Stitch and Glue Kayak

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Home   Sign Up!   Browse   Community   Submit

   All     Art     Craft     Food     Games     Green     Home     Kids     Life     Music     Offbeat     Outdoors     Pets     Photo     Ride     Science     Tech

Stitch and Glue Kayakby LongToe on July 17, 2010

Table of Contents

Stitch and Glue Kayak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   Stitch and Glue Kayak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1:   Scarf the sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2:   Connect the Dots and Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 3:   Stitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 4:   Glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 5:   Fiberglass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 6:   Coaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 7:   Hatch and Bulkhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 8:   Finishing Touches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Author:LongToeI'm a software engineer who tries to stay away from the computer when I'm not at work.

Intro:  Stitch and Glue KayakAlthough I had never actually kayaked before, one day I decided to make a stitch and glue kayak. For a non-kayaker I'm not sure why, but it had to do with a rowing classI had taken once, and I wanted to get out on the water on my own boat. Also, building a rowing shell seemed difficult, better to start with a kayak.

For those of you who don't know, stitch and glue is a well established method of building all kinds of boats. It involves cutting plywood into the right shapes, stitching theshapes together with wire, and then permanently gluing the whole thing up. A quick web search will yield loads of info about it.

There are some really nice kayak building kits out there, and you will definitely get better results than I did with a kit, but I'm pretty happy with how my kayak turned out.Also the kits can be a little pricey and I am going cheap. These online sites also sell plans which are much cheaper than the kits: Chesapeake Light Craft, Pygmy Boats,One Ocean Kayaks, and Shearwater Boats.

There's a few free kayak plans on the internet. There's one called the Guillemot and there may be some here, but I chose the Sqeedunk C-16 because it looks a littleeasier to assemble. Now these aren't exactly plans, they're really just points you mark out on the plywood, then play a interesting game of connect the dots.

Another option for the true DIY'er is to design your own kayak using FreeShip, DelftShip, or your favorite 3D CAD software. Just be sure it is capable of unfolding curvedsurfaces, so you can take the curved panels you design and flatten them out for the plywood. A word of warning: CAD software typically has a steep learning curve. Youmay end up spending a lot of time working at the computer.

For materials, you will need some thin plywood. Everyone in the kayak biz will tell you to use okoume marine grade plywood, and they are right. However, since I'mgoing cheap and I just want a recreational kayak I can play around in rather than a serious sea kayak, I bought two nice looking lauan 4'x8' pieces at Home Depot. Theyare sometimes called door skin and are about 1/8 in. thick. Here's a tip, use a flashlight to shine light thru the plywood and look for gaps or voids in the middle. Voids arebad.

To start off with I bought, 30 ft of 6 oz. fiberglass cloth, a gallon of epoxy resin and half gallon of hardener from this online site. I also bought several feet of solid copperwire at the hardware store. It was red and white 20 gauge wire for antennas I think. Make sure it's solid, stranded wire will not work.

This was a really long project, it took me around 8 months, but there were weeks that I didn't get any work done. If working on it full time, it could be done in less than amonth.

For tools, I used a coping saw and key hole saw to cut the plywood although some people recommend the japanese style pull saws. A power circular sander is a must.I used many a 60 grit sanding disc. You will also need a seemingly endless supply of sand paper, disposable brushes, and latex gloves. Other tools: rasp, carpenterssquare, drill, utility knife, safety glasses, pliers, etc.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Step 1: Scarf the sheets"Aaarrgh, scarf the sheets, ye scallywag" sounds like a cryptic phrase a pirate would say, but it's apparently a method of attaching two pieces of plywood together. Theidea here is to sand the ends of the boards down to a thin blade-like edge, then glue it flat onto another blade-like edge. If done well this gives the illusion of onecontinuous grain of wood running from one 4x8 ft. sheet to the other.

The boat I chose to build is a 16 footer, but that's way more boat than I need and I don't want to store a 16 foot boat. Also it would require attaching three 4x8 ft. pieces ofplywood together.  I decided to shrink the boat down to a more manageable size, but more on that later. Shrinking allowed me to attach just two plywood sheets together.

To create the edge, I took a 2x4 board, and placed a scrap piece of plywood on top of it. Then I placed one sheet pretty side up on to the stack, and the other sheet prettyside down. This way the pretty side doesn't get damaged during the scraping and sanding. The boards are offset by 2 inches then I placed blue tape 2 inches from theedge of the top sheet to let me know that I should not cut into that part. I used a C clamp to keep the stack from moving. Then rasp and sand it down to a nice smoothslope.

I kept as much saw dust as possible to thicken the epoxy later in the build. The thickened epoxy is useful for squishing into the corners for a stronger joint.

Glue it together. I used water resistant wood glue because I was waiting for the epoxy to arrive, but I regret it. Using epoxy will blend in better with the later epoxycoatings. I swept the floor and laid down some plastic wrap to avoid gluing the sheets to the ground. I then placed the bottom sheet down and applied glue. Next camethe top sheet followed by another layer of plastic wrap. Finally I topped it all off with scrap plywood and weights to make a tight bond. Let it dry for a day and you shouldhave one long 4x16ish sheet of plywood.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Image Notes1. Blue tape 2 in. from the edge, top sheet edge is 2 in. from the sheet under it andthe middle sheet is 2 in. from the scrap plywood.2. Clamp it together3. Rasp and sand these steps into one smooth slope4. Rasp

Image Notes1. Here's the resulting scarf.2. Side panel scarf.

Step 2: Connect the Dots and CutTo reduce the kayak from 16 footer down to a 14 foot boat. I moved to points at the back and front of the boat closer together lengthwise. I left the middle area alonehowever, because that's where you sit and I didn't want to squeeze myself out of the boat.

To get a better idea of what my new kayak will look like and how it's supposed to fit together I plotted out the points onto a piece of cardboard. I converted each inch to a1/8 in. and made a scale model. After cutting out the pieces I used hot glue to build it. This gave me the confidence to do it for real.

Once the points are plotted out on the plywood you need to use something flexible to draw between the points. It's a straight edge that you can bend. I believe theprocess is called fairing with a batten. I used a straight thin piece of sheet metal and for the sharper curves I used a smaller piece of plastic. It's also helps to have twoextra sets of hands. In lieu of that, I used a couple bricks to hold the batten in the right spot.

Remember to measure twice and cut once. Cut the wood as accurately as possible and minimise the splintering by using a finer toothed saw blade. Once cut, clamp theopposite sides together and sand them so they are the same shape. It's also a helpful to round off the edges on the ugly, interor sides of the panels so they fit togetherbetter.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Image Notes1. This is a mistake. There should be more of a corner on this side panel toconnect to the bottom panel.

Image Notes1. Cardboard model

Image Notes1. Two sides panels are clamped together. Then I used a rasp and handsaw tomake sure they are the same shape.

Step 3: StitchPrior to stitching I decided to stain the side deck panels to add some visual interest. If you decide to stain use a water-based stain. Oil-based may interfere with the epoxyadhesion. The walnut color stain I used was a good choice because it nearly matches the epoxy thickened with saw dust. Also, I have to keep reapplying the stainwhenever I sand the epoxy joints. This causes a patchy looking stain job, but the dark walnut minimizes that.

Start putting in wire stitches about every 6 to 8 inches. Use a drill to make a hole small enough for the wire to go thru about 1/2 in. from the edge. Leave them lose at firstthen tighten up as you go. Some areas will need more stitches than others.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Image Notes1. Notice the wavy lines. That's bad. It means the cuts in the panels were wavy.It's more noticable when it's stitched together.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Step 4: GlueOnce the entire kayak is stitched together, you can begin gluing, but only glue the top half and the bottom half. Leave the side seams alone, so you can separate the twoand work on each half separately.

I bought the epoxy with pumps for measuring it out. It's a 2:1 system so pump twice for the resin and pump once for the hardener and mix it in a disposable plastic cup.Epoxy is a sensitiser meaning that it wont immediately harm you, but in time you will develop a reaction to it. It's best to use latex gloves when applying it.

This is the point where I had to decide whether to leave the copper wire in the boat or remove it. It's perfectly ok to leave the wire in and cut off the excess, but I chose toremove it. Leaving the wire in is actually a much faster method.

First I glued the seams and let it cure. Then I separated the top and bottom half and added thickened epoxy in between the wires. Just mix saw dust into the preparedepoxy until it becomes like peanut butter consistency, then squish it into the seam. If you want the thickened epoxy to match the rest of the boat, you will have toexperiment by combining the epoxy with different combinations of saw dust, silica, glass microballoons or whatever. Once it was cured I could begin cutting and removingthe wires.

Since the seams already contain hard thickened epoxy I had to sand it smooth. When sanding epoxy be sure to where a mask, and eye protection. Since I work outsideunder the porch I was already in a well ventilated area. At this point I also cut out the cockpit. I used a couple of buckets and straight edge to draw the curved cockpitshape I wanted. Another technique is to tie a string to a pencil and draw the arc. When it looked right I cut it out.

Next you can either tape the seams which is what I did, or you can fiberglass the interior of the boat. To tape the seams, I created 3 in. wide fiberglass tape by cutting the6 oz. fabric into strips of whatever length I needed. Once the interior was sanded, I added more thickened epoxy to where the wires had been, and before it dried startedlaying out the fiberglass tape. To wet out the tape I just poured a little epoxy on the tape and spread it out with a brush. Also at this time it's a good idea to paint theinterior with epoxy. When water gets into the boat, the epoxy coating will prevent it from damaging the wood.

When the top and bottom sections are complete it's time to join the two halves. Unfortunately they didn't fit. It's probably because of the modifications I made to thedesign or it could have changed shape when the two sides were separated, but regardless I had to make it fit. The middle fit together just fine, and I was able to stitch ittogether with copper wire and glue it. The ends however would not come together, so I added some weights and mashed the ends together then filled any gaps withthickened epoxy. The deck actually stuck out about a half an inch over the edge on the front and back ends. I ended up trimming back the over hang and puttingthickened epoxy in the gaps.

After the epoxy cured I could remove the side stitches. Reaching into the cockpit I was able to cut most of the wires. The rest of the wires I was able to work out withsome needle nose pliers. Taping the final two seams requires you to go in the cockpit with a stick and a flashlight and push thickened epoxy into the seams. To get it intothe very ends though, I made some thickened epoxy that was a little runny and let it flow down the seam by propping the kayak up at angle. Next comes the tape. Thistime I wet the tape in epoxy prior and rolled it down the seam by pushing it with a stick.

Image Notes1. Clothes pin holds it together. It seemed easier to glue the middle first then gluethe sides.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Image Notes1. Uh Oh, it doesn't fit.

Image Notes1. Deck and hull seam, not taped yet.2. Taped side and bottom seam.

Image Notes1. Using a weight to press the deck to the hull.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Step 5: FiberglassFinally, the the fun part of fiberglassing the kayak. Prepare the kayak first. All the seams should be well sanded and smooth. Once they are covered in fiberglass there isno going back. Basically what's done is the bottom of the kayak will be draped with fiberglass and epoxied, then the kayak gets flipped over the same thing happens tothe top.

First paint the bottom of the boat with epoxy. This allows the wood to absorb some of the epoxy and makes wetting out the fiberglass fabric easier. Also it allows you tosee any defects you over looked. Then while it's still wet, drape the fiberglass cloth over the hull and wet it out. Pour the epoxy on to boat and spread around with either abrush or a plastic spreader. Once the bottom is dry, cut off the excess fiberglass, sand the edge, flip the kayak over, and do the top.

Use small batches of epoxy. In a hurry I made a double batch and it heated up and turn into a hot gelatinous mass of unusable epoxy and it melted the plastic cup.

To get a smooth finish, sand the kayak, apply another layer of epoxy, and repeat. This can be done while working on the rest of the steps.

Image Notes1. Uh oh, There's an air pocket. That's bad! Try to get rid of it. If it dried that wayput a little hole in it and work epoxy into the pocket

Step 6: CoamingIt is now a usable boat. However there's still a long way to go to make it a nice kayak. Hatches are good and the edges of the cockpit need to be built up so you cangrasp it when getting in and out of the boat. Also, most kayaks have a lip around the cockpit to attach a spray skirt. This is called the coaming.

My coaming is made by bending plywood around the inside of the cockpit then layering more on. First I soaked two 5x48 in. plywood strips overnight in water to make itmore pliable. Then I was able to push the strips into the cockpit so that they run along the inside on the left and right side. I was able to trim it so that the pieces fit verysnug into the cockpit without any clamps. After it dried in position, I removed it and stained it to match the side deck panels. Unfortunately, the plywood shrunk just a littlebit when it dried. To make it fit I had to add in a small strip of plywood. Once it fit I glued it in.

Next I sanded and fiberglassed around the outside edge to add some support. To build up the lip I started layering strips of plywood around the cockpit. Bending andgluing each strip one at a time. This is where lots of clamps come in handy. I used clamps made from PVC pipe, and there's even an instructable for it . To add morestrength, I put in another layer of plywood to the inside edge of the cockpit and then fiberglassed the inside edge. I then sanded and shaped the coaming.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Step 7: Hatch and BulkheadTo make the hatch I chose the hexagon shape because it was easiest to draw out. I just used a straight edge and a large washer to draw around the corners. When itlooked right, I cut out the hatch. Be careful though; the cut out section becomes the hatch lid. Sand the edges smooth.

Since the lid will now fall thru the opening I have to build up a place where the lid can rest.  I glued two layers of plywood under the deck. The first layer is a spacer layer,and the second layer is wider to allow for weather stripping to go around the hatch. The weather stripping of course prevents water from entering the hatch. For the firstlayer, cut two 'C' shapes about an inch and half thick that conform to the hatch opening. Then cut the second layer the same shape but add width for the weather striping.Coat the pieces in epoxy then clamp them in place. I also squished thickened epoxy into the cracks. 

Bulkheads in a kayak add strength to the entire structure, and also provide a water barrier. It's basically just a wall inside the boat. If you get a leak in one part of the boatthe bulkhead will prevent the water from flooding the entire craft.

My bulkhead was somewhat of an after thought and since it's a smaller boat I only added one right behind the cockpit. The shape involved a bit of guesswork. I measuredthe panels where the bulkhead would go and sketched out what I thought would be the right shape on plywood. After cutting it out, I tried placing it inside the boat whereit should go, but it didn't fit. I then started trimming it down until it fit in the right spot. I painted it with epoxy and used thickened epoxy to seal any gaps around the edge.  

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Image Notes1. Bulkhead2. Backrest3. Bottom Panel4. Side Panel5. Wormhole... not the cosmic type, the tree type

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Step 8: Finishing TouchesAt this point I was really getting tired of working on the kayak and just wanted a finished boat. I went to this site and bought the weather stripping, bungee cord, seat,backrest, footbrace, and footbrace mounting kit. It's possible to make your own footbrace, and seat but I was getting impatient.

To finish up the cockpit I fiberglassed the floor where my feet would go and added plywood hip braces on the sides for a snugger seat. Also the hip braces provide aplace to attach the back rest strap. The footbrace mounting kit came with instructions that were pretty straight forward. It's the no-drill type that just glues to the inside ofthe kayak.

To attach the bungie cord and backrest I made my own padeyes out of glued together plywood strips. I simply stacked five 24x1/2 in plywood strips together with epoxyand clamped it all together. When it cured I drilled holes for the bungee cord, and cut it into 2 in. sections. I used a bench grinder to shape it then sanded it smooth. Forthe hatch I was able to clamp the padeyes to the deck, but in the front section I had to just glue them to the deck without clamps.

I made the holes in the front and rear of the kayak extra large so I could feed a chain thru it and lock it to something if I needed. I used a hole saw to make the holes thenused brown packing paper and fiberglass to seal it up. I made a tube of packing paper about 1/8 in thick, then cut out some fiberglass that would cover the inside andoutside of the tube. I then rerolled the tube while wetting it with epoxy and putting fiber glass on the inside and outside. Once the tube was slightly smaller than the kayakholes I fed the tube thru the holes and tried to enlarge the tube so that there were no gaps between the tube and the kayak. Once the tube cured in place I cut off theexcess and of course there were some gaps that I filled with thickened epoxy. After sanding it out, it turned out pretty well.

Once the kayak is as smooth as you like and all the fittings are glued in place it's time to add varnish. The varnish protects the epoxy from sun damage and also adds anice shine. I bought some gloss spar varnish from the hardware store and stuck it everywhere the sun will shine including the cockpit interior. Don't however forget theremove the bungee cord, seat, and backrest first. When it dried I lightly sanded it with some fine sandpaper then applied 2 more coats. Be sure to do it in a well ventilatedarea and wear a mask when sanding and applying the varnish.

If you are like me it took months to finish this sucker and it's time to take it out. Grab yourself a paddle and a lifejacket and test it out. Lo and behold it floats and floatswell. The kayak ended up weighing in at 37 lbs and is 14ft. 2in. So far, I've taken it around the local lakes, and down the lower Salt River once. So far no leaks. I scrapedthe bottom a couples time on the river and it fell off the car once (Oops), but it's easy to fix. Just sand it, apply more epoxy if there's any left, and add varnish.

Image Notes1. First time kayaking!

Image Notes1. Hip brace

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

Related Instructables

Peel Ply forSmoothFiberglassSurfaces bysmallcraftbuilder

Building a LittleRow Boat byPornostache

Bent PlywoodBicycle byLongToe

outrigger canoewithfreestandingmast by damonv

Four HourKayak! by Matin

8' FoldingKayak by wizgirl

Comments

50 comments Add Comment view all 58 comments

 CamWaite says:  Aug 3, 2010. 10:24 AM  REPLYTres bien! Just a quick question, how did you cut the cockpit and how much did it cost?

 LongToe says:  Aug 3, 2010. 11:37 AM  REPLYThanks! I drew the cockpit outline using a couple different sized buckets and a straight edge, then cut it out with a keyhole saw. To get the initial hole Iprobably used a dremel or drill. I can't remember. I didn't keep very good track of the cost, but it was probably around $300 - $400. The epoxy andfiberglass cloth were the most expensive parts.

 CamWaite says:  Aug 3, 2010. 1:35 PM  REPLYThanks, might be a while before I can afford that =[

 TANZMEISTER says:  Aug 3, 2010. 10:07 PM  REPLYYou can save a ton of money if you get 2in fiberglass tape instead of cloth.  The added strength of the cloth isn't needed if you put a second layerof the doorskin where your weight sits.  I usually do 2 layers of ply under my bum with the seat fiberglassed to the the sidwalls.

  You will still need to coat everything in the epoxy to properly seal it.

 Science Swine says:  Aug 6, 2010. 6:33 AM  REPLYHow many gallons of epoxy did you use? It seems like you would need a ton of it in fiberglassing alone.

 LongToe says:  Aug 6, 2010. 10:27 AM  REPLYGood question. I bought a 1.5 gallon set, then towards the end of the build I bought another one, but I only used about half of it. So I think I used about 21/4 gal. but I also wasted epoxy by making mistakes and occasionally preparing too much. Someone more experienced in epoxy and fiberglassing couldmake it using a lot less epoxy.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

 Science Swine says:  Aug 8, 2010. 6:39 AM  REPLYOne more question, how did you read the plans on the website. I want to build a 13-14 foot but I am not sure how to read the plans or how to shorten itwithout "messing up" the middle of the boat.

 LongToe says:  Aug 8, 2010. 9:53 PM  REPLYI kept the length between 60" and 108" the same and shrank the ends. Since most the stations are about 12" apart I reduced it to 10" that's about 83%.So for the stations that aren't 12" I just multiplied it by .83. I then rewrote the tables with the modified stations, and started sketching it out on cardboard.It's not a perfectly proportional change but I took the risk and ended up doing a little trimming of the plywood during the stitch part. I hope that helps.

 LongToe says:  Aug 9, 2010. 8:56 AM  REPLYAlso, since the hull bottom is significantly shorter than other panels, I think I made the distance between station 48 and 60 11", the distance between96 and 108 11" and ones in the middle 12"

 Nate95 says:  Dec 13, 2010. 1:37 PM  REPLYThe site with the c-16 plans is gone. Are there any other sites with these plans?

 LongToe says:  Dec 16, 2010. 8:50 PM  REPLYThat's too bad, that was a pretty good site. I found an archived version here:http://web.archive.org/web/20070314064231/www.squeedunk.com/c-16.htm

 Nate95 says:  Dec 17, 2010. 7:55 AM  REPLYThanks a lot !

 OruKun says:  Dec 8, 2010. 9:22 PM  REPLYWhat did you stitch it with?

 LongToe says:  Dec 16, 2010. 8:52 PM  REPLYIt's temporarily stitched with copper wire then glued in place.

 Tinworm says:  Sep 28, 2010. 5:00 AM  REPLYBeautiful!

 dcs02d says:  Sep 1, 2010. 11:15 AM  REPLYI read you only used 2 sheets of plywood scarfed together. Were you able to cut all 8 pieces for the 'yak out of that? I am trying to do the math and thatseems tight. Anyway, I am planning on taking on this project and I like that you added in all the issue you had. Great instructable.

 LongToe says:  Sep 1, 2010. 9:52 PM  REPLYThanks! Yes, I squeezed the 8 panels on the 4 ft wide sheet. Since some panels are curved, I was able to nest some of the panels into others toconserve space. Especially the side deck panels, it looks like they need a 12 in wide section, but the panel is only about 3 in wide. Good luck with yourproject. You should post your results, or any new techniques you learn along the way.

 mjursic says:  Aug 16, 2010. 8:18 PM  REPLYGreat instructable! I can't find the link to the connect the dots plans on the squeedunk site. Could you provide the url? Thanks.

 thewetturd says:  Aug 11, 2010. 7:44 AM  REPLYGreat job! I don't have a good excuse to not build one of these. I think I need to muster up the patience to tackle a job that requires that amount of time tocomplete. How many hoursall together would you say it took you? Again, great little boat. You must be such a proud moment to see it in action. Cheers

 LongToe says:  Aug 11, 2010. 9:25 PM  REPLYThanks, It's a great feeling building and then riding in your own boat. I've read it can be done in 80 hours, but mine was probably more like 120. It alldepends on how much of a perfectionist you are and how many mistakes you clean up.

 JB_1605 says:  Aug 7, 2010. 5:22 AM  REPLYLooks great man. How bad was the damage from the scrapes on the river? The rivers around my place are generally kinda low most of the time. I guess Ican try and modify the bottom half with stronger/thicker materials. I plan on attempting to build two this winter. A boat for me and the lady come summertime.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

 LongToe says:  Aug 7, 2010. 10:19 PM  REPLYThanks! Good luck with your build. The scratches I got were superficial. You can actually see a long scratch in the scarf joints photo. At some point I'lladd more fiberglass to the bottom, but I'm just seeing how it goes for now. I should also say it's not a whitewater kayak. You should probably avoid bigrapids; small and medium are ok though.

 extrordinary1 says:  Aug 10, 2010. 11:35 AM  REPLYNice job! I am currently building a stitch and glue tri-hull pontoon boat. Unlike typical pontoon boats, add a rectangular main section and extend thefront and rear to appear like kyack hulls. Giving it an extra 8 ft. in front of the deck for a tapered front, and then 6 ft. in the rear. Overall length, 24 ft. toenjoy on the lake, fishing... yet unique looking also. All goes well, I may build a larger one later on. The first one will be electric powered. Great job,looks real nice.

 craigbic says:  Aug 10, 2010. 10:49 AM  REPLYExcellent Instructable! Awesome kayak! I plan on building a kayak or small boat soon myself - your outcome certainly makes me lean toward building akayak. Thank you!

 Rowleysh says:  Aug 8, 2010. 8:09 AM  REPLYIt must be plenty solid if it fell off the car! Well done! I hope to make one myself in the future.

 Mistwalker says:  Aug 8, 2010. 5:18 AM  REPLYBeautiful boat. I might have to try something like this in the form of a canoe.

 cdogjune says:  Aug 7, 2010. 1:00 PM  REPLYCan you post the plot points for your boat?

 LongToe says:  Aug 7, 2010. 10:15 PM  REPLYUnfortunately no, even though I tweaked the plans they don't belong to me. You will have to get them from the owner's website. To shorten the boat, Iremoved about 2 in. between each station except for 4 1/2 ft in the middle.

 cyprian916 says:  Aug 4, 2010. 10:39 AM  REPLYOMG that is awesome and in that last picture wow i know where you are TEMPE TOWN LAKE before it was emptied lol stupid damn ... er dam lol. anyw wayawesome instructible. yeah go Arizona residents. lol you'll have to wait till November till you can go out again.

 LongToe says:  Aug 4, 2010. 6:27 PM  REPLYThanks! Yeah I'm glad I wasn't on the lake when the dam popped. That would be one wild ride.

 cyprian916 says:  Aug 7, 2010. 5:02 PM  REPLYyeah for sure like white water rafting only ... in a kayak wild indeed.

 kdickerson_az says:  Aug 6, 2010. 10:21 PM  REPLYShame Tempe Town Lake is all dried up now that you did all that work! Looks great, I'm gonna have to give it a shot sometime.

 The Ideanator says:  Aug 5, 2010. 10:50 PM  REPLYOh man, i really want to try this.

 wurzelpk says:  Aug 5, 2010. 11:09 AM  REPLYWhat a beautiful craft! Thanks for the great instructions. Question: I went to the Cormorant site and for the regular, cambered deck version they had plottingpoints for the "Hull Bottom" and "Hull Side" panels. How do you create the top panel(s)? Are they just "sand to fit" once you have the bottom panels wiredtogether?

 LongToe says:  Aug 5, 2010. 3:20 PM  REPLYSince I built the "Multi-paneled Peaked Deck Version" (the peaked deck plans are at the very bottom of the page) instead of the cambered deck I'm notquite sure how it works. I think you have to make a couple of bulkheads with a curve that will match the curved deck. It mentions a curve radius. Thenbend one sheet of plywood over the curves and mark it out with a pencil. Some trial and error may be required. Maybe someone else can elaborate oncambered decks.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

 RaptorWing says:  Aug 5, 2010. 2:04 PM  REPLYThat one sure looks a lot nicer than my first attempt at Stitch and Glue method. I guess I just didn't have the patience. Mine was also a hull completely of myown design, and only done as a quick prototype to test the hull shape. I'm still doing (small) hull prototypes, but have switched over to the Skin on Framemethod. Nice looking boat and well-written instructable.

 brian8t says:  Aug 5, 2010. 11:03 AM  REPLYExcellent job! Good work like this is a serious motivator for me to get into the shop and produce something of similar quality. Thanks!

 woodyardboy says:  Aug 5, 2010. 10:56 AM  REPLYWell done mate, I wish I had the space to make one myself. It turned out pretty good, I'd be very happy if mine turned out like that. :)

 gjm says:  Aug 5, 2010. 10:28 AM  REPLYWhen I was in my 20's I read an article in Popular Mechanics about building a cedar strip canoe. It was beautiful and I've wanted to build one ever since.Well I'm a hobby carpenter/furniture maker and here I am twenty years later and I've never built one. I actually copped out and bought a plastic kayak quite afew years ago; maybe that's why I never built one. Anyway, very impresive build; you should be proud.

 shilohjim says:  Aug 5, 2010. 10:05 AM  REPLYI've read quite a bit about boat building but I only know a little about kayaks. NIce boat and I like your PVC clamps. :)

 Science Swine says:  Aug 4, 2010. 2:21 PM  REPLYI am so jealous, I really love the kayak. Did you have any experience with building kayaks or boats before this one?

 LongToe says:  Aug 4, 2010. 6:22 PM  REPLYThanks! No, I didn't have boat building experience before I started. Once I discovered that a kayak could be made out of plywood, I read every websiteand forum I could find then decided to give it a shot.

 cory.smith says:  Aug 4, 2010. 7:30 AM  REPLYAwesome! Featured anyone?

 Fred82664 says:  Aug 4, 2010. 3:41 AM  REPLYShe is a beautiful vessel.

 JamesRPatrick says:  Aug 3, 2010. 10:13 PM  REPLYThat's a real beauty!

 TANZMEISTER says:  Aug 3, 2010. 10:01 PM  REPLYLooks Great!

I've been meaning to do a stich-n-glue instuctable for ages. But ya know, laziness set in . . .

 Kaelessin says:  Aug 3, 2010. 10:38 AM  REPLYtoo bad that lake is now a pond/swamp eh?awesome build! I built a canoe using the same technique with my explorer post a several years back that was solar powered for SRP's "Solar Splash"competition.Good times all around!

Quick question: how do you make the fiberglass cloth not add intense texture? to the boat? ours was pretty rough and rugged but this thing looks very shinyand nice!

 TANZMEISTER says:  Aug 3, 2010. 9:59 PM  REPLY@Kaelessin Hand sanding baby!

150wetdry (in one direction) then 220 90degrees off. You know your there once the likes all disappear. Then switch to 400wetdry if you want a highglosswhen you finishcoat it. Though I'm always to lazy to do the 400 and it looks great.

 kaptaink_cg says:  Aug 3, 2010. 1:37 PM  REPLYI KNEW I recognized that bridge.. :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stitch-and-Glue-Kayak/

 LongToe says:  Aug 3, 2010. 11:45 AM  REPLYThanks, as much criticism as the lake gets I like it, hopefully they'll build a better dam. I probably should have stated that the fiberglass gets sanded, thenepoxied, and repeat until it's smooth or you just don't care anymore.

view all 58 comments