates.

Third the rear bulkhead will be moved closer to the cockpit and angled so it spans from the bottom of the coaming to the edge of the seat.  This helps reduce the amount of water in the cockpit if (when) it floods.  So, you guessed it = new template.

The new templates were easy to make, just a bit time consuming.  I used simple cardstock.  Instead of trying to fit it as one piece of paper, I used multiple pieces, fitting each side and then taping it all together.  I also fitted the hull and deck separately, joining them at at the sheer.

For a stripper I usually strip-build my bulkheads out of scraps of wood left over.  Here I used some scrap okoume plywood from the hull.  All the wood inside will match in grain and color.  Cool.  I spot sanded the inside of the hull where the bulkheads would reside.  I cut out them out, and after checking the fit, I tacked them into the hull with a few dabs of hotglue (man, that stuff is great).  That was followed by a good fillet of thickened epoxy, colored to match the other fillets in the hull. The plywood faces then got sealed with two coats of epoxy.   No fiberglass anywhere.  The fillets are more than strong enough and the epoxy will seal the plywood just fine on it’s own.

After I bond the deck to the hull, I’ll use some more fillets to bond the bulkheads to the deck creating watertight compartments.

You’ve heard this before: there are more pictures from the build in the Portfolio.   If you want a peek at what’s coming up for future posts check page 5 and 6.

Next post: Installing the compass recess and hatches.

Neytiri: Fiberglassing the Deck

Work from 10/27/2010 to 11/03/2010

This is going to be one of the shorter updates.  I did a lot of work just not much to write about.  Basically I just fiberglassed both the exterior and the interior of the deck and strengthened the deck with some CF deck beams.

After adding the carbon fiber trim on the bow and stern (see last post), I sanded the entire outside of the deck lightly with 120 sandpaper.  I had previously only sealed it with a thin coat of epoxy.  I took some time around the trim and feathered it slightly to eliminate any bumps.  I then laminated a single, continuous piece of 3.12 oz tight weave S-glass fabric over the entire deck and up the coaming riser.  The finish on the fabric makes it a bit stiff so extra attention was needed for the riser. I had to dart it in a couple of places. After trimming the fabric I started on the inside.

After the epoxy cure I started the fun process of removing the deck from the forms.  Until this point, the deck strips are still attached to the forms with hot-glue.  The beauty of using hot-glue is that it’s pretty strong in tension but really weak in shear.  Just a few taps with a hammer right next to the glue joint and the forms break cleanly off.  There’s usually just a little round dot of hot-glue on either the form or the inside that scrapes off easily. First I reached in through the cockpit opening and broke off the forms I could reach.  To release the other forms I spread the deck/hull joint at the cockpit and put a thin steel flat-bar normally used for pulling  nails into the opening.  I ran it along the sheer, giving it a tap with a hammer at each form, popping them out.  I set the hull aside and mounted the deck on some cradles so I could work on the inside.

The entire inside was sanded so that the fiberglass would lay evenly on the surface.  It didn’t have to be perfect like the outside, just enough to eliminate any ridges.  It’s quick work.  At the same time I trimmed the coaming riser even with inside and rounded the joint off slightly.  The entire inside was then laminated with pieces of 3.12 oz tight weave S-glass, just like the outside.

To beef up the cockpit recess I laminated a single layer of 5.7 oz carbon fiber twill cloth, covering it with peel ply and rolling out the extra epoxy.  In strategic locations I also added some carbon fiber deck beams.  The deck beams were made using uni-directional carbon fiber tape.  Unlike a woven cloth, the fibers all run in one direction and are held together with some cross-stands.  It’s not self-adhesive.  It’s laminated like any other fabrics.

With the tight weave glass there isn’t much of a weave to fill.  I’ll apply a fill coat to the interior after I install the deck fittings, the compass recess and the hatches.  I’ll fill the weave on the exterior when I bond the deck to the hull.

Like usual, there are a lot more pictures in the Portfolio.  Check page 4 and 5.  If you want a peek at what’s coming up for future posts check page 6.

Next up: Bulkheads.

Neytiri: Recessed carbon fiber cockpit

Sorry I haven’t posted a update on the build for a while.  Has it been almost 3 weeks?!  I’ve been busy with other stuff and these blog posts do take a bit of time to write.  I have been working on the “Neytiri” Night Heron.  It’s all the stuff that needs to be done before I can bond the deck to the hull.   Over the next few days I’ll get you up to date.

First up: forming the carbon fiber skinned recess for the cockpit coaming.

Work from 10/18/10 to 10/25/10

With the deck stripped and sanded I could now turn my attention to the next big construction item: forming the cockpit.

The stock plans for the Night Heron have a nice modern “key-hole” style cockpit opening: 29-1/2″ long by 16″ wide. It’s a great size for your average paddler.  My customer though isn’t average by any stretch of the imagination (and he’ll tell you so!).  He prefers the small “ocean” style cockpits. They’re closer to the traditional openings found on Greenland skin-on-frames.  To get in you have to slide in with both feet.  It’s easy once you get used to it.  They can offer a better connection with the kayak.  The size/shape he picked is close to the one found on his old Valley Canoe Products “Anas Acuta.”  It’s almost 10″ shorter at 20″ long by 15-1/2″ wide.

From a lesson learned while building the guitar a few years ago, I made a 1/2 template of the opening for layout and construction out of some 1/4″ plywood.  It’s so much more rugged and accurate than a piece of paper or posterboard.

To facilitate easier lay-back rolls, my customer wanted cockpit coaming recessed so that the lip would be even with the aft deck.  It’ll be made in carbon fiber to match the sides and is central to the overall design.  The faceted sides of the deck wouldn’t allow me to use use my foam trick making the recess, riser and lip in one operation.  I’d have to do things differently, more like how I build my wooden cockpits.  I’ll strip a flat recess, then add a riser and the lip.

Using some scraps of wood, some clamps and screws, I laid out the profile of the recess.  I originally aimed for a recess that was straight from the back to front, making the coaming flat side to side and front to back.  The faceted sides made that impossible.   It was a trial with a lot of error but I finally got a pleasing shape in both plan and profile with about a 1-1/4″ concavity.  That’s less than the Anas Acuta.  I cut it out to the line and sanded it smooth.  I then stripped it using some nice wide white cedar and sanded that smooth.

The riser will be made in two pieces with an inner and outer ring.  The outer ring will be bonded to the recess.  The inner riser and lip are going to be cast in one piece so that they slide into the outer. First I made a female form for the inner riser and lip out of plywood that follows the concavity of the recess.  I I also took the extra time to fair and paint it super smooth. The goal being to reduce my sanding late.  I’ll also be able to reuse it on other projects. The size and shape are very popular.  I may even offer pre-made carbon fiber coaming “kits”  for other home builders.

To make the outer lip I built out the form with a few layers of pvc fabric and packing tape.  I wanted to get the total thickness close to the finished inner riser.  I then laminated the inner riser with strips of carbon fiber and fiberglass.  It doesn’t need to be be very thick.  It’ll get more layers of carbon fiber and fiberglass when it gets attached to the recess.  When it had cured I popped it off and trimmed it roughly to height.  I took the template and traced the outline on the recess.  I offset the line to account for the thickness of the inner and out risers and cut it out to the line.

I dropped the outer riser in the hole and tacked it in place with a few beads of hot glue.  A fillet of epoxy all the way around will permanently bond it.  After the fillet had cured I sanded it smooth.  I masked off the edges of the sapele deck around the recess and laminated on a layer of carbon fiber to the recess and the riser.   The carbon is for show and gives incredible strength to the riser.  When I ‘glass the inside, I’ll wrap a layer of glass onto the inside of the outer riser.

But that’ll be a later post…

Like usual, there are a lot more pictures in the Portfolio.  Check pages 3, and  4.  If you want a peek at what’s coming up for future posts check page 5.

Next up: the special carbon fiber deck trim.