It's been a while since I added anything to the log... been rather busy building. Real life likes to interrupt, too. Since it's been a while, I think I've got a laundry list of things I finished on the 'yak:
- Frame's been Danish oiled.
- SeaLect Foot Rests are mounted and lashed.
- 8 ounce polyster's been trimmed, sewn, and ironed.

Thoughts on the process:

The wife loves the smell of Danish oil, since it reminds her of her dad's woodworking shop (gotta love a woman who loves the smell of varnish).

The foot rests are *sweet*. I think they'll be very comfortable when I'm paddling, since they provide a good amount of surface for my foot. A foot peg probably wouldn't. They're easy to adjust when I'm sitting in the 'yak in my yard; we'll see how they are in the water. As for mounting them: I had some thin plywood I had laying around, originally intended for building model aircraft. I had no idea how water soluble the glue was, though, so I dunked it in a cup of boiled water for several hours. It never delaminated, so I thought it'd be ok. Cut a 1" x 3" or 1"x 4" section out, Danish Oiled it, and drilled a hole for the mounting bolt. Placed one on each end of the foot rest. Lashed it to one of the stringers, with the end just about butting up against one of the formers. Pushing on the rests should cause the foot rest to twist the lashings, causing them to tighten, in turn preventing them from moving much. The formers should stop any excess movement should it occur.

Sewing the skin: Oh, where do I start? I've never sewn anything other than repairs in the past, not counting a pillow in Home Ec' in high school. So sewing a 15'8" kayak was more than a little daunting. I followed the videos at Kudzu Craft pretty closely, with the exception of the initial trimming. I just left all the fabric, rolling it up and clamping as I began the first running stitches. I was scared of trimming too much off. Not having a good cutting method didn't help, either. I envy Jeff's "big awesome instant hot cutting gun that looks like a serious soldering gun" method. I ended up using a pair of scissors and a propane torch to melt the edge of the fabric. It wasn't pretty, but I managed. If I could get a nice edge cut, it'd probably make rolling up the excess and whip stitching a lot easier.

I couldn't make up my mind on how I wanted to stitch the coaming base ring in, either, so I just settled on one method and went with it. I had already drilled horizontal holes through the ring with a hand drill. A drill press would've made this a lot easier and a lot more consistent. As it was, some of the hole wandered a bit. They're functional, but it throws off a neat row of stitches. I'm rather hoping the waterproofing and painting will cover it up. I then ran the skin over the ring and folded it on the other side, then started to stitch the skin on both horizontal sides of the ring. I wasn't the happiest with it, but it was better than sitting there thinking about it. After ironing it smooth, it came out a lot better than I thought it would.

Speaking of ironing... the polyester tightened up really nice over the majority of the kayak. I was worried about pull holes, so I ended up making a lot more stitches than Jeff does in his video. I don't think I should've worried that much. Fewer stitches may be more presentable (especially that whip stitch) and more stitches is just overkill. I have no doubt it'll hold, though. The only section that didn't tighten up as much as I'd like is just behind the coaming, on each side. It's only a few inches, though, and it's not *that* loose. Just not as tight as I'd like.

I think all I have left is to apply the PL Premium Construction adhesive, wait a week for it to cure, paint it, then wait a week for the paint to fully cure. . Those two weeks are gonna be miserable *grin*, but it'll give me the time to pick up a PFD, spray skirt, and other safety items. The water ought to be warmer by then, too.

I figure the deck rigging can come later, when I've got some paddling experience and can make up my mind of how things ought to be.

By the way: don't look at the rest of the garage. It's a mess. My Outback's in the middle of a months long repair. My landlady's ex-boyfriend has his aquariums in there, too. The biggest is currently supporting the 'yak. I've been working outside most of this week (with a nice sunburn to prove it), and the 'yak's current resting spot is in the garage for security while I'm not working on it. I'll be apply the PL Premium outside, too, so I don't have to worry about ventilating the basement workshop. Once it's touchable, I'll move it back into the garage to keep it out of the sun while it completely cures.

As a side note (hence the ex in land lady's ex boyfriend), the aquariums will soon be relocated if he doesn't come by and pick them up. She's given him thirty days to do so. After that, does anyone in the Upstate NY area have any need/want for a really big aquarium? Free is a good thing, but shipping would be horrible ;oD.