Launch

After picking my parents up from the airport, I quickly finished making a trolley for the kayak while they got freshened up. There was a very high tide today at 5:00pm, so at 6:30 there was still plenty of water over the oyster shells for a safe launch after a quick trundle down to the beach.

I went out about 100m, rounded the wharf and paddled into Island Bay (which completely empties on a low tide) and then back again. The boat was very stable but quite a lot of water came over the bow. A spray skirt will be necessary before I cross any rougher water. Also, the paddle could do with being about 200mm longer. I may achieve this by adding an aluminium section to the middle and making it a two-piece paddle.

Completion

Here's a couple of pics of the finished product, sitting on the driveway on Wednesday evening awaiting launch the following day.

Quick Update

The launch date for the kayak is scheduled for 22nd January, this Thursday afternoon.

My parents arrive for a month long visit from the UK, and I'll launch in the afternoon after I've picked them up from the airport.

The kayak is mostly painted, just some black pinstripes and a couple of areas to be touched up.  The seat is painted, the paddle is varnished and I've made and painted a toggle for the bow line.  Final touches will be some foam rubber mat cable tied to the seat and the forward deck beam (to protect my shins).

I still have top make a trolley to take it the 200m or so to the local boat ramp and beach.  I'll probably end up carrying it because I also have to paint and fit foot grips to some bolt-on sidesteps a friend fabricated for the Land Rover a couple of years ago.

Its going to be tight, but a Thursday launch it is.  

New Year, Same Kayak

Well, that's Christmas and New Year out of the way.

I was really busy getting ready for Christmas, then we went camping for a few nights and got back on New Year's day. I went back to work the following Monday, so tried to spend the weekend doing fun, family stuff rather than sanding.

I finally got around to sanding the first coat of primer and adding a little knifing putty to some of the less well prepared areas (the ones that only show up once its all the same colour). I did a big session of sanding last night and got it close enough. I'm brush painting the top coats so once the minor scratches and edges in the filler are smaller than a brush mark, I don't see the point in spending any more effort getting it better. I will, however, be asking for a random orbital sander for my birthday.





So this evening I put on a second coat of primer. I'll flat it off with a quick rub of 220 grit paper, with a little more attention being payed to a few inevitable runs and drips. It was around 25 degrees Celsius when I was painting in the early evening, and the water based paint was drying as fast as I could brush it out, keeping a wet edge was nigh on impossible.

In the background, between coats, I've also prepped the seat for top-coating, rubbed the paddle down ready for a final coat of varnish, and spray painted some deck hardware in satin black enamel after etch-priming (its all galvanised steel).