Active recreation is becoming more and more popular. But many are stopped when deciding to go in for one or another type of outdoor activity, the cost of equipment that needs to be purchased in order to feel as comfortable as possible.
It is quite expensive to buy a kayak or canoe in a store, but it is quite possible to make it yourself. The easiest and fastest to assemble will be a kayak, which requires minimal amount tools and materials.
In order to start assembling the necessary equipment, you will need to stock up on materials and tools in advance. During the assembly process you will need:
- drill, screwdriver, jigsaw, belt grinder, but if necessary, they can be replaced with a more familiar hand tool, performing the same functions;
- knife, scissors, pliers, wire cutters - will be needed directly for assembling the structure;
- epoxy resin - will allow you to seal the boat hull at the seams and securely fasten plywood sheets;
- plywood at least 3 millimeters thick - you will need 4 standard sheets;
knitting wire - necessary for fixing individual parts of the structure during the assembly process; - fiberglass - will make the seams more durable, so as not to suffer with its cutting, it is necessary to purchase a ready-made tape 3-4 centimeters wide;
- waterproof varnish, which, after the construction of the structure, is completely covered with a kayak so that the wood does not swell in water and does not lose its shape.
- Additionally, various protective devices (gloves, mask, goggles) can be useful, which allow you to perform the work not only efficiently, but also safely for the performer.
Assembling a kayak (kayak)
Before you start cutting out the details of the future boat, you need to prepare plywood. Standard sizes 1 sheet is usually 1.5 by 1.5 meters, and to make a kayak, strips 2.8 long and 0.75 meters wide are needed. They can be purchased either immediately from the manufacturer, which is usually quite difficult, or made independently.
For the manufacture of boards, sheet plywood is cut into strips of 0.75 meters. For docking with grinder remove the corner chamfer, accurately fitting adjacent sheets. One sheet 3.6 - 3.8 meters long is assembled from the strips and the joints are glued epoxy resin. An epoxy coated fiberglass tape is laid over the seam to stiffen it. The joints can be fixed with building brackets, and for the quality of gluing, they are pressed with a heavy load and left until the glue dries completely.
While the materials for the board are being glued together, you can continue cutting the plywood into the rest of the hull parts of the future boat. We will need:
- 4 partitions for separating the internal space of the hull, which will give rigidity to the structure and will not allow sinking when a hole is received;
- blank for deck;
- 4 blanks for connecting the deck and sides.
We give the boat a shape and glue
After the sheets of plywood are glued together, they are given the necessary shape with a jigsaw. Then the blanks of the boards are aligned side by side and begin to be connected using a knitting wire. Previously, at the junction, it is necessary to make holes with a drill. It is necessary to connect the structure from the middle.
The shape of the future boat will be given by 4 bulkheads cut in advance. Then the seam is glued with fiberglass and epoxy resin on both sides.
When the hull is completely dry, a deck and 4 side blanks are attached to it, which ensure the tightness of the kayak. Then, using a jigsaw, a landing hole is made in the deck, which is additionally glued with fiberglass.
After the structure is completely dry, it is glued on the outside with fiberglass with epoxy resin and, after complete drying, it is treated with a waterproof varnish.
In order to make it convenient to sit in the kayak, a sheet of plywood is attached under the landing hole, which will act as a seat.
That's all! Almost anyone who knows how to use a standard set of tools can make a kayak with their own hands. At the end, we offer a short visual video on how to build a plywood kayak.
A plywood kayak is made in the form of sports and tourist equipment. Outwardly, they differ design features and weight. At self-assembly, it is important to remember that the product should allow the rower to be placed facing the direction of movement, and for rowing, one oar with two blades is used, deployed relative to each other for ease of movement.
Main advantages
- Easy movement on water.
- Light weight.
- Shallow draft contributes to the passage of rifts and shallow water.
- Wave stability and high load capacity.
- Protection of the rower from splashes by means of a special apron.
- Ability to travel on cold water.
- If you decide to build a plywood kayak yourself, you can make the drawings yourself or use those offered on this page.
The disadvantages include the lack of a keel. It is not suitable for long-term swimming in large open waters. The use of structures is carried out in small rivers and coastal areas.
Design features
Choosing a kayak from plywood with your own hands - the drawings can correspond to the specified characteristics:
- Pleasure kayak is designed for small trips. It is equipped with everything necessary equipment for day tourism. The design of products prevents overturning. Landing is provided inside - a series of Sit-In structures. The duration of the walk is 3-5 hours, it can be used by people with limited mobility. The composition includes a luggage compartment and piping on the deck. The length is 3.5-3.7 m., and the width is from 66 to 80 cm.
- Tourist kayak. Designed for long distances. They cover long distances more easily than recreational kayaks, they are distinguished by speed and directional stability. There are products for day tourism, no more than 1-2 days and for longer walks (from 3 days).
A kayak made of plywood with patterns is represented by 2 or more luggage compartments and internal partitions luggage compartments. Some models have a retractable keel ("skeg") or steering system. The seats are characterized by different positions for adjusting under the rowers.
- The universal kayak is used for fishing and walking. Among the main features is a two-position raised seat. Equipped with a sealed luggage hatch and latches.
- Large sea kayak for long expeditions. The design feature is large dimensions, which allows you to accommodate a manager with high growth and large dimensions. The device has 2 luggage compartments with large dimensions.
Self-assembly
Equipment preparation:
- Electric drill, electric screwdriver, jigsaw, belt type grinder.
- Cutting tools, pliers, wire cutters used for assembly.
- Epoxy for sealing the hull at the seams and securely fastening plywood sheets.
- Plywood panels 3 mm thick - 4 pcs. standard size.
- Knitting rod - for fastening elements during assembly.
- Fiberglass - allows you to provide seams with an increased level of strength. You can use the finished tape 3-4 cm wide.
- Water resistant lacquer to prevent water swelling and loss of shape.
- Might need protective elements in the form of gloves, masks, glasses.
Assembly steps
Before opening the elements of the future device, plywood is prepared. Standard parameter 1 sheet is equal to 150 by 150 cm, and for a kayak you will need strips of 280 cm and 75 cm wide. They are purchased from the manufacturer.
To create boards, it is necessary to cut plywood sheets into strips of 75 cm each. For joints, a corner chamfer is cut using a grinder, ensuring that adjacent sheets fit. The strips are assembled into one panel with parameters 360 - 380 cm.
The seams are glued with epoxy. An epoxy coated fiberglass tape is laid on the joint surface to ensure rigid properties. Connection sections are fixed with construction staples. High-quality gluing can be created by pressing with heavy weights placed on top of the structure until the glue is completely dry.
In the process of gluing the elements for the side part, sawing of plywood parts for the remaining parts continues. This will require:
- 4 partitions for dividing the inner part of the hull, giving rigidity and not allowing to go to the bottom in the presence of a pothole.
- Deck preparation.
- 4 products for joining the deck with the sides.
Shaping and gluing
After gluing the plywood sheets, they give the desired shape with a jigsaw. Then the blanks of the side parts are placed side by side and connected by means of a knitting rod. At the joints, gaps are made using an electric drill. The connection of the structure is made from the center.
Attention! The shape of the future equipment is given by 4 pre-created partitions.
In bulk, the seam is glued with fiberglass and epoxy from different sides. As the hull dries, the deck and 4 side elements are fixed on it, providing hermetic properties. By means of an electric jigsaw, a landing gap is created in the deck, which is additionally glued with fiberglass.
After complete drying, sizing is carried out from the outside with fiberglass with epoxy and varnish. For ease of placement in the body under the gap for landing, a plywood panel is fixed, which acts as a seat. A separate issue is the creation of an oar or its purchase in a specialized store.
In order to make a light high-speed kayak from branches and an ordinary awning, blogger lawyer Egorov needed a little time, a lot of experience and creativity, which he has more than enough. The whole secret is to bend the frames from the branches and pull the awning over the kart. The entire structure can be assembled practically in field conditions.
The kayak is very light, its weight is less than 5 kg, it can be safely held on one hand. The stability of a self-made kayak is very high, you can swim without fear at high speed and on a fairly high wave. For experimental purposes, Egorov even stood with his feet on it, and the boat remained stable.
Interestingly, the kayak turns out to be quite compact, only 3 meters long. Literally from improvised materials, the kayak turns out to be very high-quality and reliable. It is very convenient to fish on spinning from this boat, there are fishing footage on the video. The lake on which the fishing was carried out and, accordingly, the shooting is very difficult to access, so for many years the author of the video became the first fisherman on it. There were so many fish that the fishing was barely started due to the abundance of the catch.
Two different tents were tested in the work. Blue is cheaper and stronger, but less flexible. And green is much more expensive, it is more flexible and completely impenetrable. The dimensions of the tent, which weighs 800 grams, are 3 by 3 meters. The material of the green awning is Oxford polyester, which, according to the passport, can withstand a pressure of 6 m of water column. It turns out that, theoretically, in a bathyscaphe made of this fabric, you can dive to a depth of 6 meters and not be afraid that water will seep through it.
Filming took place on an island surrounded by several lakes. The convenience of the manufactured boat is in its low weight and dimensions. It was not difficult to carry it from lake to lake. However, sailing on the water was much easier and more enjoyable than walking along the shore.
Such a kayak has one drawback - a vulnerable skin. There was an unpleasant moment when, when mooring to a rock, the awning was damaged and began to leak. Therefore, you have to be especially careful to moor to unverified places. However, the advantages far outweigh this drawback.
The versatility of the boat will appeal to survivalists. During the tests of a home-made kayak, it was raining and one of the awnings was used to protect against it, which can be easily removed from the hull.
How the kayak is made.
The basis of the design is bent branches in the form of frames. In order to make a round frame, you just need to wrap a branch around a tree and wait until it dries. If it is possible to choose a material from different breeds tree, it is better to use bird cherry. And for a blank, take a dry tree without bark.
More difficult with oval or more curvilinear frames. In order to bend them in field conditions, the author of the video took a piece of a rotten trunk and leaned its halves against a vertically standing tree. The result is a cone-shaped blank. On it you can bend frames of different sizes and shapes. The lower the branch is bent along the cone, the larger diameter. For a single boat, you need two oval frames. In addition, you need another hoop for the landing hatch. For the stem and stern, I bent half of the hoop. best material for him - spruce branch. Due to the many annual rings, it acquires high bending strength. In order for the blanks to dry faster, you need to remove the bark from them, and then after a day you can remove them. This can only be done immediately before bending the hoop. Otherwise, the wood will dry out and the branch will crack at the bend.
The width of the frame at the midsection is 800 mm, and the height is 400 mm. You can connect the branches to a special groove, but, as it turned out, this is not at all necessary, and the overlap connection is not worse at all. In addition, in the latter case, you can quickly change the diameter.
With regard to the choice of material for stringers (longitudinal structural element of the hull (frame) of the vessel), the best choice is the twigs of willow, hazel, bird cherry. But in the made kayak, a different material was used - natural chips from trees broken by the wind. Such chips are lighter and stronger than laths from a sawmill and almost as good as they are in straightness. Better than this material only carbon fiber.
The stem is a continuation of the keel, which creates the front end of the vessel. In addition to the stem and stern, 8 stringers were used on the kayak. 2 of the strongest and shortest of them were launched to the bottom, while others were placed along the sides.
It remains to collect all the details together. For mounting stringers to frames, you can use spruce root and other natural materials. But for convenience, it is better to take adhesive tape. It is not only convenient for them to work, but also more economical in time.
Unlike commercial kayak frames, this frame is strong and rigid even without the skin. The blue awning measures 3.5 by 1.5 meters. The optimal diagonal arrangement of the frame on it is impossible. Therefore, an excess number of folds is formed on the bow and stern. And in order to stretch the skin on the frame like a drum, special eyelets (bushings) are needed. They were prefabricated from scraps of siding. A few words about their production in this video. So I needed a piece of siding, a simple homemade mold for stamping, a heat source and scissors. The siding is made from thermoplastic PVC. When heated, it softens and shrinks slightly. The soft siding must be transferred to the mold and the grommet clip blank must be stamped. Wait a couple of seconds until the pvc hardens and remove the workpiece from the mold. Now you need to remove all unnecessary - form the outer edge with scissors and make a hole in the molded recess. If necessary, clean the edges with a file. It remains to drill a hole for the mount and the grommet clip is ready.
Installing an ordinary eyelet damages the fabric, and when loaded, the eyelet simply breaks out, and the clip / eyelet is installed anywhere on the woven fabric, does not damage it at all and provides an absolutely reliable fastening of the brace, suspension and other things.
Happy hiking!
If you have rubber boat, then it will be useful.
A kayak is a watercraft that is great for fishing, because, unlike most analogues, it has a number of advantages.
At the same time, it is not necessary to buy a boat of this type in ready-made, because with a certain amount of effort it can be made independently. The proposed article will help you understand all the nuances associated with this process.
The need for a kayak for a fisherman
Kayaks are necessary for anglers to overcome water obstacles or catch prey from them, while they are consistently popular, unlike many other analogues.
This is due to a number of advantages, their main positive aspects are discussed below:
- Ease of use. In such a boat, it is not only comfortable to sit, but also to move inside it, get into the water or get out of it.
- The stability of the boat is very useful when fishing for large prey, the risk of capsizing the vessel is minimal.
- No need to bail out water that gets inside the boat, as it will be eliminated on its own through holes located in the bottom surface.
- A well-chosen or designed model will not sink even if it capsizes randomly.
- High level of mobility: transportation of two boats at once is easily carried out with a personal car. This will not affect the aerodynamics in any way, so you can move to the fishing place at your usual speed.
- Ease of storage. For these purposes, you can use a garage room in which the boat is placed in a suspended state, which does not require a large number free space.
Buy a kayak or make your own?
The easiest option is to buy a ready-made kayak, but many people prefer to make their own. This method will also require quite a few financial costs, as well as the cost of free time and a certain skill, but it is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance.
Many people find this process quite interesting, besides, self-production allows you to be sure of the quality of the boat and take into account individual requirements for the boat. To date, there are many schemes and manuals that greatly simplify this process.
We make a kayak on our own
What will be needed?
First you need to make sure that everything is available. necessary materials and tools. The minimum list of inventory required for self-manufacturing kayak is shown below:
How to catch more fish?
For 13 years of active fishing, I have found many ways to improve the bite. And here are the most effective ones:- Cool activator. Attracts fish in cold and warm water with the help of pheromones included in the composition and stimulates their appetite. It's a pity that Rosprirodnadzor wants to ban its sale.
- More sensitive gear. Read the relevant manuals for the particular type of tackle on the pages of my website.
- Lures based pheromones.
- Electric jigsaw.
- Belt type grinder.
- Drill, screwdriver.
- Building hair dryer.
- Scissors set different sizes, they must all be well sharpened.
- Knife with a sharp blade.
- Pliers, cutters.
- At least four sheets of plywood with a recommended thickness of about 4mm.
- Fiberglass, about 20 m 2.
- About 1.5 liters of waterproof varnish.
- About 120g of Aerosil A300, which will need to be added to the epoxy about a day before the start of any work with this involvement.
- About 10kg of epoxy resin.
- Spatula made of rubber, which will be required to work with epoxy.
- Strong knitting or connecting wire.
- Disposable cups made of plastic.
- About 5 brushes of different sizes.
- About 0.5 l of solvent.
- About 5kg hardener.
- Disposable rubber gloves.
- small wooden sticks Suitable for ice cream utensils.
- Cargo.
- Masking tape.
- Drawings for construction, which today can be purchased if you cannot find or prepare them yourself. It is best if they are executed in a 1: 1 ratio, since this will greatly simplify the construction process: it will be enough just to transfer the frame and parts to plywood sheets.
Purchase of materials
Particular attention should be paid to the purchase of certain types of materials, primarily plywood, epoxy resin and fiberglass. All features associated with these materials are discussed in detail below.
Plywood
It must be remembered that not every kind of plywood is suitable for building a kayak: you will need to find sheets of 2240x1120mm. IN construction stores such material is not sold, you will need to place an order via the Internet or contact the relevant companies to make an application for manufacturing.
The difficulty lies in the fact that not all organizations carry out retail trade in such material, since the manufacture of only a few sheets is a costly process for them.
Today, you can make a profitable purchase via the Internet using the services of the Penrus company; two types of plywood are suitable for building a kayak, which can be found among their range:
- "Lauro Vermelho" Made in Brazil, it is a very high quality material: knots and various defects in fact, they are completely absent, while plywood has an impressive stiffness index, and its thickness is uniform over the entire plane of the sheets.
- "Amesklao" is an analogue of Chinese production. It has a lower price, but the quality is much worse.
The coloring of plywood does not matter much and does not affect the construction process, but Zhotoba is usually used for the manufacture of boats.
fiberglass
With due attention it is necessary to treat the process of choosing fiberglass, the main recommendations are given below:
- The manufacturing technology of a kayak involves the use of fiberglass, an indicator specific gravity which is 130g / m 2.
- It is far from always possible to find the required type of fiberglass, its closest analogues are materials with indicators of 100 g / m 2 or 200 g / m 2, in which case it will be necessary to give preference to the second option.
- It is recommended to purchase only those pieces of fiberglass that have been evenly packaged. The use of packs usually leads to the formation of folds and other mechanical defects and deformations, which affects the quality of the material and causes a whole range of problems when coating its surface with epoxy resin.
Epoxy resin
In total, you will need to purchase about 10 kg of epoxy resin. In many instructions and manuals, a smaller volume is indicated, but, as practice shows, the consumption is close to exactly 10 kg of this product. It is far better to have a small surplus left after completion of construction than a sudden shortage of resin at the most inopportune moment, which paralyzes the entire manufacturing process.
You can purchase Etal-370 epoxy resin, since this is the most best option, if you evaluate it by the ratio of price, quality and basic characteristics. For this variety, a hardener called "Etal-47F5" is suitable.
Stages of construction
After preparing the workplace, as well as all materials and tools, you can proceed directly to the construction process.
It will be divided into the following main steps:
- Initially, it is necessary to make everything on the machine necessary details, this process is carried out in accordance with the available drawings.
- Gluing in progress various parts, masking tape is used for this.
- A consistent collection of the deck and the lower part of the future swimming facility is carried out.
- After both parts are ready, you can pre-collect and check how they fit together.
- The inner surfaces of both parts are treated with epoxy resin.
- In the lower part, an unsinkability compartment is organized, which will be obtained by installing several partitions. They are also treated with resin.
- Another adjustment of the deck and the lower part of the structure is carried out, at the stage it is necessary to make sure that they fit perfectly to each other.
- If no problems were found, then both parts are glued together, after which the joints are treated with epoxy. Then this procedure is carried out with all the surface of the kayak.
- Hatches are being built.
- At the final stage, fiberglass coating is carried out, after which the construction can be considered completed. Then it remains only to paint the kayak, made with my own hands.
Tests
After the construction is completed, you can proceed to testing the manufactured kayak. You can deliver a swimming facility to a reservoir using a makeshift trunk in a car, the weight of the structure is negligible and usually there are no problems.
The purpose of the test is to evaluate the manufactured boat according to the following criteria:
- Ease of control.
- Travel speed with and without additional load.
- The maximum carrying capacity of the ship.
A high-quality kayak should easily withstand a load of 120 kg, which usually does not interfere with staying afloat.
Feedback from fishermen
Many fishermen have already tried to make a kayak with their own hands, some of their opinions about this process are given below:
“As practice has shown, building a kayak is not so difficult, much more difficulties arise with the search, selection, purchase and delivery of the necessary material. If I had known that it would take me so much time, I would have started shopping even before the holidays, otherwise I was constantly afraid that I would not meet it, and the process of making the boat would have to be postponed for the weekend.
There were also difficulties with transportation, it was not easy to transport a kayak on standard "bast shoes", because every 50-60 km the belts jumped off. I ended up purchasing a few stretch strings, which proved to be much more effective as the boat was fixed securely until I finally got to the water. The first tests were successful, which means that I didn’t waste my entire vacation building a kayak for nothing.”
Alexander
“Building a kayak did not cause any particular difficulties for me. But first, I saw enough of various videos on the Internet that were devoted to this process, most of them were foreign. In particular, it showed the coating of the structure with fiberglass, on which the first layer of epoxy had already been applied.
As it turned out, not only I faced this problem: you need to prime the surface even before coating with fiberglass, I don’t know how the masters in the video managed to do this, perhaps they used some other and better materials.
“I have a lot of experience building kayaks: I made the first boat for myself, I go fishing with it. This gave me great experience and allowed me to master the technology, after which I gladly undertook to help my friends in the manufacture of kayaks.
I then repeatedly compared the spoons we built with factory models, the difference, of course, is noticeable. This applies to the weight of the swimming facility, the quality of the seams, the characteristics of the coating and other nuances. However, I cannot say that homemade kayaks turned out bad, all the tests went just fine.
Anatoly
We independently build a kayak for fishing
Kayak - is a traditional water vehicle peoples inhabiting the expanses of the Arctic. Paddles are used for movement. They are divided into three, two and one-oar models.
In the manufacture of traditional models, walrus and seal skins were used, put on wooden or bone frames. To make the seams waterproof, whalebones and veins were used.
Nowadays, industrial methods are used for manufacturing using latest materials and technologies.
In this article we will look at how to make a kayak with your own hands.
How to make a kayak
You can use plywood to make a kayak. For assembly without a frame kayak, the glue and stitch method is suitable, which will be discussed in detail in this article.
Assembly according to this technique will require little time and effort.
How to build a kayak with your own hands?
The Rosinka kayaks, created back in Soviet times, have gained immense popularity among tourists. For many years in a row they have taken pride of place in sports, tourism, and fishing.
The relative simplicity of design and ease of manufacture allowed her to take an honorable, leading place among people who want to make a kayak on their own.
Assembling a kayak (kayak)
The assembly sequence of the kayak "Rosinka":
- Frames made of plywood are installed on the slipway.
- The keel is laid on the frames in grooves specially designed for this, with a pre-attached stem and sternpost. The corners are attached to the keel.
- We put the zygomatic bars, fenders and bottom stringers in their places.
- Before proceeding with the sheathing, all protruding beams should be adjusted so that the sheathing fits snugly on board.
- After finishing the fit, you can proceed to the fasteners of the skin.
- Installing the deck. We cut with a saw and process the transoms, frames, bulkheads along the deck line with a planer.
Between the fender and carlings we put the so-called "crackers" - these are wooden bars equal to the distance between the carlings and the fenders. We carry out docking of the deck flooring and fasten it with glue and small screws.
Installing coaming around the cockpit perimeter
If desired, you can lighten a single vessel, for this you just need to make the hull shorter, excluding the middle frame. In addition, in this type of boat, the frames can, in principle, be removed; it will be enough to leave 2 bulkheads of the popkit.
The work with the hull is finished, after that we manufacture the seats, backrests, yelani, steering gear and steering wheel.
Paddles can be made by yourself or purchased in a store.
In addition, this type of kayak provides for the possibility of installing a sail, but this will require additional floats along the side.
In the deck under the mast, a hole reinforced with additional overlays is made, and on the keel part there is a nest for the mast corkscrew.
It is possible to install a motor, for this purpose, nodes for mounting a low-power motor should be mounted on the edges of the cockpit. Thus, you get a versatile boat.
How to catch more fish?
I have been active fishing for quite some time and have found many ways to improve the bite. And here are the most effective ones:
- . Attracts fish in cold and warm water with the help of pheromones included in the composition and stimulates her appetite. It is a pity that Rosprirodnadzor wants to ban its sale.
- More sensitive gear. Reviews and instructions for other types of gear you can find on the pages of my site.
- Lures using pheromones.
Boat selection
After we figured out the construction of a classic kayak, let's take a closer look at the possibility of building a plywood kayak.
You can use free program for drawing up drawings of a kayak, however, it has some disadvantages, such as the lack of surface development. In addition, the presence of paid drawings of boats up to 3 meters is practically absent.
So let's consider the possibility of building a Wood Duck 10 model kayak.
Purchase of materials
To build this boat, you will need drawings, you can buy them on the CLCBOATS website, delivery will take about a couple of weeks, and the cost will be around a hundred dollars. The amount seems to be considerable, but they are worth it.
Excellent quality, on a scale of 1 to 1. All that remains is to roll it out on plywood sheets and transfer the parts.
It is possible to purchase other components on the website of this company, but frankly, their prices are not exorbitant and, to save money, you can try to find materials from domestic companies.
Plywood
The specification states that plywood should be "marine" size only 2240 by 1220 millimeters. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to purchase this type of plywood sheets in ordinary hardware stores and retail outlets.
You can buy via the Internet, the Penrus company is engaged in trade.
For construction, 2 options are ideal:
- "Amesklao" Chinese production.
- "Lauro Vermelho" Brazilian made.
For aesthetic reasons, we will use the Zhatoba color scheme.
As practice has shown, plywood made in Brazil turned out to be much better in quality than Chinese material. Differs in uniform thickness on all plane, possesses good rigidity and lack of knots.
fiberglass
The project involves the use of fiberglass with a specific gravity of 130 grams per square meter, but widely represented manufacturers do not provide for the production of this material format.
In domestic self-made shipbuilding, as a rule, fiberglass with a density of 100 or 200 grams per square meter is used. In this project, fabric marked 200 gr will be used as a basis.
Ideally, evenly packed lengths should be purchased, as stacking leads to deformations and folds, which can later be problems with resin coating.
Epoxy resin
Great option for the price and technical specifications is resin Etal-370 and hardener Etal-47F5. The only drawback is the lack of transparency when dried.
So, let's summarize the purchase of materials:
- Plywood "Amesklao" 1pc.
- Plywood "Lauro Vermelho" 1pc.
- E-Z-200 fiberglass 20 meters.
- Aerosil A300 120 grams.
- Hardener 5 kg.
- Resin 10 kg.
- Lacquer 1.5 liters Marshal Protex Yat Vernik.
- Thinner 0.5 liters Marshal.
building
The assembly of the boat should begin with the transfer of parts from the drawing to full-size plywood sheets. To do this, a drawing is superimposed on plywood sheets, and with the help of an awl, pattern, ruler, and simple pencil marking is done.
After the sheets are marked, you can start cutting for this purpose, you can use a jigsaw with a small file, but practice has shown that a plywood saw is better suited for this purpose.
You can use tile crosses to align the joints in the bow and stern.
We give the boat a shape and glue
Filled resin is used to drive the seams from the inside of the boat and sizing.
The project provides for a mustache connection, but it can also be done end-to-end, but this will lead to a thickening of the seam.
The assembly of deck rails in the original involves the use of cedar wood. Because given material it is almost impossible to find, so you can use the remaining plywood after cutting the parts.
You can use a glue gun for temporary fixing.
After all of the above operations, you can proceed to pasting with fiberglass from the outside and from the inside.
When the pasting is over and the glue has hardened, we proceed to the installation of the heel stops.
You can make them using furniture screws, and glue them to the body.
To align the seams, you can use the usual polyethylene film, they are very smooth and do not require additional polishing. No tools are required for smoothing, you can do it by hand.
Tests
So, the assembly is finished, you can start testing.
Transportation can be carried out on a makeshift trunk due to the low weight of the kayak. The boat on the water showed excellent characteristics of handling, speed, and carrying capacity, it keeps afloat perfectly with a load of 120 kilograms.
Comparison with the standard
Appearance:
- When comparing a factory model and a homemade one, the method of applying varnish catches the eye.
- The weight differs by 5 kilograms due to the use different types plywood. The original weight is 16 kilograms.
- The deck still looks somewhat clumsy, due to the use of different types of rails.
- The use of an opaque hardener significantly affects the final color of the wood.
Mistakes and failures
Compared to building a plywood boat, this model is quite laborious and time consuming. There is a reason to purchase a maximum of foreign materials, despite the cost.
The increased density of fiberglass has led to a significant increase in the final product, there is a percentage of defects due to improper laying of fiberglass.
The use of an opaque hardener led to a distortion in the color of the plywood, when viewed from a certain angle, the structure of the fiberglass is visible.
The use of plywood slats significantly reduced the cost of construction, but introduced a significant distortion of the appearance.
Resin and hardener constantly form bubbles that are difficult to get rid of.
Despite all the difficulties and lack quality materials, a decent boat can be built without significant investment and minimal cost time.
