JEM Watercraft

I finally finished up the Okwata for my friend and it is off to its new home. It still needs a good sanding and a couple more coats of varnish since she got scratched a bit while working on the hatches but that can wait until the rainy season. It is too beautiful not to be paddling.

Here is a quick video on how I did the hatches. I wanted them to be flush with the surrounding deck to be less noticeable. It's a short video that doesn't show every step. I left out the obvious steps like, "drill a hole here", but a person should be able to figure out how everything was done via the video.

http://youtu.be/OBKe7Y2Hca4

Anyways, last Saturday we took it for a shakedown cruise on the mighty muddy mistress we know and love, the Tualatin River. She tracks like an arrow. I believe the weight of the Okwata came in at about 40-42 pounds outfitted. Now there is a new kayaking addict out running loose in the general population. He is already planning trips.









I should have brought a rod, the smallmouth were jumping. The water is warming up!

Beautiful boat, and the video is excellent. I may have to rethink how I was planning to do the hatches on my Wadefish!

Jay

Beautiful craft there, Craig. I'm sure that the new owner will have many years of great adventures in it. Have you got any details and/or photos of the latches on the hatch lids?

Edit: Ignore that last question. Missed the video on the first read through.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

JayM wrote:Beautiful boat, and the video is excellent. I may have to rethink how I was planning to do the hatches on my Wadefish!

Jay

I wish I would have done the hatches this way for my Sabalo, but I thought I would try the plastic hatches since they looked easy. They work alright, but they get sand in and get hard to turn, and they leak.