The "Onkalaker" Laker 13

[bronco302]

Lookin good Bob, I had a finger wide gap in the stearn of my ENO on the second panels. Masking tape for backing and epoxy/flour took care of it. As long as you are happy with the looks of the lines and curves that gap don't look so big


Joe W.

[hairymick]

G'day Bob,

Your boat is looking fine mate. Lovely neat work.

Re my stitches, When I built my Laker, I only used 3mm Blonde ply and even that was the worst plyu I had. Stuff I had rejected from other builds.

My stitches were 9 inches apart to help me manage my very poor ply. When you flip your boat hull to start tacking, you need to carefully eyeball every seem individually to ensure your panels arein proper alignment ie corner to corner. add extra stitches then where needed.

Once you are happy with the above, step back and view along the seam lines at the chines and along the centre seam. There should be a consisten, gracefull curve along the entire length of each seam with no wobbles.

At your stem where the gap is. it would be fine to fill with woodflour as it is. I would add an extra stitch and gently pull it together till I was happy with it.

[Kayak Jack]

... There should be a consistent, graceful curve along the entire length of each seam with no wobbles

As my uncle used to say, "Smoother'n a school Marm's leg."

[OnkaBob]

Thanks for the quick replies, now I can get on with it again this morning. Bonus is those are the answers I really wanted to hear .

Matt I know what you mean about leaving it a while then putting more strain on it. Last night I had that gap at about 1/2" and left it for 5-10 minutes before trying again. Tweaked the cable tie and it tightened up considerably.

[OnkaBob]

I've finally flipped............


Diagonal measurements between frames was very close .

I've also finally come to understand what is so special about these things. Looking at a finished boat or even paddling one is one thing but building it brings a new dimension of appreciation. As you put stitches in you find that as everything lines up and the fair curves form you realise it's more than just artistically nice looking. You come to appreciate the engineering and geometry involved to create the form and it's an almost mystical experience. Now I know where Mick gets his enthusiasm from!

Applying the masking tape was a bit of a bugger though, especially in the ends.

Now that it's upside down everything looks very good. Only need to tweak a few spacers so they stick out at the right angle, then apply external masking tape and all will be ready for tacking.

Haven't come across any tips for keeping the spacers at the right angle - does anyone know of any in the Tips and Tricks forum?

Tomorrow might be a slow day as we have things on - have to see how it goes.

[hairymick]

Mate, your spacers are a VERY good guide as to how your panels are positioned - ie corner to corner. They should all cut the angle pretty much about half way between the two surfaces of your panels. if they are not close to being lined up it is a good indicator that your seam is out of whack somewhere.

I haven't used the spacers in a while but I think I will be from now on. I use a new paint scraper to GENTLY slip between the panels to prise them to the right position. Sometimes you need to add an extra stitch here and there.

[OnkaBob]

Finished applying masking tape this afternoon and was very happy with the side joints but found there are some humps and hollows along the centre. One of these was fixed by adding a spacer . The other 2 were marked using a marker pen on the tape so there would be no tack material on them first time round.
Had guests this evening and after that it was tacking time. Tomorrow when the tacks are dry I will be able to remove the cable ties and hopefully fix the hollows by gentle expansion of the joint.

Time will tell.

[OnkaBob]

Did some minor adjustment this morning and although there is still a slight up and down along the keel I think it's about as good as I can get it without still being at it next Christmas. Don't know if you can see it in the pic.



One thing I've learnt from that is that wire stitches would be better along the keel because they can be loosened as well as tightened. Just a small amount of movement to open or close the gap at a given point makes a big difference to the height of that point (For those into trig it's because at this angle the sine is small and cosine is large). Next time will do this along the keel but am very happy with the other joint lines and would use cable ties on them again.

Removed the stitches and retaped everything to try for a neat filleting job. Hope to get that finished by early tomorrow.

[hairymick]

Heya Bob,

That looks PLENTY good eough for me.

You do real neat work mate.

[Bruce36549]

Hi Bob,

From your picture, it looks good as can be. You really are doing some neat work. Hope mine can look as good.

Bruce