JEM Watercraft

G'day guys,

My plans arrived today - Thanks Matt.

I have had a quick look through them and they seem complete, concise and very clear to understand - as usual, - nah, as is ALLWAYS the case with Matt's drawings. .

I have all the panels cut and butt joined for my TV and will get to that one directly. This is the kayak that I have been gently hinting at Matt to draw for some time now. and am very pleased to have been given the opportunity to build the prototype.

Apart from the classicly beautiful lines of this boat, I think she will prove a very capable tourer and small-ish, high volume sea kayak. Time will tell.

With this boat, I have opted for the larger cockpit because I rarely ever use a spray deck and this will allow for cooler paddling and better entry into the boat.

Am off down the shed now to start clean up and sort some ply sheets.

Will probably start cutting tomorrow.


Here we go again.

Just got back from down the shed, working in the cool of evening.

Most panels are marked ready for cutting tomorrow.

So far, all is going real good. There are even full size templates for the cockpit. This makes things real easy.

I found that I have three complete sheets of 4mm Gaboon / Okoume which will be enough to build this boat and use some other stuff for the temp frames/bulkheads etc.

Will post piccies as soon as I get something worth posting.
_________________
Regards,
Mick

Mick sounds as ticked as a kid with a new toy
Go get them mate
Ron

Thanks Ron,

I got all the primary panels marked and cut & trimmed today. Will use them tomorrow to mark out their mirrored copies tomorrow.

The individual panel QA checks on Matts drawings are simply brilliant. I am taking more care on this build and so far, have got down to tolerances of within 1 millimetre on QA and that is plenty good enough for me.

Hope to be able to start butt joining this week end. This one is gonna be my Christmas present to me. If I can get a good run, it should be close by then.

Mick,

Good for you! I'm glad I didn't propose to build 001. Never really thought I'd build ahead of you anyway. I haven't received the plans yet. Probably sitting in the mailbox today. You know, a city as big as the greater Houston area, you'd think there would be a lot of places to get ply. I only know of 2, and have been looking for some real good luaun. Still Looking. Still Looking.....

Can't wait to see how yours progresses.

Almost made a mistake today, looked at some plastic yaks at the store today, so my son and I could go explore/fish. Instant gratification. But I resisted. Save the money for materials. I didn't realize how much epoxy had gone up since my last build. Guess I won't use West anymore.

I'll be watching your build, and if you don't mind, copy any little add-ons that you come up with.

Thanks,
Billy

PS - Ron, where do you buy your ply up there?

Look Up Houston Hardwoods http://www.houstonhardwoods.com/

I tryed to send a pm on this, clue us in how to do that Matt.
I bought mine at Home depot or Lowes just did some sorting on them.
I am sorry Matt but he ask.
Ron

look underneath the text or signature of the person you want to send the PM to. Poke the middle button.

Also, near the top of the page, click on "User Control Panel". Lots of neat functions in there.

Matt,

Thanks. I've been to Houston Hardwoods. I work just down the road. Also, Clark's Hardwoods of Houston, if anyone is interested. Several grades, most of them rather expensive for me. I'll see what else they may have that's usable.

I want it to be light, but I don't want to pay for the Joubert Okoume. go figure. What a cheapskate. Maybe backoff to the cheaper Meranti, but it's heavier. Can't have it both ways, I guess.

Ron,

I've looked at HD and Lowes, they have 5.2, a little thicker than the plans call for. It says exterior, but I didn't see a very dark glueline like most exterior. Wish they had 4mm. Pretty even plies, though. Haven't had time to really pick through the pile, maybe this weekend.

I know, the cost of the wood is only a few percent after all the epoxy and glass.....

Sorry, this was Mick's thread, didn't mean to take over.

Billy

No problem Billy, Its all good fun.

Somebody might benefiet from your looking for ply in your area.

Got a little more done today.

All panels are cut and trimmed to size & have started on the panel splices.

Side panels and tumblehome panel.



Using Hoop pine wood flour this time. It is not as dark as my other stuff but am not sure if I like the colour or not.

Mick,
I'm looking at the pic above of your splice and it looks like you've got a trick up your sleeve for making the splice. I can't quite figure out what's-what. I see what looks like some additional pieces of wood, screws, and plastic. Could you tell me your technique here?