Phillip and the West Greenland Kayak build(Stretched form ), Glengarry, Tasmania, Australia .

Nov 2020

I have almost finished the prep work for the stretched form of the West Greenland Kayak.

***White oak*** from ***Cape Falcon Kayaks*** arrived during the lock downs .I have tried to keep stable in a cool room at 70-80 % Humidity .

I used the cnc to cut the spreaders and capture forms which worked quite well .

For the straight cut I used a CNC to cut a variation of the Samurai Jig . (https://youtu.be/2IMDZ2vs8NM)

**15 Nov 2020** .Today gluing up the laminations RED cedar and a center strip of Mahogany, I have opted for West system Epoxy, since this is what I know, Micro fiber filler .

17 Nov The west system epoxy created a few problems, it makes for a slippery surface and as the clamps were attached they became hard to hold and even with the wax it stuck to the dowels .The result was still fine but I will try the polyurethane glue next time.

25 Nov 2020

Spent the weekend working on the build, I made a huge stuff up by putting the rib mortise on the wrong side, I have plugged these up and spend yesterday cutting the rib mortises and the deck mortises .

Nov 30 2020

Slow progress wedges done and most of the bevels cut .I found it helpful to draw a line on the edge of the taper to keep track .

Starting the build 5 Dec 2020

***Set the forms and captured the ends .***

6th Dec 2020

After reading an update from Brian about the laminated deck beam I made a second beam using hard wood Walnut and Mahogany . There is only a few grams difference and a lower profile, plus very pretty. I find hardwood some much nicer to work with than the cedar.

Lower profile on nice looking timber .

In relation to the dowels I used a 1/4 inch threaded bolt in lue of a a Letter D drill. If you screw it in then strip the threads out it’s about the right size for the 1/4 inch dowel .

14 December 2020

Deck beams

I spent the weekend installing the deck beams took longer than I expected .

Bees wax on the dowels helps .

27 December 2020

Finally got some time to bend some ribs , managed to only break 4 ribs .I had to put several ribs back into the steamer to adjust the shape , all in all a very physical days work .

28 Feb 2021

After couple of months I’ve finished the frame and coated the timber.Getting ready to skin the frame soon.

12 March 2021

The RH has been Averaging 65 + so I started sewing the the skin.

The Final Dash

The Acid fast dye went well .

The coating was more difficult and I have a few sags and cloudy patches on the hull I should have waited longer before flipping over .Still it took a full day to coat 3 layers both sides .