| Building the Whiptail
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There's nothing unusual here. I used 5/8"
plywood for the station forms. I opted to use pine for the stem forms
so that I could easily plane the edge bevel. The beveled section
became the inside stem. |
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I took few pictures of the bulk of the building process.
For more detailed photos of this part of the process, take a look
at some of my other building projects..
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After glassing the exterior, I toted the kayak to the
backyard for my first wide-angle view of the result. Despite
some construction snafus, I'm pleased with the outcome. I really
like the proportions of this one.
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I'm going to use KajakSport rubber hatches on this kayak,
and to recess them into the deck. I've seen a few different
ways to create a recess with attractive results. I decided to
try another way - a molded fiberglass recess topped with a layer of
carbon twill.
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I wanted to do something fun with the seat. I
used my usual mold (taken from my Dagger Sitka), but this time I used
a cotton print as the first layer of fabric. This print was
appropriate for the name Whiptail.
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Before the Whiptail was entirely complete, I took it
to the 2006 Bear Mountain canoe/kayak rendezvous in Peterborough,
Ontario. It was missing some of the outfitting and had no varnish,
but otherwise it was ready to paddle. Renee and I took it out
for its maiden voyage on Little Lake in Peterborough. I was
extremely pleased with how it paddled.
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During the Bear
Mountain Boats rendezvous, I spent some more time getting acquainted
with the Whiptail. I managed to get some innocent bystanders
to give it a try, too. Scott Innes was kind enough to capture
some shots of the kayak in action.
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Whiptail?
I decided to break tradition and not name the design
after a bird, fish, or body of water. The Whiptail is named
for the speedy little blue-tailed lizard of New Mexico. As a
kid, I used to try to catch these little critters, but rarely succeeded.
And, I felt the name was evocative of the upswept stern of
the design. Ultimately, a naming scheme based on New Mexico
lizards would be somewhat limiting. Who would buy a kayak called
the "horned toad"? |
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