Planking the new kayak

 Sorry for lack of progress, but we have been busy (mainly traveling) for the past three months.  Now I am getting back to planking the new kayak design.  Starting from the keel, the first projection is comparatively wide, Thus, I used 2" wide planks for that section.  As the cross-sectional shapes start to include more curvature, I will switch to narrower planks.  Using no fasteners, many clamps are required to hold each plank in place while the epoxy adhesive cures.

A straight, full-length plank is placed butted alongside the keel, and its position is marked on all frames.  At the ends of the hull, a short plank is placed by hand, marked by hand with pencil, then removed and tapered to fit the open triangle between keel and full-length first plank.  It takes a small plane and some trial fitting.  A much smaller scrap of planking is similarly marked and adjusted to fill the remaining small space.  These pieces were then immersed in a bathtub overnight before being clamped in place to dry.  This is an area of maximum curvature, the soaking makes them more pliable when clamping requiring less force.

The first full-length plank has been placed port and starboard, and the second plank has been clamped in place for a trial fit.  The planks may look straight at first glance, but almost everyone has a slight curve which needs to be accommodated or removed using a small plane.  There will be one scarph joint per side.

These are full length, straight planks.  As you see, the planks are already reaching sheer height.  Following planks will be tapered and less than full hull length.  I do cleanup frequently, light sanding, knocking off resin blebs, vacuuming, so that I can make a better assessment of progress and note any flaws to be corrected.

Creating and fitting these tapered-less-than-full-length planks is exacting.  Each one requires a scarph joint.  Each plank about 11 feet long by 1 1/2 inches wide and with slight curvatures instead of being straight.  This is definitely not for the beginner boat builder or anyone with limited patience.  Then you must wrap each plank around the ever-changing frame curvatures and come out with consistent results.

Soon, the hull will be sheathed up to the sheer level, and I will post some new photographs.  Planking the deck should be much easier, but the inside of the hull needs to be finished prior to decking.

Before I start on the deck, I really need to finish the hull interior (while I have access), and perhaps I should finish the hull bottom.  The bottom sequence will be to sand any gross high points, do a penetrating coat of unfilled epoxy, then sand lightly, then a fill coat of epoxy slurry for any low points, and finally sand in preparation for primer and a final paint job.

I will probably take the hull bottom to the primer stage, close in the deck, final paint the bottom and topsides, then varnish the deck (no epoxy on deck).

  

The view is from the starboard side of the stern.  If you look closely, you can see that there are three partial length planks which taper to a point short of the stern (also short of the bow).  With somewhat straight planks and a changing bevel to the topside frames, this is what you get.  Some clamps are present because that final tapered plank has not been bonded yet and is held in place only by the clamps.