Making a Petrel Play Kayak: Stripping the Deck - Episode 6

Episode 6 Transcript

Hi I'm Nick Schade at Guillemot Kayaks. Welcome to Episode 6 of my series of videos on building the Petrel Play.

In the last episode we finished stripping the hull and in this episode we will strip up the deck, add an accent stripe and remove the staples.

Back in Episode 3 I planed a bevel along the edge of the first strip I installed on the hull. The goal was to eventually create a miter between the hull and deck for a smooth tight seam.

Now that I'm working on the deck, it is time to create the matching first strip for it.

As I did on the hull, I write the form number where the strip crosses each form. This is just a quick guide to keep track of where I am working.

I start the bevel by looking at how wide a gap I have. I then hold my plane so I see a similarly sized gap.

Holding that angle constant, I keep planing until the gap disappears.

I then check my work, and if it looks good I move my way down to the next form, slowly rolling the angle of the plane as needed.

The strip twists sharply from almost flat at the bow to nearly vertical at form 4. Heating the strip softens the wood allowing me to lock in the proper twist before the strip is installed on the forms.

With both sheer strips fitted and twisted on each side, I need to join then together.

By overlapping the strips I can roughly estimate the centerline location. It should be where the inner edges cross. The strips are not long enough for the outer edges to cross, so I do my best to eye-ball it.

There is always a convenient scrap to use as a straight edge. I mark the taper. Its just a first guess, I don't need it to be perfect.

I'll plane down towards the line. I hold the face of my plane vertical to simulate the angle of the face where the two sheer strips will meet.

With both sides roughed out, I check the fit. The toes touch. This means I need remove material from the pointy end first.

When I get a nice fit, I can staple the strips down. Notice I am not gluing these decks strips to the hull strips. If I used glue here, I would be hard pressed to remove the forms later.

I do want the deck strip glued to each other.

I repeat the same fitting process at the stern of the kayak.

The next set of strips follow the centerline.

I align a pair of strips with the centerline and mark where their outer edges cross the sheer strips.

I draw a taper from that mark to the end of the strip.

The most efficient way to get down to the line is to whack off most of the excess with a pocket knife and then I use a block plane to ease in on the line.

When I check the fit, I'm looking at both the taper and the bevel angle.

I'll hold my plane to match the gaps I see and plane until the gaps are gone.

Since both sides need to fit simultaneously, I work on both sides before finalizing either side.

There is a slight crown to the deck along the centerline, so the edges between the strips need a little bevel.

I can then work on finalizing the fit at the ends.

When the fit looks good enough, I can apply glue between the strips, add glue at the ends and then secure the strips in place with staples.

A little tape binds the junction between the four strips nice and tight.

These center strips only extend to the cockpit area of the deck, so I'll repeat the same process with some new strips at the other end of the kayak.

So, I started with strips following the sheer and then added strips down the centerline. I'll continue with this pattern, sheer followed by center, for a while. It matches well with the curved sides.

This pattern continues until the side strips intersect the feature line feeding into the cockpit area. From there on I'll just run parallel to the centerline.

Since I'm using square edged strips instead of cove and bead, I am not guaranteed a tight seam between them.

My Robo-Bevel tool forms a bevel on the top edge of the strip that is square to the form above it.

The shoulder plane takes a very fine cut. While this takes longer, it limits tear-out and helps prevent plugging up the throat with chips.

The strips following the sheer line continue past the feature line and are then trimmed back using the marks on the forms as a reference.

No need to have the staples in the way.

Connect the dots with a scrap strip.

I'm cutting just outside the line, but I want the feature line to end at a strip intersection, so I stop the cut without going into the last strip.

Now the sawn edge needs to be cleaned up using a rabbet plane.

I'll keep checking to assure the edge is getting fair and smooth.

I've got several rabbet planes. One can be set up as a bull nose, cutting right to the end of the feature line.

A very thin strip of Alaskan yellow cedar will make a nice accent along the feature line.

There is a tiny little bevel at the end where the feature line intersects the next strip.

Obviously, staples are not an option on such a thin piece of wood. Masking tape will serve as a clamp while the glue sets up.

The same drill on the other side and then up front.

The next strip has a compound taper, against the intersecting strip, and then along the feature line.

I mark out where the bottom edge of the new strip crosses the top edge of the intersecting strip. This is the first taper.

I shape this until it fits pretty well.

The next taper extends from the end of the feature line back to where the bottom edge of the new piece crosses the top edge of the accent.

The fit starts with a good taper angle. Shaving back the taper will allow the strip to slide in farther.

When the glue dries, the staples can come out.

We now have the kayak all stripped up. Next episode we will be sanding and fairing.