Cutting Hatches

Today I cut out the hatches. The plans for the kayak came

with a paper cutout so that I'd know how big to make them.

So basically, I just centered the cutout, and put tape under it.

Then I traced them with a permanent marker and cut

them out. I used a jig saw with a fine metal blade. Some

people use handmade Japanese handsaws, but a jigsaw

works good for me!

In this picture you can see the cross section of the deck.

The fiberglass on the inside of the deck is much thicker

than on the outside. It is about 1/4 inches thick.

Sanding and Glassing Inside of The Deck

It took 2 hours fiberglass the inside of the deck.

The fiberglass turns nice and clear when I put epoxy on it. When ever

wood is being 'finished' like putting on a thick sealer such as epoxy, it should

be done in when the temperature is dropping. Also, the humidity should be

relatively low. That is because when when the temperature is rising the

wood is releasing air, and when the temperature is dropping, the wood is absorbing

air. Releasing air means lots of air bubbles!!

The humidity should also be similar to what it was when I put the fiberglass on the

outside of the deck. Otherwise the wood will have expanded or shrunk, depending on

the change in humidity, thus, changing the shape of the deck. When the shape changes,

it makes it rather complicated to mount the deck to the hull and the end of the

process!

There are 2 layers of fiberglass on the inside of the deck.

That way it'll be ok to sit on it when you get in.

Not much sanding is needed inside the deck. Just enough

to get the bumps out and make is smooth for the epoxy to

stick. This is the last time anyone will see inside of it.

Before I started sanding, I took the separated the deck and hull.

The wood after sanding is only about 1/8 of an inch thick! The fiberglass

adds almost another 8th. So the total thickness when it is finished

will be about 1/4 inch. Right now the deck weighs just around 10 lbs!