Guillemot "Simple Design" Kayak Build: November 2012

"Simple Design and Guillemot L Comparsion

I wanted to compare each kayak design.. The Guillemot is a sea kayak with a lot of bow rise, and the "Simple Design" is a hybrid (recreation/sea kayak) that has a vertical bow and more width. Guillemot L on the left was built in 2011. The kayak on the right is the "Simple Design prototype recreation/sea kayak hybrid, just completed. Both are designed by Nick Schade

Varnishing complete and pool test

I kept the design simple with only a few feature strips on the side and around the cockpit coaming.

Completed deck and hull

Hull and deck are sandwiched together with 6 oz fiberglass tape. Finally, the kayak building is completed. For the finish sanding, I used 220 grit.

Footpegs and bulkhead building

The pegs were installed using a mesh plate/bolt embedded in epoxy. The bulkhead template was made referencing the nearest station and adding cardboard tabs to get the exact inside shape.

Hip Plate build out

The hip plates are made from cedar strips with laminated fiberglass on one side and carbon fiber on the other side for added strength. Note the reinforced carbon fiber on the backside of the hip plated for added strength. On the carbon fiber side, to create a strong bond and for asethetic purposes, I used a fiberglass strand fillet.

Building hatch retainers/lips

I laid out clear contact paper as a mold release. Then I used 1/4 inch rubberized weatherstripping for a gasket form. The hatch retainer build process starts with graphite thicken epoxy over the weatherstripping to ensure a smooth transition for eight layers of 4 oz fiberglass. After the epoxy was set, I removed the waste weatherstripping and trimmed the part to size. When the kayak is finish, I'll install the finally weatherstripping, which is 3/8 inch thick. The final installation gasket is thicker due to compression of the hatch lip once the buckles are tighten.

Building the carbon fiber cockpit

First, I used minicell foam to be used as a form. The form was shaped to comform to the deck with 50 grit sandpaper. As a mold release, I used saran wrap. The cockpit was built with one layer of 4 oz fiberglass, one layer of carbon fiber, two layers of fiberglass, another layer of carbon fiber, and a final layer of 4 oz fiberglass. I removed the cockpit lip and used thicken epoxy to re-install permanently.

Epoxy Fill Coats and Cockpit Riser

The deck and hull will be faired again and another thin layer of epoxy will be applied; but, first we'll build the cockpit riser with scrap pieces of cedar strips.

Epoxy Hot Pour Example (video)

This is a quick video to show an example of Hot Pour. The epoxy is applied with a squeege versus just brushing the epoxy on the surface. After the video was shot I further squeeged out the excessive epoxy.

Fiberglassing the deck

The fiberglass is laid over the deck and is trimmed with an overhang of a couple of inches. If I have the time I will let the fiberglass sit over the kayak for a couple of hours or overnight to help relax it. To avoid bubbles forming its best to do the fiberglass/epoxy pour during falling temperatures. This usually means that I was pouring the epoxy when it was 95 degress and 95 percent humidity. The high temps required me to work fast to avoid a quick epoxy setup. Also I use a chip brush lightly to remove wringles and folds before pouring epoxy. Its finally coming together now.