Making of a hole new kayak ((surfski)


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staffan_w
staffan_w
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Hi!
I'm from Sweden and found this really interesting forum just now.
I'm doing a lot of adventure racing and paddling is one of the main parts in competitions.
So, i would really like to make my own kayak, but this one will be like a surfski, something like this;

http://fatpaddler.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/P1000468.jpg

I have a few questions I hope someone can help me with:
First, I would like to build a boat as light as possible, in carbon fiber / kevlar. How thick should have the hull and deck.
Then I do not know if it is possible to make use of rasin infusion technology or whether to try to vacuum bag. I am puzzled, however, if you have time to wet-laying the entire hull and then on the vacuum bag before the rasin time to solidify.
If one would use rasin infusion, how often you need to outsource distribution tubing to cover the entire hull?
Then I also wonder how best to put together the hull and deck. I saw the movie on kayak repair and which used some form of kevlar tape. Is it the best thing to use or is there something else?
Hm, these issues are perhaps slightly messy but I am so grateful for all the help I can get.
Thanks in advance,
Staffan, Sweden

Edited 12 Years Ago by staffan_w
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staffan_w
staffan_w
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Nice to hear your ideas Scott!

I think I
've seen that movie also on Youtube. My problem is that I'll make a surfski, pictures in my first post, so I can't get access to the inside of the kayak once you have put together hull and deck.

I actually have access to an old homemade surfski which I will use as plug. It is made of CF so I hope I can make a mold with epoxy out of it.

But my idea is just like you said Scott, make two molds, one for the deck and one for the hull. The questions I have is, as I said;
-How much CF or fiberglass do I have to use in the kayak?
-How do I deploy the infusion spiral to get a good result?
-Is the vacuum pump ECVP425 enough for this job, the kayak is over 6m long and about 45cm wide.
-How do I join the deck and hull so that it keeps? I cant get access to the inside of the kayak after I have put together the hull and the deck? Is there some kind of tape or similar that I can use?

Thank you for your ideas and thoughts on the project!

panda
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Typical layup for a kayak like this would be 200g carbon, foam core, 200g carbon with added reinforcement where needed for example the nose and the cockpit area.  I believe that the deck and hull are joined using some sort of lap joint and bonded together, finishing off the seam with gelcoat and a seam tape of glass or kevlar flat braid.  

Infusion spiral and pump I'm sure someone else has better knowledge than me but it can be easily done with hand layup and bagging after to get a kayak around 10kg of this sort.

Spiral I would guess runs down the centre line of the hull for resin inlet and a ring around the flange to draw resin towards the pump evenly.  Any pump (within reason) that will draw close to full vacuum will be appropriate for this.

Hope this helps, I can take some pictures the next time we build some racing kayaks and post them up if I remember to show how we seam them.

GO

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