First step is to cut out panels from 1200 x 2100mm 3mm thick marine ply (don't be tempted to use cheaper ply, it has voids, knots, etc that will weaken the structural integrity). I get mine from Plyco, they make it locally (Yay!).

Here's a pic of panels. They aren't cut to the exact panel shapes, as these (especially the sides) would be too flimsy. Panels from two sheets are joined together end-to-end to give blanks 4.2m long. A bit tricky to manoeuver in the garage.




CLC provide full-size templates for the parts - just amatter of transfering the outlines to the panels, then cutting out with a jigsaw - fairly easy!

Now the fun begins and it starts to take shape.

The sides are stitched together with wire, and held into shape by 'bulkheads' that run across the hull. In the plans they are solid, but I've cut holes out to reduce weight. I did the same with the deck support which slot into these (you can see them to the right).

Although drilling out a few bits of ply may not save tons of weight, it should shave off a kg or two. Everything gets covered in epoxy to waterproof it, so if it isn't there it won't get epoxied! It's important to clean up eny epoxy drips too, as they add nothing to the strength and just add weight.

At this stage it's upside down.



And just a close-up of one bulkhead wired to the sides.

Hi TK1,

This is a really interesting project. I once rebuilt a Hartley 18ft TS and enjoyed every bit of it.

Keep up the progress pics, I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks completed.

DM

Hi,

Build update. Sorry for the delays. Now the pressure is on to finish it by 30th December!

Hull panels are stitched together, so I can see the final shape now. Hull is constructed upside down, with wire twisted tightly to pull the panels into shape. Blue masking tape was used to ensure all edge joints were aligned and held tightly, as well as to catch any epoxy that drips through gaps.

Once stitched, hull is flipped - see second and third pics. I mounted the hull on two sawhorses, then clamped straight bits of wood to them and shimmed until level. The forward one has a wedge cut out so it only supports the sides of the hull, allowing the bottom V to sit naturally. Longitudinal deck supports aren't glued in yet, but I put them in to check alignment. I also added a ply stern piece.

The hull curves in a bit at the back, so I used a couple of ties to hold the shape whilst epoxying, and some tape at the bow to ensure it sits fair.

Once the base is level, the hull is levelled using two spirit levels, and sighting along the hull to ensure there is no twist, and the hull adjusted until completely true. This is important so it doesn't lean or sit unevenly when finished. It was only out by a couple of mm's so easy to fix. Anther tip is to run a string line from bow to stern centre, and check measurements at points on each side. Easy build so far

Fiberglass cloth has been purchased - 78gsm for the deck interior (light weight but gives it some extra strength) and 130gsm ("surfboard weight") for the exterior.

I've now 'tack welded' the hull *(pics in next update). I used a syringe to apply a thin bead of epoxy to each join, leaving the wires unglued (mostly!) so they are easy to remove. Once removed the joins get a larger fillet of epoxy.

Probably halfway there, and the the hull assembly was the hard part.

Goretex vents, handle and leash plugon the way from Shapers in Qld, and wood fins on the way from Gray Whale in the US (original designer of the Kaholo). Should both arrive Thursday so then Xmas will be spent glassing and assembling it.

More updates soon

Regards,
Darren

Once the joins had all dried, two bottom stringers are added to the hull bottom to give it some stiffness - basically to just stop the panels flexing. The instructions suggest using wedges, but lacking the time to make them I packed leftover wall tiles between the stringers and the deck supports (see photo below).

The photo also shows an addition I made - the box just behind the second deck support. This will be a waterproof compartment with a 6" screw-in hatch.

It will have two functions - firstly to hold keys, phone and snacks (all in watertight bags, just to be sure) on paddles, and secondly it has a drain plug which can be opened to equalise the pressure inside the board when not on the water.

A wedge of ply was also added to the nose to support the front of the deck.

All going well so far

Regards,
Darren

Hey TK1 looking good.

I built one a couple of yeras ago and use
it all the time.

You'll love it

Cheers Bill

OK, I'm finally back on track.

I wanted this finished for New Year's Eve, but that obviously didn't happen. Then work, life and other projects got in the way. But in the last week I've gotten back into it (spurned on by not having it ready for a race this week ).

So, I'd gotten the hull pretty much done. Following on from the last post, I added the deck stringers, which provide support/stiffness where you stand.

The other change I made to the plans was instead of having handles on each side of the deck, I got a recessed deck handle from Shapers in Qld. To hold this, you'll see in the pics I added a foam block in the centre of the board.

Before adding the deck, the critical step is ensuring the deck is flat - so out came the hand planes for stringers, etc. I ran into a problem here as the fore one had somehow dropped a bit, so I added some strips of wood to bring it back into alignment.

Final pic shows the last look inside before the deck is added - I'd already epoxied most of it for waterproofing, but I gave it all a coat of gloss marine varnish to be safe.

Next, the deck goes on...

Regards,
Darren

lift your game bud. other things to do in life,pfffft. thanks once again,oh and thankyou for not making it seem like everything goes perfectly all the time. i already know im a bit crap at being handy

Hi,

Finally making more progress...

Good news and bad news at this stage: the good news is that the fiberglassing is almost done and the board looks pretty good.

The bad news is this...remember the delay in a previous post when I had to shim one of the fore deck supports as it had dropped a bit? I thought this was a minor issue, and so didn't think it through. With this being out of alignment, when I glued on the deck, it put tiwst into the hull

So, first thought was to cut it up with a chainsaw but I decided to persevere and finish it off. Deck was trimmed and everything was sanded back to 320 grit. You can kinda see the twist in this pic if you look at the tail.




Glassing began with the lower hull. I had bought some "surfboard" cloth - 130gsm, 700mm wide - but with the board being 700mm wide, I'd need 2 pieces to get it to wrap around the sides. So I found some spare 200gsm that was 1m wide and used that. A bit heavier than I wanted but bulletproof.

Pic shows underside glassing - top has been done now, so tomorrow night the sanding should begin, then it's finishing off and varnishing ...ready for the Cerberus paddle next SUnday!



This was always a practice build, but with the twist I'll have to see how it paddles - probably won't track straight but will be an OK cruiser. So I'm planning a racing board based on this, with some modifications from lessons learnt from this build.

Completion of the build coming up, foolwed by build #2!

Great job Darren.
You are smashing it and it looks great. Those fins look awesome and can't weight to see it finished.
You wll suffer from "carpark syndrome" everytime you unload it.
Cheers