Rob,

The rebuild is coming along great! You can use your rebuild for ice paddling and keep your new one looking pretty!
The builders mantra always seems to be "I built Her so I'm confident I can fix any damage I do to Her". Your sure proving that!
Keep us posted and keep up the good work!

Ken

: Hey All,

: I managed to brave the cold and get a little more work done on the rebuild. I
: stopped off at Boatcraft and picked up a piece of 4 mm Okhume wide enough
: for me to use as keel panels. I cut the first panel easily enough, it was
: straight forward. The second panel required several cuts to make a patch
: to fit the final hole in the hull. To make a panel fit closely, I cut the
: panel the correct length but left it wider than I needed. I added a couple
: of stiches to one end of the panel-to-be so that its straight edge
: followed the keel line. I then flipped the yak over and using hand
: pressure pressed the panel up against the hull. With a little manual
: dexterity I managed to grab my pencil from my built in holder (ear) and
: traced the outline of the opening onto the final panel. I removed the
: panel and cut it to spec using my good old manual mitre saw sans the box.
: The new piece fit almost snug, leaving slight gaps a little filler should
: cover up.
: One unfortunate problem I noticed is that there is a slight depression in the
: hull where panel two is located, adjacent to the keel panel. I'm thinking
: I need to remove this panel so that the depression rises up to allow a
: normal hull profile then trace out a new panel to replace the old. I'll
: give this a try on Sunday. If I am wrong about this someone PLEASE let me
: know so I can do it right the second time. Of course, if I get it wrong
: again there is always the third time and if that fails then there is
: always time for a few Guiness. Maybe there is always time for a Guiness.
:
: Pics of the latest panel additions are at the link below. Sage, a Sawzall
: works wonders for removing hull damage and opening walnuts. I'll lend you
: mine if you don't already have one.

: Robert N Pruden