I’ve talked about building a strip built canoe or sailboat on here before. I ended up picking a 2 person strip built kayak called the microbootlegger.
I think it’s a really pretty boat, so I hope I do it justice.
I am doing videos of the build, but more as a diary than a ‘watch me build this’ type video.
This was the first weekend of the build. I had a lot of family stuff both days, but I got some of the prep work done. I got a rolling cart built and a 2x4 made out of plywood.
I did get all the forms rough cut, but I still need to do final sanding and cut the hole in the middle. The designer recommends adding lightening holes in the forms, so I’ll probably do that with a hole saw.
Sadly, the mpcnc won’t be used much on this build. I did use the MP3DPv4 to print some jigs I’ll be using during the build.
I did a stitch and glue kayak about 25 years ago… just redid it this spring. It’s still one of my favorite things. I’m sure your boat will come out even nicer.
Invest in a good sander with dust control and a good respirator… the epoxy fiberglass dust is evil.
This picture is just a random picture. I thought it was nice that I was finally using my big workbench as an outfeed table as I had built/intended it for
And this picture is looking down the length of the plywood 2x4 strong back that I built. It doesn’t have to be perfectly straight, but I thought this looked pretty good.
Getting it to the lake is the easy part. I recently added a lumber/ladder rack to my truck. I’m going to put some foam on the cross braces and strap the kayak to the top.
I spent last week out of state for work, so I didn’t get much work done. It’s a little amazing how much work it takes before you even put the first strip on.
No new videos, but here’s the link to the jigs I’ve been designing. I finally got to test some out and have the first strips on the kayak. If I can find some time in the shop this week, I hope to get a few more strips on the kayak.
