Cedar Strip Kayak Building: Cockpit Recess
January 28, 2006
The deck is stripped! I cut out a hole for the cockpit recess, 35 inches long x 18 inches wide, big enough for a large keyhole sized cockpit. After beveling the edges I placed strips across the width of the hole, glued them in with Gorilla Glue and held them in place with duct tape. Actually it's not duct tape that works the best, it's the Scotch 3M Cloth Tape, which is not as sticky, doesn't leave a residue and tears by hand easier. It took all day to fit each strip, bevel the ends and put them in place. I also replaced the temporay shear strips with the permanent strips and held them in place with tape while the glue dried. Tomorrow the deck will be ready for scraping and sanding. I think I'll fiberglass the deck inside and out BEFORE cutting out the cockpit, to give the deck some extra strength while I remove it to sand and glass the inside.