Building a Kayak

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

		Now that we have our work area and surface ready, it's time to glue the side and bottom pieces together into their full length. By stretching a string between two nails you get a nice straight edge to align the pieces along. The side panels are easy, since the top edge is a straight line. The bottom panels take a little more work as they have a curve top and bottom. By using the string as a base line, it is really quite easy to set up the bottom panels. Just make sure of your measurements BEFORE you glue! As you can see from this picture, I used small scraps of wood to block the panels into place BEFORE mixing the glue. This way I was able to quickly and accurately lay up the pieces, so that each pair matched perfectly when finished. Closer look at the Blocks used to hold the panels in place while gluing. Seen here, are the blocks used at the bow end of the bottom panels. This system worked very well! After everything is aligned, it is time to mix up some epoxy and glue the pieces together. Epoxy thickened with wood dust added to it is used for the glue and applied to the scarfs, panels are set into their blocked positions and stacked with wax paper between them so that both side OR bottom panels are bonded at the same time and in the same alignment. A scrap of plywood is placed on top of the joints and stapled through all the panels to clamp them together. Wipe up any epoxy that was pushed out of the joints and you are done for now. After the epoxy cures, remove the staples and admire the completed panels. On to Chapter 3 sbaxter@olympus.net