Quarantine Kayak Build - Blue Fin 15-29 w/ Mirage Drive

[Cowbro]

A little back story first. I have wanted to build some sort of boat for a long time, but i have too many hobbies/projects already to justify it. While i'm still working full time right now, i wanted a non-house related project to work on in my limited free time. I have been kayak fishing for a few years now with a Feelfree Moken 14 and then a Hobie Outback. I generally go out on the ocean, north of san francisco in northern california. The Hobie does well, but it is a bit of a tank and is a pain to pedal more than a mile or two from the launch. Hopefully this build will combine the best of both the long slender Moken 14 and the mirage drive from the Hobie. Anyway, on to the pictures:

Cutting panels and epoxying them together:

I bought one of the Hobie Mirage Drive Wells for the inflatable boats and will use this as the drive well. It is cheaper to buy this entire pieces than it is to buy just one of the "click-n-go" mounts for the regular boat and i would still have to build a drive well. Hopefully this will help speed up the build.

I bought the Bixpy steering unit that they sell to use with their little electric motors. I plan to use this will a Hobie Twist-n-Stow rudder.

Stitiching:




Mock up with the seat from my Outback for reference. I plan to use a Vibe Hero seat ($100 versus $500 for the Hobie seat)


The vee of the hull prevents the Drive well from sitting all the way at the bottom of the hull.

So i trimmed the drivewell down slightly

Then i cut out an oval piece of plywood to match the drive well and grafted it into the hull to give me a nice flat place to glue down the drive well once the interior has been glassed.

This is where i'm at today, ran out of time while filleting the inside. will wrap that up this week and fair the inside and prep for interio glass later this week or next weekend.

[jem]

beautiful!

[Cowbro]

Thanks Matt.

I have to add that I was amazed by how accurate the plans worked out. I cut the hull panels out, and they all matched the QA1 measurements to within 1/16", then when joining them per the QA2 drawings everything worked out perfect.

Technical question for you. I took a gamble and joined the panels before my big order or epoxy and fiberglass arrived, so they are currently just joined with thickened epoxy and a small fiberglass patch on the inside. Nothing broke during stitching and the panels are straight. Should I go ahead and add a ~10" wide reinforcement over the seam in addition to the 6oz cloth for the interior and exterior, or will it be okay with just the one layer?

[jem]

how wide of a patch did you put on and are you glassing the entire exterior?

[Cowbro]

The patch on the inside is only about 3" wide made of some random scrap of glass that I had laying around. It appears to be ~6oz. I plan to fully glass the entire exterior.

After dragging my plastic hobie over a bunch of rocks on Saturday I definitely want to make sure the exterior is as solid as it needs to be. I am planning on graphite on the bottom too.

[jem]

You should be ok on the exterior. If you're not glassing the interior, I'd apply an extra 10" patch.

[Cowbro]

Mid-weekend update.

I got the interior glassed. This was my first big fiberglass adventure. It went better than i expected. i definitely have some wavy sections, and few minor imperfections, but overall, i am very happy.



Then i started glassing the interior parts



and glued in the drive well and filleted around it. Tomorrow hopefully i'll get some time to glue in the internal ribs.



Matt,
Quick question, the instructions show pictures with frame 1 re-installed, but the instructions don't mention putting it back in. Does frame 1 go back in permanently?

Thanks,
Phil

[jem]

I see your point. Use it to aid shaping the deck. Then you can leave it out or cut out the middle leaving a 2" perimeter and glass it in for exra support.

[Cowbro]

Time for an update. The progess over the last few weeks taking care of the internal structure felt super slow and boring, as a result i didn't take many pictures or feel like posting an update. However, the floor is now in, and the final side panels are on and it finally looks like it should! Now to fillet those last panels and cut the front deck pieces. I'm hoping that this final push goes quick, i am exciting the get this thing out on the water.

Glassing in the stringers

Adding glass to the drive well

Gluing down the floor:

Front view:

Side view:

Top view:

Rear view:


Rudder lines are ran through the floor, as well as the "up" and "down" lines for the Hobie Twist and Stow rudder.

[OnkaBob]

Looking real good Phil. Going to be a nice fishing craft when finished.

Had a quiet chuckle at the photo with all the weights on the floor panels.