The final documented steps

Posted on by David

At least the ones I have photos of

Editing Note- When I started building the Night Heron in 2014, I had no idea that I would do a blog about the experience. These posts are recalling the build from memory with a few photos.

To recap, I took pictures while I was building the boat but as time went on, it would slip my mind. I think I was so focused on the next steps that I simply failed to stop and assess and document my work. I think I did better on my second and third projects. But even on those projects, it was still a challenge. I’ve even tried to make a couple of videos and I soon realized it took three times as long to glue a plank. I really admire those on YouTube that can create a quality how-to video.

I felt I needed to set the coaming and fit the planks. More recent experience tells me that I could have finished out the wood then cut and fit the coaming.
Here is the coaming set in place and the cedar planks built up around it. It did turn out ok.
Cutting the planks on a curve was kind of difficult. Once all that was done I added three more layers of 1/8″ plywood to the coaming to give it some height and adding a lip
Here is a current image of the coaming detail. You can see the additional plywood to build it up and the cap that created the lip. The lip is useful to grasp when carrying. It also provides and ledge for a cover or “paddling skirt” the grab on to. All of this pieces were furnished in the kit.

What wasn’t furnished in the kit that I added later is the retractable skeg. You can see the rectangular slide and handle in the image. Once I got experience paddling the boat, it became very obvious that when paddle in the wind, the boat wanted to turn into the wind. It’s called weathercocking and that name is based on the weather vane that always points the direction of the wind. Aircraft experience it, rockets do it and so do long boats.

I found myself paddling on one side to keep in a straight line. This was very inefficient.

A skeg is like a sailboat keel. For a sailboat it keeps it heading in the right direction plus it keeps it from tipping over in the wind. I never had the tipping problem. So after a year of paddling, I bought a kit and added the skeg. When the slide is forward, the skeg extended down from the bottom rear of the boat. When I don’t need it, it hides up inside a small box.

Of course, no pictures but it did make a huge difference. Paddling in wind, especially a cross wind got a lot easier.

I do have a kayak with a rudder that extends off the stern of the boat. It works really well but is difficult to keep adjusted. If I were to build another long boat, I’d consider adding a rudder instead of a skeg.

This is looking at the underside of the deck. Once the deck was glued up and before the final sanding, you have to fiberglass the underside.
This also gave me a chance to sand the underside a little smoother including where the planks meet the coaming. This area would be pretty much hidden from view but I would know. So I rough sanded the underside to at least make it smooth for fiberglass
Here is the underside just about to get the 4oz cloth and epoxy. I would give it a second coat of epoxy before flipping over and permanently attaching it to the hull

Now here is a huge gap in photos. I was always thinking of the next step and forgetting to take at least one picture. I missed covering the cutting out of the hatches. I was very nervous the whole time.

And here is the magically finished product arriving at the lake for it’s maiden voyage. I will tell you that driving down the highway with this thing strapped to the top of the van is quite the spectacle. We get the thumbs-up and on rare occasions, we get someone taking a picture.

It’s not uncommon to have strangers come up to you and start talking about the boat-or how they used to have a boat. It’s an ice-breaker. All I need is a little puppy and we’d be the hit of the rest area.

Sign up for a notification when the Boat Building site is updated

When you click the Subscribe button you will need to verify that you are you using Capcha

    • Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Once you submit your post comment, please allow time for the comment to be approved before it appears on this page.