Small Progress

I got a bit more done this past weekend on the Sea Flea I am building for my daughter. I ripped my 10' cedar 2x6 (1.5" x 5.5") into pieces 11/16" x 3/4", then scarf-jointed two of these to make two 12' long boards for the gunwales. The first step was to rip the 2x6 into 3/4" x 1.5" pieces on my table saw. These were then cut again to yield the final dimensions (11/16" x 3/4") for the gunwales, keel & stringers to be used on this kayak. These cuts were made easier, safer & better through the use of a very basic feather board I made. I can't believe I've gone so long without one! With boards that long my roller stands also came in handy. By the way, I have a $50 roller stand from Lee Valley with roller balls, and a $18 stand from Peavey Mart with a single roller. I prefer the cheap one. Last fall in anticipation of fixing the gunwales on Jay's derelict canoe, I built a scarfing sled for the table saw. This sled did a pretty decent job of cutting my 8:1 angle and the scarfed boards matched nicely. With the angles cut, the boards were glued up in the kitchen and voila, 12 foot lumber was created.

I also glued the form patterns onto my 1/2" plywood (using spray glue that allows it to be removed later) and began cutting the forms out on the band saw. I then realised that I still needed to do 2 things: 1) mark the positions of all of the stringers and 2) mark the curve that allows the fabric to push inward without hitting the cross sections. Marking these would have been easier to do before the paper was attached to the wood and before things were cut up. Oh well, it's done now.

I was confused for a time regarding what to do with the deck stringers. Looking at some of the Sea Fleas built by others eventually answered that for me. I will have one deck stringer that runs down the centerline of station 2 to station 1, and two deck stringers on the aft deck running from station 3 to station 4, pretty much just like this guy did.

The next step is to finish cutting out all the cross sections (stations) using the band saw and a jig saw, outside & inside. Then I will mount cross sections 1 & 4 onto the strongback and temporarily attach the stringers.