Strip Built - Night Heron Double
By Ross Hendry

INTRODUCTION

The following are extracts from E-mail's sent to me by Ross. They highlight the building procedure of strip built kayaks and will be added to the site as Ross updates his progress reports over the coming months. The plans and further information on the Night Heron Single / Double can be found at Nick Schade's site: Guillemot Kayaks - Night Heron

28 July 2002
It took me a long time to work out what plan to build and whether I would start with a double or a single. I wanted an expedition single and then really wanted a fast double for my partner and I for adventure racing. We did the Rollos in Nelson and had planned the arrow series but a knee injury has put that on hold. We have a dusky bay but it is big and heavy. I thought I might be able to build something lighter and faster without having to shell out 5-6k for a competitive boat.

The fast double looked a little scary as a first boat and it was too long to fit under the house. I have the plans for a night heron double from nick. I have my strips cut and ready for the bead and cove. I have most of the frames done and the strong back built.

I only started researching kayak building in May and eventually found the building board. Patsy with all her troubles with her scarfs and other problems made my mind up.(In reference to the Guillemot Kayak forum) If she could keep smiling after all that I was convinced I could do it too even though I haven't really done any woodwork since the forth form, nearly 40 years ago. I too have had to buy some tools but had a Triton work centre in which I can mount my makita 235mm skil saw and also a router to make a thicknesser and do the bead and cove. This is an option for you as it can be diassembled and packed away. It would be a bit of a pain putting it together and pulling it apart all the time but it really is very quick and easy.

I looked at S&g but I figured that building one of them didn't help at all with doing a stripper other than the glass of course. As I wanted a stripper I decided I would start there and get stuck in.

The matai deck design will be done in strips. I was given a 200x200 x 2.4 m long peice of heart matai. I have sawn some of this into strips and is ready for cove and bead

CUTTING THE STRIPS

1 August 2002
I haven't made a lot of progress this week but have set up my router as a thicknesser to get the strips to a very accurate and uniform thickness. I have run a few strips and thrilled with the results. They have come out so smooth.

Paulownia is softer than cedar by quite a bit and is not quite as strong but not as brittle and slightly more flexible. It is reputed to be hard to work unless tools are very sharp. I bought a new ripping blade and had the router blade sharpened. I played around tonite with my new block plane and it works very well. If you are intending to go the triton way don't forget buy sell and exchange. They seem to be a regular item in our local version buy sell swap. Can save yourself a heap of money.

Matai is heavy but I will not be using very much of it so not a problem weight wise. I will be using the same thickness. I am not sure about the sanding problem though. With two woods alongside one another one is going to sand much faster than the other. I propose to have a very fine finish to both timbers and hope that the need to sand will be reduced to a minimum. I read on the building board or some website if you do your stripping well there is practically no need to sand. That is why I am thicknessing all the strips to get a very smooth finish and consistent thickness. The problem will be looking after the strips so they do not get scratched or dinged. Not sure how best to accomplish that but will come up with something. I have a lot of packing foam and bubble wrap which I will probably line the shelves with and put between the strip layers while they are being stored.

12 August 2002
Ive spent a lot of time but have not advanced much since I last mailed. I have now got all the strips thicknessed. I started with strips at 7.5 off the saw and fed them thru the router one side so they were 7.0mm and then the other so they are all now 6.5mm. With 103 x 4.5 m strips 53x 2.0 m strips and another 50 at 12mm wide of varying lengths and then about 20 matai strips it all takes time.

A couple of things I have learnt. The first thing you should do when you first get your timber and ready to cut strips is stack all the boards with the grain running the same way. From then on any sawing planning routing or what have you can all be done with the grain for a smoother finish. All the strips should be in the same direction on the boat just thinking about it for when you plane or scape before sanding. there is no mention in nicks book or one ocean kayaks about grain. I know it is a basic fundamental of working with wood but not all of us are wood workers.

The first tool I made when I started after looking at the book and the web sites was featherboards. I had never seen the idea before but I could not have done my sawing or the router work with out them. That is I have done it all on my own. I can't see that having help would have made them superfluous.

To make sure I had the strips at the thickness I wanted I used the jaws of a crescent spanner set by using a drill at the various thicknesses which I checked the strips periodically to make sure the gate or the router wasn't moving. I dont have a vernier measurer or any of that fancy gear.

The next step is the cove and bead. That will have to wait till next weekend. The router is too noisy to use at night. Bugger having neighbours.

I have attached a couple of photos. Things to note. The trailer makes a very good mobile work bench. The strip storage racks overhead were the very first thing I built before I did anything else. I have somes strips up there and you can also see the strongback which I made from customwood.

COVE AND BEADING

18 August 2002
Time for the next update. The strips are finally finished. I did the beads yesterday and the coves today. I worked most of both days but a lot of the time was in set up of the router, fence, and the various finger boards. Made 3 new finger boards as well. The bead wasn't so bad but the setup for the cove took time. The strips are 6.5mm thick which I did deliberately over size after a recommendation I saw on the BB or on one of the web sites. The router bit is 6mm and getting it exactly centre took a while as you can imagine when you are dealing with quater of a mm tolerance. I am now pleased that when i bought the router several years ago it was a good one.

The strips have taken much longer than it could have, mainly because I was so particular about the accuracy of the strips. I cut them too thick deliberately because the accuracy from the saw was not good enough for my liking. I do not know whether it is flex in the blade or the slightest of play in the bearings of the saw or just not good enough feeding of the timber into the saw by me. I think now with a little more knowledge that I should of had bigger and more powerful finger boards at that initial stage. If you are going the Triton bench, skilsaw way make sure you get a good saw and the best blade you can afford.

Having finished them I now wonder whether being so fussy really mattered. I will acheive the same result but all I have saved is a few less reject strips and I hope a little less sanding.For the xtra time and effort I wonder if it was worth it. A good learning experience never the less.

I have included a couple of photos to show the finger board and fence set up for the cove operation. On the close up of the finger boards the router bit is down in the hole you can see in the finger board. When making the finger boards there are different ones for different stages. With the strips this small you don't need as much pressure to keep the strip in place so the fingers are longer and thinner and therefore more flexible. If fingers are too stiff they either do not hold the strip in place properly or the strip is too hard to feed thru and then you can break strips with the pressure needed to push them. I have learnt a lot about finger boards the hard way.

If you intend building a stripper don't wait until you decide what you are going to build and get the plans. Start cutting strips. As you now know from my experience it takes time.

CUTTING OUT THE FORMS

25 August 2002
Nothing really starling to report. I have finally finished cutting out the forms including the 4x2 hole for the strong back and plastic masking tape on the edges. I was not getting the results I wanted with the jigsaw so I mounted it under the Triton so it acted like a band saw. This was short lived. I found I was better at guiding the saw than the timber. Changed blades to a coarser blade, upped the speed and slowed down the feed. It was much better but still a little curl of paper to hide the line but not unsurmountable. Also concentrated on staying relaxed and let the saw do the work. Makes a hell of a difference. All part of the learning curve. Haven't used a jig saw before but I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable with it.

Most of the forms are out of 18 mm MDF but had to get some 12mm ply for the stern and bow stations so I tried a couple of forms out of it as well. It was easier to cut as you would expect being that much thinner. I went for MDF in preference to ply because I already had the material and I think the MDF is more dimensionally stable and not warp or twist like ply can.

Next is to finish the supports for the strongback and then thread on some forms. It feels like I am now starting to get some where.

STRONG BACK AND WORK BENCH

27 August 2002
Well I have the strongback sitting where it will probably spend a little time now. Building the support has been a mission. As you can see from the photo there are a total of six supports. Being MDF I am not confident in its strength or ability to support itself. The positive is that once it is set up properly it is not going to move.Getting them all level in every direction was an excercise in frustration but it all came together in the end.

The base is made of bits of scrap timber quite a bit being a couple of large pellets that fell of the back of a truck....as they are inclined to do. The timber is roughsawn and untreated but no matter the price was right. With roughsawn things won't move and as long as I get the boat finished before the borer eat the wood, being untreated is not a problem. However not all the timber was straight and true so this did add to the complexity of the mission a little. It is not a Ross Leidy work of art but all I needed was a structure to support the strongback and keep it level and true. And that it will do. Due to the timber being such good value it is over engineered a bit but I will be safe under it in the event of an earthquake. Note the shelves down the side for storing tools, glue and other essentials such as beer and things. It also has a built in timber rack.

The strongback still has to be cut to length. I built it originally, before the plans even arrived, with the idea I might stretch it an inch per frame. Flagged that idea and now intending to build to plan, my earlier comments re the rudder excepted.

Well I've had a glass of red wine to celebrate what, for me anyway, is a major milestone. It is amazing how long things take and after all this time I still haven't laid a strip. Now that will be a day. Not a glass but a whole bloody bottle when that happens.

22 September 2002
Today was the first day on the yak since I last contacted you. Work has got in the way. & days and long hours. One of the disadvantages of your own bussiness. When the work is there you just have to keep going

I have spent the whole day on the boat lining up the forms on the strongback. A long slow process. I have a slight problem at present but can't really work out what it is. It seems as if the stronback is not straight but it was perfect before I put the forms on it. I'll have to check it all again. Something may have moved. I'll have another crack at it tomorrow. The rear two thirds all line up ok it is just the front. The keel line of the forms is curving to the right.

To line up the forms I have drilled a hole on the waterline mark the same distance from the centre line on each form. I have put a bright light at the end form and sight through the holes, like looking down a rifle barrel until they all line up. Sounds piece of piss. In practice not quite as easy.

I have also taken the tack that if I make the strong back exact and cut out the 4x2 hole exactly when I thread the forms onto the strong back they will all line up. I didn't like the idea in Nicks book of cutting them with slop and then lining them up later. My system works well. There are a couple of forms where my cutting out wasn't quite precise and the holes are a little big and they slop around. They were not easy to line up and get to stay in position.

Be sure to tune in next week for the continuing saga in the trials and tribulations of the Strip!
This photo journal is continually updated as the Night Heron Double progresses.

E-mail Web Designer Grant Glazer