30 foot Kodiak in Juneau

[Lindy]

Got my jig set up for the bottom molds, with the help of 3 friends, Ms Jones and a 6 pack of beer was able to get the bottom panels on the jig. Will bring the old singer sewing machine up to the shop and start sewing them together in the morning.
Wish me luck? Any tips or tricks to bring these bad boys together?

[Rbob]

Lets see, put the panels face to face and drill holes for the zip ties or wire ties (closer together at the knee to bow) and open it like a book, this part is easy.

[Brian.Dixon]

 ... Long and floppy, heavy, parts ... have a friend or two over for lunch to lend a hand

[Todd j]

It’s really very simple.  Leave the ties on the knee looser.  I used 1/4” ss tubing cut to about 2”.  I put it where the edges met.  It helps keep the panels aligned and from sliding over one another.  Tighten them last!

[Lindy]

Got the hull stitched up, everything fit perfect, all gaps 1/16 inch or less- thanks Chuck. Ms Jones,the queen of fillets and epoxy goddess, my buddy Pete, who is 2 weeks out of a total knee and myself put down the center seam. Left the zip ties in, laid down  a big fillet followed by 3 layers of fiberglass tape, all worked well.

[Grady300]

Wow you two are really getting it done in a hurry. Glad the kit is working out well, you have the first Kodiak kit. Be-sure not to forget to let me know when your getting closer. I will send you your CEO (Certificate of Origin) with your HIN numbers. That way when you go to get insurance it will help having West Coast Boat Works as the manufacture otherwise it will say Home Built. Some insurance companies use that as an excuse to charge you more. It will also help resale value should you ever sell it.

[Rbob]

Lindy,

You are making great progress, nice clean work and what a nice shop you have.

[Lindy]

Got a bit of a lick in before and after work today, stitched on the chines- all gaps 1/8 inch or less, put some peanut butter between the stiches, turned up the heat to 75 degrees, Tomorrow I hope to tape the chines with 4 inch tape followed by 6 oz of biaxial and then place the 9 oz bottom cloth over everything while it is wet. Again impressed how the chines folded nicely around the top of bottom panel-amazing!

[Brian.Dixon]

You're on a real roll!

Chines fit nicely?  I used error propagation calculations so that all seams would fit with 1/16" accuracy ... in the computer model.  1/8" in the real world, real wood, is pretty good.  It speaks highly of how well Chuck Mazzola (see Kits tab at https://www.glacierboats.com) cut those out with his CNC machines.

[Djeffrey]

You’re rocking it, looks great!

[Lindy]

Had the day off so made a big push on the bottom, chines all taped up bottom covered with 10 oz cloth, burned through a lot of epoxy. After a few fill coats, have to figure out how to flip this thing and hang from my ceiling. Thanks everyone for your support.

[Rbob]

Awesome job and accomplishment, flipping should be easy.  Supporting from ceiling? Not a bunch of weight but probably going to make a couple holes in the sheetrock..

[Brian.Dixon]

Support timbers across the boat, wide straps, and chain hoists are your friend!

[Lindy]

got the bottom flipped over, aft seams taped, and hung the bottom from the ceiling. Kinda fun hanging things like this from the ceiling

[Rbob]

Nicely done.  Good to see it went well.