pygmy

I finished the last butt joints tonight. My last 4 or 6 joints were significantly improved over the first ones. The finishes are smoother and I did them with less work.

Upon reading other people’s experiences with building pygmy kayaks, I’m rethinking the heating situation in the garage. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that I will continue to have difficulties working with the epoxy at the cool temperatures that my unheated garage provides (under 10C).

I finally figured out the best time for doing some work on “green” epoxy. Please note my specific environment. With temperature in the 6-8C range, and using the fast cure epoxy from System Three, I found that 24 hours was just about right.

Even though I am only a few days into building the kayak, I can offer some advice and 5 hot tips: 1.

This morning (Jan 8, 2005) I started the first epoxy work on the Tern14. I laid out half of the panels, clamped them in place using an assortment of finishing nails, bricks and clamps, and applied the epoxy and fibreglass for the butt joints.

I picked up the Tern 14 from UPS today. The pick-up would have gone smooth, but Canada Customs seems to have adopted a new attitude whereby they don’t actually believe the invoices they see for goods imported.

My friend Mark Ware told me about some wooden kayak kits you can purchase and then build yourself. I was instantly interested in this, and decided to look into it right away.

I purchased the Tern 14 on December 21, 2005. Here’s a couple of tips for buying/shipping if you live close to Port Townsend.