Finally! Paddle Board Party Photos

Finally posting pictures from the paddle board party.  Tons of fun.  Thanks to my awesome friends for joining!

Finishing up!

The boat/paddle board party did happen on Saturday, but since I'm behind on my blogging, I can't tell you how it went quite yet.  For now, you can read about how the finishing touches went.

I decided to give my board a little bit of color with Posca paint pens.  Check out the progression:

I painted Diamond Head on the bottom of my board.  I've learned that this view of Waikiki beach is not as iconic as I once thought--it was either unrecognizable (in part because of my lack of artistic training) or "Diamond Head" was thought to be a snake.  I chose to incorporate a Hawaiian theme to pay homage to my home island--Oahu.

Once I finished the painting, I laid fiberglass cloth over the entire bottom, poured epoxy, and squeeged it smooth.  About two inches folded onto the sides.

Bottom of the paddle board

Bottom of the paddle board with fiberglass cloth

Bottom of the paddle board after epoxy has been spread over the fiberglass

I did the same with the top deck after the bottom dried.  After all the epoxy had dried, I laid the board upside down again and added skegs.

Gluing the skegs on

You better shape up

In my last post, I mentioned how I centered the top deck of the paddle board so that there was flush around all the edges.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any fancy tools, like a router, to cut the flush off, so I used my she-woman strength and an old school coping saw.  This actually did not take long at all.  I made relief, or preliminary cuts, perpendicular to the side panels, then cut along the edges. 

Cutting relief cuts into the flush.  Guess which universities my friends went to.

Relief cuts in the top deck

After I sawed through the relief cuts

Not too shabby

Much cleaner, but not quite there

I mixed some more of that peanut butter sawdust epoxy and used a syringe to fill in any gaps along the seams.

After the epoxy dried, I took my board outside for some hardcore sanding.

Really trying to clean off the bumps of epoxy

A little bit of shaping had to take place at the nose... a common practice for celebrities

Shaping up the nose (the paddle board is upside down in this photo)

The cover up

Five days and counting until I have to debut this paddle board!  The good news is I've done more than I've blogged about, and I've done more than I'm about to blog about.  However, only about a day's worth more.  Still, one day makes all the difference.

Before I topped her off, I sealed the inside of the paddle board with a nice coat of epoxy.  I lathered the glue over every inch of the internal structure--the side  panels, the bottom panel, and the bulkheads.  Epoxy works as a glue, of course, but also as a sealant that will protect the wood from moisture.

Coating the internal structure with epoxy.  A very therapeutic process

I took two pieces of lumber and glued them between the fifth and sixth bulkheads.  This is where I'm going to attach a handle, and quarter inch plywood wasn't going to cut it for support.

I glued support beams for the handle.  Installing the handle will be one of the finishing touches

I let the epoxy dry over night.  The glue really strengthened the paddle board and it felt like one solid unit.  (I could tell by wiggling the nose.)  I then used a block plane to flatten out the edges of the sheer clamps so the top deck will lay flat on the surface.

Using a block plane to shave down the sheer clamps

This picture was supposed to show the top is even...

The next step was a big one!  Luckily, it wasn't difficult at all.  I mixed some cell-o-fill with some epoxy to get a nice consistency and painted it on the top of the bulkheads, the nose, and sheer clamps--anywhere the top deck will lay.

I took the top deck (remember that?  I fiberglassed it a few weeks ago - http://werebuildingaboat.blogspot.com/2012/04/fiberglassing-upper-deck-sounds-like.html), placed the fiberglass side down, and centered it so that there was some flush around the edges.

Then I took packaging tape and wrapped it around the board to keep the top deck from rising.

Using packaging tape to hold the top deck down

...And, of course, added some weights...

...And added more weights....

Shortnosed Post

I had more to add to the last post, but totally forgot.  So here's a short post.  Perhaps this can add to your mid-workday internet browsing.  The kit includes a triangular piece for the nose.  I glued that in place so the surface was even with the top of the frame.  I put a solo cup underneath so it wouldn't fall while the glue dried.  It seemed to work alright.

Standing at the nose of the paddle board..holding the nose piece

Placing the nose piece

Syringes and Fillets

Now that the side panels, bulkheads, and bottom of my paddle board were stitched together, it was time to securely glue everything.  I mixed a batch of epoxy with cell-o-fill to thicken the consistency.  With a syringe, I sucked the epoxy up and squeezed it along the seams and over the copper stitches.  The cell-o-fill was a must so that the epoxy formed a bead like when you use a hot glue gun.

Squeezing the thickened epoxy through a syringe along the seam of the sideboard and bottom panel

Beads of glue along the bottom panel, sideboards, and bulkheads

I let the glued seams dry over night.  The next day I used pliers to untwist and pull the copper wires out.  It sounds crazy to remove the one thing that was initially holding my creation together, but there is a very simple explanation for this.  Last year after I glued the bottom of Baby Red (Step #11 - Bottoms Up), I had to remove the tacks that I had nailed in from the outside.  The tacks kept the bottom in place while the glue dried.  I remove the tacks because metal and wood expand and contract at different rates, which lead to gaps between the nails and wood, which lead to leaks in the hull.  The last thing a captain wants is a sinking ship.  I'm sure a paddle boarder would agree.  No metal, no problems.  For the  most part, the copper wires came out with a solid tug.  There were a few that I had to aggressively wiggle out.

Untwisting the copper wires before I pull them out

With a metal-free paddle board, I mixed another batch of epoxy.  Instead of adding cell-o-fill this time, I used something that would make the epoxy even thicker...sawdust.  I had what looked like a lovely jar of peanut butter.  I pasted it along the edges and smoothed it out.  This is called filleting.  I did this with Baby Red as well (Filleting and Fiberglassing).  Filleting will make any seam stronger and sturdier. 

I had just started filleting (to get a better idea of what it should look like, go to Filleting and Fiberglassing)

To finish out the day, I epoxied stringers into the bulkheads.  The bulkheads have slits in them to make this stop easy peasy.  The stringers run from the nose to the tail of the paddle board and provide durability...and a sense of security for me.

Placing the stringers in the bulkheads before I glue them in

I Discover I have Paul Bunyon fingers

I am just about the most delinquent blogger in the existence of the internet.  I am making progress on my board, no doubt about that.  However, I am finally posting these week+ old pictures.  In fact, I set a date to debut my board.  I had to give myself a deadline, so I made it May 20.  If you would like to attend the paddle board revealing party, post a comment and I will reply with details.  I will be at the boat house and you will see such classics as Baby Red.

In this post I am stitching the bottom of the board.  The last photo I left you with was of the side walls and the bulkheads.  That was basically the frame (I referred to it as a beached whale skeleton before) to of the paddle board.  Stitching the bottom to the frame proved to be a test of whether I had done the last step correctly.............and with much frustration, I had not.  (This is part of the reason I waited to blog this...I had to swallow my pride before I could finally admit my mistakes.)  

I couldn't understand why my board was lopsided.  Thankfully, my good friend Laura measured out the sidewalls to find one was upside down.  Ok, now that I've divulged that, let's move on.  Seriously.  Let's move on.  I'd rather not get into details.

With the frame upside down, I laid the bottom panel on top and began to stitch it to the side boards.  Again, I used copper wire in 4 inch increments to tie it up.  Pliers are essential for twisting unless you have Paul Bunyon fingers.  I had to do some adjusting by loosening some wires and re-tightening.

Just stitching along the side panels

Referring to this earlier photo below, you can see the bottom panel is a funky shape and half of it is split down the middle.  That is so the board can have a boat-hull shape on the bottom front like the photo below.

You can kind of see the funky shape of the bottom panel here

The bottom front of the board is going to have a shape similar to this hull

This is the bow, or front, of the board (board is upside down)

 

To get the nose of the bottom panel, which flares out (diagram blow), to fit with the bow of the frame (above), I had to bend the nose pieces upright and stitch it in.  This is where they recommend having a friend help you.  I did it alone which means I may, after all, have those Paul Bunyon fingers I was talking about.

And here's what we get:

This is the shape the bow takes as the bottom panel is stitched to the sides (board is right-side up).  And yes, that's a painting of Beyonce in the background).

I set up two saw horses and cradles (boards cut to fit the paddle board in place) and flipped the paddle board upside down. I'm ready to post the next step!

You can see the cradles clamped in with the green spring clamps.

Looks like we're getting somewhere.

Looking like a beached whale

Finally, my paddle board begins to take shape!  Last summer I went to Vancouver, Canada and saw orca pods (killer whales to be politically incorrect) off of Granville island.  I imagine if one of them ended its life on the Canadian shores, its skeletal remains would look something like the current state of my paddle board.

The paddle board kit includes ten bulkheads, which look like ribs.  The bulkheads are labeled 1 through 10.  1 for the aft, or front, of the paddle board and 10 for the bow, or back.

 

Laying out the bulkheads accordingly

In the picture above, you can see copper wire that I've cut into four inch segments.  I drilled holes into the side panels, threaded the wire through and twisted the ends on the outside of the panels (pictured below).  This is the stitching of the stitch and glue method.

Stitching the bulkheads to the side panels

Finally, you can see the purpose of the sheer clamps.  The bulkheads simply sit on top of them while the stitching and gluing takes place.

Bulkheads sitting on the sheer clamps

You can see the paddle board finally taking shape!  By the way, if you're wondering....yes, I'm building the paddle board on top of a beer pong table (which is on top of a Foosball table).

And there it is!  The skeletal remains of a beached whale.